SAT II Literature : Content
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Literature
All SAT II Literature Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #161 : Content
1 In silent night when rest I took,
2 For sorrow near I did not look,
3 I wakened was with thund’ring noise
4 And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
5 That fearful sound of “fire” and “fire,”
6 Let no man know is my Desire.
7 I, starting up, the light did spy,
8 And to my God my heart did cry
9 To straighten me in my Distress
10 And not to leave me succourless.
11 Then, coming out, behold a space
12 The flame consume my dwelling place.
13 And when I could no longer look,
14 I blest His name that gave and took,
15 That laid my goods now in the dust.
16 Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just.
17 It was his own, it was not mine,
18 Far be it that I should repine;
19 He might of all justly bereft
20 But yet sufficient for us left.
21 When by the ruins oft I past
22 My sorrowing eyes aside did cast
23 And here and there the places spy
24 Where oft I sate and long did lie.
25 Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,
26 There lay that store I counted best.
27 My pleasant things in ashes lie
28 And them behold no more shall I.
29 Under thy roof no guest shall sit,
30 Nor at thy Table eat a bit.
31 No pleasant talk shall ‘ere be told
32 Nor things recounted done of old.
33 No Candle e'er shall shine in Thee,
34 Nor bridegroom’s voice e'er heard shall be.
35 In silence ever shalt thou lie,
36 Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.
37 Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide,
38 And did thy wealth on earth abide?
39 Didst fix thy hope on mould'ring dust?
40 The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
41 Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
42 That dunghill mists away may fly.
43 Thou hast a house on high erect
44 Framed by that mighty Architect,
45 With glory richly furnished,
46 Stands permanent though this be fled.
47 It’s purchased and paid for too
48 By Him who hath enough to do.
49 A price so vast as is unknown,
50 Yet by His gift is made thine own;
51 There’s wealth enough, I need no more,
52 Farewell, my pelf, farewell, my store.
53 The world no longer let me love,
54 My hope and treasure lies above.
(1666)
What calamity has the speaker of the poem suffered?
Damage from a battle
The burning of her home
A robbery in the middle of the night
The death of her family
An attack by the Native Americans
The burning of her home
Line 12, "The flame consume my dwelling place" clearly shows that her home suffered a fire. This was a question querying the test taker's literal comprehension of the content of the poem, and the ability to distinguish between metaphorical and literal language.
Passage adapted from Anne Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of our House" (1666)
Example Question #162 : Content
1 In silent night when rest I took,
2 For sorrow near I did not look,
3 I wakened was with thund’ring noise
4 And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
5 That fearful sound of “fire” and “fire,”
6 Let no man know is my Desire.
7 I, starting up, the light did spy,
8 And to my God my heart did cry
9 To straighten me in my Distress
10 And not to leave me succourless.
11 Then, coming out, behold a space
12 The flame consume my dwelling place.
13 And when I could no longer look,
14 I blest His name that gave and took,
15 That laid my goods now in the dust.
16 Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just.
17 It was his own, it was not mine,
18 Far be it that I should repine;
19 He might of all justly bereft
20 But yet sufficient for us left.
21 When by the ruins oft I past
22 My sorrowing eyes aside did cast
23 And here and there the places spy
24 Where oft I sate and long did lie.
25 Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,
26 There lay that store I counted best.
27 My pleasant things in ashes lie
28 And them behold no more shall I.
29 Under thy roof no guest shall sit,
30 Nor at thy Table eat a bit.
31 No pleasant talk shall ‘ere be told
32 Nor things recounted done of old.
33 No Candle e'er shall shine in Thee,
34 Nor bridegroom’s voice e'er heard shall be.
35 In silence ever shalt thou lie,
36 Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.
37 Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide,
38 And did thy wealth on earth abide?
39 Didst fix thy hope on mould'ring dust?
40 The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
41 Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
42 That dunghill mists away may fly.
43 Thou hast a house on high erect
44 Framed by that mighty Architect,
45 With glory richly furnished,
46 Stands permanent though this be fled.
47 It’s purchased and paid for too
48 By Him who hath enough to do.
49 A price so vast as is unknown,
50 Yet by His gift is made thine own;
51 There’s wealth enough, I need no more,
52 Farewell, my pelf, farewell, my store.
53 The world no longer let me love,
54 My hope and treasure lies above.
(1666)
The speaker’s attitude toward the event goes from _______________.
worry to happiness
anger to fear
anguish to acceptance
regret to repentance
unbelieving to devout
anguish to acceptance
The speaker mourns the loss of her home and possessions, as suggested by the lines 21-22, but ultimately accepts the fact that the material world is not meant to be permanent.
Passage adapted from Anne Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of our House" (1666)
Example Question #662 : Sat Subject Test In Literature
To the Dead in the Grave-Yard Under My Window
by Adelaide Crapsey (1878 - 1915)
How can you lie so still? All day I watch
And never a blade of all the green sod moves
To show where restlessly you toss and turn,
And fling a desperate arm or draw up knees
Stiffened and aching from their long disuse;
I watch all night and not one ghost comes forth
To take its freedom of the midnight hour.
Oh, have you no rebellion in your bones?
The very worms must scorn you where you lie,
A pallid mouldering acquiescent folk,
Meek habitants of unresented graves.
Why are you there in your straight row on row
Where I must ever see you from my bed
That in your mere dumb presence iterate
The text so weary in my ears: “Lie still
And rest; be patient and lie still and rest.”
I’ll not be patient! I will not lie still!
The poem’s point of view is best characterized as __________________.
first person and second person only
first person only
third person only
second person and third person only
second person only
first person and second person only
The narrator of the poem is speaking to the dead, addressing them as "you." ("Why are you there in your straight row on row/ Where I must ever see you from my bed...") Therefore you can eliminate two options: "First person only" and "third person only." She also speaks in first person ("All day I watch...") so that eliminates another option ("second person only"). The best answer is "first person and second person only."
Example Question #663 : Sat Subject Test In Literature
To the Dead in the Grave-Yard Under My Window
by Adelaide Crapsey (1878 - 1915)
- How can you lie so still? All day I watch
- And never a blade of all the green sod moves
- To show where restlessly you toss and turn,
- And fling a desperate arm or draw up knees
- Stiffened and aching from their long disuse;
- I watch all night and not one ghost comes forth
- To take its freedom of the midnight hour.
- Oh, have you no rebellion in your bones?
- The very worms must scorn you where you lie,
- A pallid mouldering acquiescent folk,
- Meek habitants of unresented graves.
- Why are you there in your straight row on row
- Where I must ever see you from my bed
- That in your mere dumb presence iterate
- The text so weary in my ears: “Lie still
- And rest; be patient and lie still and rest.”
- I’ll not be patient! I will not lie still!
The words quoted in lines 15-16 are most likely spoken by _______________.
future readers of the poem
the narrator herself
it cannot be determined
the narrator’s physician
a priest or minister
the narrator’s physician
Looking at the complete thought that includes the quoted text (lines 12-16), we see that the speaker is questioning the dead, whose relentless, silent presence seems to communicate a repetitive message to her. The message is "weary in [her] ears," which tells us that the speaker is hearing it rather than speaking it herself. The message is not spoken by her future readers, because she has already heard it many times. There is nothing in the poem to suggest that she talks with a priest or minister. We are told that she spends all her time in bed, that she's restless, that she wants to rebel, and that she seems to feel some kind of kinship with the dead buried outside her window. It seems clear that she is seriously ill, and that the authority figure who is telling her to rest is probably a doctor.
Example Question #21 : Context, Speaker, And Addressee: Poetry
To the Dead in the Grave-Yard Under My Window
by Adelaide Crapsey (1878 - 1915)
- How can you lie so still? All day I watch
- And never a blade of all the green sod moves
- To show where restlessly you toss and turn,
- And fling a desperate arm or draw up knees
- Stiffened and aching from their long disuse;
- I watch all night and not one ghost comes forth
- To take its freedom of the midnight hour.
- Oh, have you no rebellion in your bones?
- The very worms must scorn you where you lie,
- A pallid mouldering acquiescent folk,
- Meek habitants of unresented graves.
- Why are you there in your straight row on row
- Where I must ever see you from my bed
- That in your mere dumb presence iterate
- The text so weary in my ears: “Lie still
- And rest; be patient and lie still and rest.”
- I’ll not be patient! I will not lie still!
The speaker believes that the dead are all of the following EXCEPT ___________________.
obedient
infuriating
restless
contemptible
silent
restless
Here, you are looking for the single answer that is clearly not correct.
The speaker says that the dead are obedient ("Oh, have you no rebellion in your bones?") She says that they are silent ("That in your mere dumb presence iterate/
The text...") She says they are contemptible ("The very worms must scorn you where you lie".) Everything she says tells us that she finds the dead infuriating. However, the speaker does not suggest that the dead are restless.
Example Question #665 : Sat Subject Test In Literature
I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
Where can we find two better hemispheres,
Without sharp north, without declining west?
Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.
(1633)
The poem is most likely addressed to ____________.
a former lover
None of these
a blood relative
a long-time lover
a new lover
a new lover
The poem is certainly addressed to a current lover. At the top of stanza two "now" and "waking" give the poem and immediacy and sense of revelation that imply that this love is. This is underscored by the recurring motif of global exploration and discovery of "new worlds."
Passage adapted from John Donne's "The Good Morrow" (1633).
Example Question #662 : Sat Subject Test In Literature
The addressee of lines 13-14 is __________________.
"ye soft pipes" (line 12)
the poet's companion
"Sylvan historian" (line 3)
"Fair youth" (line 15)
an unspecified audience
"ye soft pipes" (line 12)
Lines 13-14 are addressed to the "soft pipes" in line 12. It is clear that the poet is addressing the pipes directly (an example of apostrophe) because the vocative "ye" is used--"ye soft pipes." Also, the main thing said in lines 13-14 is a command to "pipe," to play music, an action that can only be fulfilled by a musical instrument.
Passage adapted from John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" (1819)
Example Question #161 : Content
I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.
What hours, O what black hours we have spent
This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!
And more must, in yet longer light's delay.
With witness I speak this. But where I say
Hours I mean years, mean life. And my lament
Is cries countless, cries like dead letters sent
To dearest him that lives alas! away.
I am gall, I am heartburn. God's most deep decree
Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;
Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.
Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours. I see
The lost are like this, and their scourge to be
As I am mine, their sweating selves; but worse.
(1918)
In line two, “we” refers to __________.
The speaker and the night
None of these
The speaker and his heart
The speaker and his lover
The speaker and the black hours
The speaker and his heart
The second half of the "we" is revealed in the next line, when the speaker addresses his heart directly.
Passage adapted from "[I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day]" (1918) by Gerald Manley Hopkins.
Example Question #1 : Context, Speaker, And Addressee: Prose
Passage adapted from “Reconstruction” by Frederick Douglass (1866)
Without attempting to settle here the metaphysical and somewhat theological question (about which so much has already been said and written), whether once in the Union means always in the Union—agreeably to the formula, “Once in grace always in grace”—it is obvious to common sense that the rebellious States stand today, in point of law, precisely where they stood when, exhausted, beaten, conquered, they fell powerless at the feet of Federal authority. Their State governments were overthrown, and the lives and property of the leaders of the Rebellion were forfeited. In reconstructing the institutions of these shattered and overthrown States, Congress should begin with a clean slate, and make clean work of it.
Let there be no hesitation. It would be a cowardly deference to a defeated and treacherous President, if any account were made of the illegitimate, one-sided, sham governments hurried into existence for a malign purpose in the absence of Congress. These pretended governments, which were never submitted to the people, and from participation in which four millions of the loyal people were excluded by Presidential order, should now be treated according to their true character, as shams and impositions, and supplanted by true and legitimate governments, in the formation of which loyal men, black and white, shall participate.
It is not, however, within the scope of this paper to point out the precise steps to be taken, and the means to be employed. The people are less concerned about these than the grand end to be attained. They demand such a reconstruction as shall put an end to the present anarchical state of things in the late rebellious States—where frightful murders and wholesale massacres are perpetrated in the very presence of Federal soldiers. This horrible business they require shall cease. They want a reconstruction such as will protect loyal men, black and white, in their persons and property; such a one as will cause Northern industry, Northern capital, and Northern civilization to flow into the South, and make a man from New England as much at home in Carolina as elsewhere in the Republic. No Chinese wall can now be tolerated. The South must be opened to the light of law and liberty, and this session of Congress is relied upon to accomplish this important work.
Which of the following describes Douglass's feelings about the governments that were established in rebellious territories?
Disdain
Zealotry
Gregariousness
Dolor
Dismissal
Disdain
Note the adjectives used in the second paragraph to describe the governments that were created during the rebellion. Douglass calls them "illegitimate," "one-sided," and "sham." He is not expressing mere dislike or distaste for these governments. He has utter disdain for them. Indeed, he says that any president that would respect these governments would be both a coward and be treacherous!
Example Question #1 : Context, Speaker, And Addressee: Prose
Passage adapted from Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau (1865)
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, New Orleans, and the rest, are the names of wharves projecting into the sea (surrounded by the shops and dwellings of the merchants), good places to take in and to discharge a cargo (to land the products of other climes and load the exports of our own). I see a great many barrels and fig-drums, piles of wood for umbrella-sticks, blocks of granite and ice, great heaps of goods, and the means of packing and conveying them, much wrapping-paper and twine, many crates and hogsheads and trucks, and that is Boston. The more barrels, the more Boston. The museums and scientific societies and libraries are accidental. They gather around the sands to save carting. The wharf-rats and customhouse officers, and broken-down poets, seeking a fortune amid the barrels. Their better or worse lyceums, and preachings, and doctorings, these, too, are accidental, and the malls of commons are always small potatoes....
When we reached Boston that October, I had a gill of Provincetown sand in my shoes, and at Concord there was still enough left to sand my pages for many a day; and I seemed to hear the sea roar, as if I lived in a shell, for a week afterward.
The places which I have described may seem strange and remote to my townsmen, indeed, from Boston to Provincetown is twice as far as from England to France; yet step into the cars, and in six hours you may stand on those four planks, and see the Cape which Gosnold is said to have discovered, and which I have so poorly described. If you had started when I first advised you, you might have seen our tracks in the sand, still fresh, and reaching all the way from the Nauset Lights to Race Point, some thirty miles, for at every step we made an impression on the Cape, though we were not aware of it, and though our account may have made no impression on your minds. But what is our account? In it there is no roar, no beach-birds, no tow-cloth.
In the first paragraph, the author's impression of Boston can be summarized as ___________________.
a place of debauchery and sin
an economically depressed area
a quiet coastal town
an intellectual place full of art and culture
a busy place of trade and industry
a busy place of trade and industry
This question asks you to interpret the author's description of Boston. The first paragraph is made up of details that give an impression of a busy place of trade and industry. The author states, "The more barrels, the more Boston," showing that he equates Boston with its trade and industry. Since he states that "museums and scientific societies and libraries are accidental," it is not correct to say that he considers Boston a place of intellect and culture. He describes Boston as a busy harbor city, not a quiet coastal town. This description of the fast pace of trade does not give an impression of economic depression, but rather of economic success. The author also does not mention sin and debauchery, focusing instead on economic elements.
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