Poetry- -Tattoo- by Gregg Shapiro

What is the significance of the title of the poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro?

It is a symbol for the speaker’s decision to let go of his family’s legacy and carve out his or her own identity.
It refers to the system by which people were physically labeled in concentration camps during the Holocaust.
It is an allusion to the speaker’s ethnic heritage and traditions passed down through generations.
It is an ironic title because the poem discusses the importance of the human body being left unmarked.

B. It refers to the system by which people were physically labeled in concentration camps during the Holocaust.

Which of the following describes best the historical time period in which the poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro takes place?

the decades following the Holocaust
the decades prior to the Holocaust
the decades when the Nazi regime ruled
the decades between World War I and World War II

A. the decades following the Holocaust

What is imagery?

writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning
a technique in which something simultaneously represents itself and something else
a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two objects
words that trigger the imagination to remember by appealing to the five senses

D. words that trigger the imagination to remember by appealing to the five senses

The speaker’s father in the poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro frustrates the speaker with his __________ regarding the past.

anger
affection
guilt
silence

D. silence

The poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro takes a fictional look at which real-world issue?

the controversy of allowing teens to get tattoos without parental permission
the relationship between stepfathers and stepchildren in second marriages
the effect of the Holocaust on the children of survivors
the difficulty of forgiving one’s parents for the past

C. the effect of the Holocaust on the children of survivors

Which of the following is a possible effect of being a child of a Holocaust survivor experienced by the speaker in the poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro?

survivor’s guilt
overconfidence
longer-than-normal childhood
depression

A. Survivor’s guilt

Read the line below from the poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro and answer the question that follows.

the nervous blue flash in his eyes

Which poetic technique does Shapiro use in this line?

imagery
irony
simile
enjambment

A. Imagery

Read the excerpt below from the poem "Little Father" by Li-Young Lee and answer the question that follows.

I buried my father in my heart.
Now he grows in me, my strange son,
my little root who won’t drink milk,
little pale foot sunk in unheard-of night,
little clock spring newly wet
in the fire, little grape, parent to the future
wine, a son the fruit of his own son,
little father I ransom with my life.

Source: Lee, Li-Young. "Little Father." Book of My Nights. Rochester: BOA Editions, Ltd., 2001. Poetry Foundation. Web. 25 July 2011.

Which structure is used in this excerpt from the poem "Little Father"?

haiku
free verse
iambic
ode

B. free verse

What is figurative language?

writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning
a technique in which something simultaneously represents itself and something else
words that trigger the imagination to remember by appealing to the five senses
a statement about an abstract idea expressed in a work of art

A. writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning

Which excerpt from the poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro is a symbol for the Holocaust experience?

"blue as blood on his left forearm"
"spilling his protection, like acid"
"I am drowning in his silence"
"Questions choke me"

A. "blue as blood on his left forearm"

What is a conceit?

a word that appeals to the five senses
a lengthy or extended metaphor
a technique in which one line of poetry carries onto the next
a statement about an abstract idea

B. a lengthy or extended metaphor

The structure of the poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro can be described best as __________.

sonnet
sestina
free verse
ode

C. free verse

Read the line below from the poem "Tattoo" by Gregg Shapiro and answer the question that follows.

I wear him like a cloak, sweat under the weight

What is the bold part of the line an example of?

metaphor
conceit
theme
simile

Not A, probably D.