Goldenrod Quiz: 20 Questions on Maggie Smith's Poetry Collection
Goldenrod Quiz: 20 Questions
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Questions
1. In the poem "Goldenrod," the speaker drives near which city when she sees the yellow flower?
A) Peoria
B) Toledo
C) Gary
D) Columbus
2. In "At the End of Our Marriage, in the Backyard," what must the children wear all summer because of the wild lawn?
A) Hats
B) Shoes
C) Socks
D) Boots
3. In the first "Ohio Cento" poem (chapter 7), which bird calls repeatedly without anything happening?
A) Blue jay
B) Cardinal
C) Robin
D) Crow
4. In "Perennials," the girl asks her mother to pretend she is doing what before running through the sprinkler?
A) Flying
B) Racing someone and winning
C) Invisible
D) Being a flower
5. In "In the Grand Scheme of Things," which plant does the speaker dig up every year only to have it regrow?
A) Dandelions
B) Rosebush
C) Ivy
D) Milkweed
6. In "Small Shoes," what are the fallen stars wearing?
A) Hats
B) Small shoes
C) Glasses
D) Coats
7. In "Joke," what does the speaker realize upon waking from a dream about the past?
A) She is late for work
B) There is no past, only the now
C) She forgot something important
D) The dream was real
8. In "Talisman," who left the pocket objects—acorn, stone, and pink ear—as protective charms?
A) Her daughter
B) Her son
C) Her husband
D) A friend
9. In "Animals," why does the speaker identify with the fairy tern sitting on a broken egg?
A) She feels vulnerable as a mother
B) She has broken a promise
C) She loves birds
D) She is an immigrant
10. In "At the End of Our Marriage, in the Backyard," why do the speaker and her spouse pretend the yard’s neglect is intentional?
A) To avoid admitting the marriage is ending
B) To teach children about gardening
C) To save money on lawn care
D) Because they are lazy
11. In "Half Staff," why does the speaker recall walking her daughter to school on her birthday four days after Sandy Hook?
A) To contrast routine with tragedy
B) To celebrate the birthday
C) To remember a happy day
D) To complain about school
12. In "Confession," why does the mother’s desperation soften her to the idea of God?
A) She prays for her son’s health
B) She imagines being held by a divine hand while holding her feverish son
C) She wants to go to church
D) She is sick herself
13. In "Bride," why does the speaker declare herself married to herself?
A) To celebrate autonomy and self-sufficiency after divorce
B) She cannot find a partner
C) She is joking
D) She wants a wedding
14. In the poem "Goldenrod," what does the goldenrod flower primarily symbolize?
A) Nature’s indifference to human naming
B) The speaker’s loneliness
C) Death
D) Wealth
15. In "Stone," what does the stone represent?
A) Experience as knowledge and patience
B) Hardness and cruelty
C) Eternity
D) Childhood
16. In "Threshold," what does the field of timothy grass represent?
A) A doorway and transition
B) A place to rest
C) A memory of childhood
D) A barrier
17. In "Wild," what does the speaker’s act of feeding herself to the hungry future symbolize?
A) Radical self-surrender as love
B) Despair
C) Revenge
D) Escape
18. (Short answer) How does the epigraph from Forrest Gander ("...and then I outlived my life") connect to the poem "After the Divorce, I Think of Something My Daughter Said About Mars"?
19. (Short answer) Compare the use of nature as a teacher in "Stone" and "First Thaw."
20. (Short answer) The poem "Perennials" praises ghost gardens and a girl in a transitional neighborhood. How does this connect to the collection’s overall theme of resilience?
Answer Key
1. A) Peoria – The speaker spots goldenrod while driving near Peoria, as stated in the poem.
2. B) Shoes – The clover is heavy with bees, so children must wear shoes for protection.
3. B) Cardinal – A cardinal calls repeatedly, but nothing happens, emphasizing unanswered longing.
4. B) Racing someone and winning – The girl instructs her mother to pretend she is racing someone and winning.
5. B) Rosebush – The speaker digs up the rosebush yearly, but it grows back, symbolizing persistence.
6. B) Small shoes – The stars are facedown in the sand wearing small shoes, a surreal image of loss.
7. B) There is no past, only the now – The speaker wakes and understands the past is an illusion; only the present exists.
8. B) Her son – The son leaves these objects like a crow bringing gifts, showing love in a clever way.
9. A) She feels vulnerable as a mother – The broken egg symbolizes a broken family; the tern’s devotion mirrors maternal instinct.
10. A) To avoid admitting the marriage is ending – The neglected yard reflects their passive avoidance of confronting the failing relationship.
11. A) To contrast routine with tragedy – The birthday walk against the backdrop of Sandy Hook highlights the fragility of normalcy.
12. B) She imagines being held by a divine hand while holding her feverish son – The physical weight of her child opens her to faith.
13. A) To celebrate autonomy and self-sufficiency after divorce – The poem redefines marriage as an internal commitment to oneself.
14. A) Nature’s indifference to human naming – The flower exists independently of the speaker’s terms, reinforcing nature’s autonomy.
15. A) Experience as knowledge and patience – The stone learns through touch, heat, and even violence, teaching endurance.
16. A) A doorway and transition – The field is described as an arch of entering and leaving, representing liminality.
17. A) Radical self-surrender as love – The speaker offers herself to the predatory world, redefining love as sacrifice.
18. Both poems explore surviving a life-altering loss. The epigraph introduces survival after a metaphorical death, while the divorce poem uses the daughter’s Mars metaphor to accept the irreversibility of change. Each depicts a speaker who has outlived a former life and must adapt.
19. In "Stone," nature teaches through slow, hard lessons—touch, heat, and violence—leading to patience. In "First Thaw," nature teaches through wonder and humility: the speaker mistakes a plastic bag for a bird and learns alongside her child. Both poems show the speaker gaining knowledge from natural processes.
20. The poem celebrates renewal in abandoned lots, where perennials return yearly despite neglect. This mirrors the speaker’s own resilience after loss and divorce. The girl’s imaginative refrain "Pretend I’m winning" embodies hope and the determination to reframe hardship, a central theme throughout the collection.
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