Free CLEP American Literature Exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the CLEP American Literature Exam practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1In the closing line of Anne Bradstreet's “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” the speaker says that when the couple live no more, they may “live ever.” What belief does this paradox express?

   1. A.Their love may continue beyond earthly life.Correct answer: A
   2. B.Their affection depends on earthly riches.
   3. C.Their marriage will eliminate mortal death.
   4. D.Their devotion has already begun to fade.

   Explanation: Bradstreet closes, "That when we live no more, we may live ever." The contrast between mortal death and everlasting life suggests a hope that the couple's love continues beyond earthly life.

   Reference: To My Dear and Loving Husband — Final line

2. 2In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, which character is publicly required to wear a mark for adultery?

   1. A.Jo March
   2. B.Edna Pontellier
   3. C.Hester PrynneCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Daisy Buchanan

   Explanation: The Library of Congress identifies "Hester Prynne" as the central character required to wear the scarlet letter.

   Reference: Books That Shaped America: 1850 to 1900 — Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

3. 3What term describes the repeated initial consonant sound in the phrase “silver sails sweep”?

   1. A.End rhyme
   2. B.Enjambment
   3. C.AlliterationCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Assonance

   Explanation: The Academy of American Poets defines alliteration as "the repetition of consonant sounds, particularly at the beginnings of words." The repeated initial /s/ creates that effect.

   Reference: Alliteration — Definition

4. 4Which religious influences shaped Phillis Wheatley's thought and poetry?

   1. A.The Bible and eighteenth-century evangelical ChristianityCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Evangelical Christianity without significant biblical allusions
   3. C.Classical mythology to the exclusion of scriptural language
   4. D.Enlightenment deism in place of Christian scriptural language

   Explanation: The Poetry Foundation identifies "the Bible and 18th-century evangelical Christianity" among the strongest influences on Wheatley's thought and poetry.

   Reference: Phillis Wheatley — Discussion of religious influences and biblical allusion

5. 5In Walt Whitman's “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” why does the speaker leave the lecture room?

   1. A.He wants to gather measurements for a chart.
   2. B.He wishes to challenge the lecturer publicly.
   3. C.He becomes weary and seeks solitary stargazing.Correct answer: C
   4. D.He is summoned outside by another listener.

   Explanation: The speaker says, "How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick," and subsequently describes leaving to look at the stars alone. The poem contrasts his response with the lecture audience's applause.

   Reference: When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer — Line 5

6. 6Which novel follows Captain Ahab's pursuit of a great white whale?

   1. A.Moby-DickCorrect answer: A
   2. B.The Call of the Wild
   3. C.The Last of the Mohicans
   4. D.The Red Badge of Courage

   Explanation: The Library of Congress describes Melville's "tale of the Great White Whale" and Captain Ahab's relentless pursuit.

   Reference: Books That Shaped America: 1850 to 1900 — Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

7. 7What term describes the repetition of similar vowel sounds in nearby words?

   1. A.AssonanceCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Anaphora
   3. C.Consonance
   4. D.Alliteration

   Explanation: The Academy defines assonance as "the repetition of similar vowel sounds." It differs from the recurrence of consonant sounds or repeated words.

   Reference: Assonance — Definition

8. 8Emerson and Thoreau are closely associated with which American literary and intellectual movement?

   1. A.TranscendentalismCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Naturalism
   3. C.The Beat movement
   4. D.The Harlem Renaissance

   Explanation: The Library of Congress describes Emerson and Thoreau as leading voices of "the transcendentalist movement in America."

   Reference: America Reads: 1750 to 1899 — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature

9. 9In Robert Frost's “Mending Wall,” the neighbor repeats the saying about good fences. What does the speaker suggest about the neighbor's reason for repeating it?

   1. A.He regards the inherited saying as sound guidance.Correct answer: A
   2. B.He treats his father's saying as an outdated joke.
   3. C.He adopts the speaker's doubts about the wall.
   4. D.He revises the saying after hearing the speaker.

   Explanation: The speaker observes, "He will not go behind his father’s saying," immediately before the neighbor repeats it. The description presents the saying as inherited wisdom the neighbor declines to question.

   Reference: Mending Wall — Closing lines

10. 10Which work recounts Henry David Thoreau's experiment in living deliberately near a pond in Massachusetts?

    1. A.WaldenCorrect answer: A
    2. B.Leaves of Grass
    3. C.The Souls of Black Folk
    4. D.The Education of Henry Adams

    Explanation: The Library of Congress places Thoreau "in a cabin on Walden Pond" and identifies Walden as the work associated with this experience.

    Reference: Books That Shaped America: 1850 to 1900 — Henry David Thoreau, Walden