beware:do not read this poem by Ishmael Reed

Instructions

tonite, thriller was
about an old woman, so vain she
surrounded herself w/
        many mirrors

5 it got so bad that finally she
locked herself indoors & her
whole life became the
        mirrors

one day the villagers broke
10 into her house, but she was too
swift for them. she disappeared
        into a mirror
each tenant who bought the house
after that, lost a loved one to
15      the old woman in the mirror:
        first a little girl
        then a young woman
        then the young woman's husband

the hunger of this poem is legendary
20 it has taken in many victims
        back off from this poem
        it has drawn in your feet
        back off from this poem
        it has drawn in your legs
25      back off from this poem
        it is a greedy mirror
        you are into this poem. from
        the waist down
        nobody can hear you can they?
30      this poem has had you up to here
                                   belch
        this poem aint got no manners
        you can't call out from this poem
        relax now & go w/ this poem
35      move & roll on to this poem

        do not resist this poem
        this poem has yr eyes
        this poem has his head
        this poem has his arms
40      this poem has his fingers
        this poem has his fingertips

        this poem is the reader & the
        reader the poem

statistic: the US bureau of missing persons reports                 
45      that in 1968 over 100,000 people disappeared                 
        leaving no solid clues
        nor trace only
        a space in the lives of their friends

Required

1

What does the author, Ishmael Reed, refer to in the opening stanza of the poem?

Required

1

What happens when the villagers break into the old woman’s house?

Required

1

What happens to the tenants who, over the years, buy the house?

Required

1

What does the speaker say is “legendary”?

Required

1

To what does the speaker compare the poem?

Required

1

What does the speaker say happens to the readers of this poem?

Required

1

What warning does the speaker give to the readers of this poem?

Required

1

What are the characteristics of Ishmael Reed’s writing style?

Required

1

Which of the following literary elements is not used in this poem?

Required

1

What does the author, Ishmael Reed, refer to in the opening stanza of the poem?

What happens when the villagers break into the old woman’s house?

What happens to the tenants who, over the years, buy the house?

What does the speaker say is “legendary”?

To what does the speaker compare the poem?

What does the speaker say happens to the readers of this poem?

What warning does the speaker give to the readers of this poem?

What are the characteristics of Ishmael Reed’s writing style?

Which of the following literary elements is not used in this poem?

What is the best description of the tone of this poem?