Use these CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature sample questions to practice close reading, point of view, characterization, setting, poetic form, theme, and literary devices. The questions are based entirely on the supplied passages, so no prior familiarity with the works is required.
Topics Covered
- Passage development and structure
- Character interpretation
- Point of view
- Setting
- Poetic form
- Speaker and audience
- Personification
- Theme
Sample Questions
Read the passage and answer Questions 1–6.
The band had been having a rest. Now they started again. And what they played was warm, sunny, yet there was just a faint chill—a something, what was it?—not sadness—no, not sadness—a something that made you want to sing. The tune lifted, lifted, the light shone; and it seemed to Miss Brill that in another moment all of them, all the whole company, would begin singing.
The young ones, the laughing ones who were moving together, they would begin, and the men’s voices, very resolute and brave, would join them. And then she too, she too, and the others on the benches—they would come in with a kind of accompaniment—something low, that scarcely rose or fell, something so beautiful—moving. . . . And Miss Brill’s eyes filled with tears and she looked smiling at all the other members of the company.
Yes, we understand, we understand, she thought—though what they understood she didn’t know.
Just at that moment a boy and girl came and sat down where the old couple had been. They were beautifully dressed; they were in love. The hero and heroine, of course, just arrived from his father’s yacht. And still soundlessly singing, still with that trembling smile, Miss Brill prepared to listen. “No, not now,” said the girl. “Not here, I can’t.” “But why? Because of that stupid old thing at the end there?” asked the boy.
“Why does she come here at all—who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home?” “It’s her fu-fur which is so funny,” giggled the girl. “It’s exactly like a fried whiting.” “Ah, be off with you!” said the boy in an angry whisper. Then: “Tell me, ma petite chère—” “No, not here,” said the girl. “Not yet.”
On her way home she usually bought a slice of honeycake at the baker’s. It was her Sunday treat. Sometimes there was an almond in her slice, sometimes not. It made a great difference. If there was an almond it was like carrying home a tiny present—a surprise—something that might very well not have been there. She hurried on the almond Sundays and struck the match for the kettle in quite a dashing way.
But to-day she passed the baker’s by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room—her room like a cupboard—and sat down on the red eiderdown. She sat there for a long time. The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying.
- A. It moves from Miss Brill’s imagined sense of connection to her painful isolation.
- B. It compares Miss Brill’s life with the lives of the musicians.
- C. It presents several unrelated memories from Miss Brill’s childhood.
- D. It moves backward from Miss Brill’s room to the events in the park.
- E. It explains why the young couple has come to the park.
Show Answer
At first, Miss Brill imagines herself and the people around her as members of one shared performance.
After the young couple mocks her, she leaves without buying her usual treat and returns to her dark room. The passage therefore moves from imagined belonging to painful isolation.
- A. The girl
- B. A band member
- C. Miss Brill
- D. The baker
- E. A woman who has already left
Show Answer
The boy is referring to the older woman sitting near the couple.
The surrounding dialogue, including the comment about her fur, makes it clear that he means Miss Brill.
- A. She feels connected to the other people in the park.
- B. She is confused about where she is.
- C. She is angry with the musicians.
- D. She is eager to leave.
- E. She is suspicious of the young couple.
Show Answer
Miss Brill imagines that everyone around her belongs to one shared performance.
Her thought, “Yes, we understand,” shows that she feels connected to the people around her, even though that connection is largely imagined.
- A. She is furious.
- B. She is deeply hurt.
- C. She is relieved.
- D. She is cheerful.
- E. She is impatient.
Show Answer
Miss Brill does not directly name her feelings, but her actions reveal them.
She skips her usual treat, sits silently in her small room, puts away the fur, and imagines hearing something cry.
- A. In a park
- B. On a boat
- C. In a theater
- D. Inside a bakery
- E. In Miss Brill’s room
Show Answer
The band, benches, and people gathering outdoors establish a park setting.
Miss Brill returns to her room only near the end of the passage.
- A. Third-person limited
- B. First person
- C. Third-person omniscient
- D. Third-person objective
- E. Second person
Show Answer
The narrator refers to Miss Brill in the third person while revealing her thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.
The reader is not given comparable access to the inner thoughts of the other characters, so the perspective is third-person limited.
Read the poem and answer Questions 7–10.
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
- A. Villanelle
- B. Sonnet
- C. Epic
- D. Sestina
- E. Haiku
Show Answer
The poem is a fourteen-line sonnet.
Its compact structure develops one sustained argument in which the speaker challenges Death’s apparent power.
- A. Death
- B. The speaker’s lover
- C. God
- D. Eternity
- E. The muses
Show Answer
The speaker directly addresses Death throughout the poem.
The opening command, “Death, be not proud,” and the final statement, “Death, thou shalt die,” identify Death as the addressee.
- A. Litany
- B. Metaphor
- C. Personification
- D. Internal rhyme
- E. Alliteration
Show Answer
The speaker treats Death as though it were a person who can feel pride, serve masters, and be challenged.
Giving a nonhuman idea human qualities is personification.
I. Death does not deserve to be feared.
II. Eternal awakening ultimately defeats death.
III. People should submit humbly to death’s power.
- A. I only
- B. I and II
- C. I, II, and III
- D. II only
- E. III only
Show Answer
The speaker argues that Death is neither mighty nor final and that people will “wake eternally” after its short sleep.
Statements I and II fit that argument. Statement III does not, because the speaker challenges Death rather than submitting humbly to it.
How to Use These Questions
Read each passage completely before choosing an answer. Then return to the specific words, images, actions, or structural features that support your choice.
When reviewing a missed question, identify the exact skill involved. Literature questions often test characterization, point of view, tone, setting, structure, figurative language, or a defensible interpretation of theme.
These practice questions are not official CLEP questions and are not endorsed by the College Board.
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Last Updated: July 27, 2026