CLEP Composition and Literature Exam Questions and Answers (Page: 5)

QUESTION: 21

Which American author created detective fiction?

Herman Melville
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Raymond Chandler
Edgar Allan Poe
Dashiell Hammett

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

Poe invented detective fiction, which he dubbed “tales of ratiocination,” stories in which logic is used to solve a mystery. Classic examples include “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Purloined Letter.”

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QUESTION: 22

The former viewed nature as comprehensible and a source of divine inspiration and a new spirit of American individualism, while the later saw it as a savage force – beautiful but alien and perilous.

The above text most likely refers to which two authors?

Nathaniel Hawthorne and John Greenleaf Whittier
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Henry David Thoreau
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Herman Melville
Oliver Wendell Holmes and William Cullen Bryant

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

Part of Emerson’s new national vision was based on the inspiration he felt individuals could gain from an appreciation of nature. Melville, however, often portrayed nature as a savage or even vengeful force, most famously symbolized by the great white whale Moby Dick.

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QUESTION: 23

Nature, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest, –
Her admonition mild

In forest and the hill
By traveller is heard,
Restraining rampant squirrel
Or too impetuous bird.

How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon, –
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down

Her voice among the aisles
Incites the timid prayer
Of the minutest cricket,
The most unworthy flower.

When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps;
Then, bending from the sky,

With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere.

The word “child” in line 2 probably refers to

the author’s child
all children
the squirrel in line 7
all living things
the elements

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

Line 1 establishes that the poem is speaking of the natural world and living things in general. Nature’s children are all living things.

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QUESTION: 24

Nature, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest, –
Her admonition mild

In forest and the hill
By traveller is heard,
Restraining rampant squirrel
Or too impetuous bird.

How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon, –
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down

Her voice among the aisles
Incites the timid prayer
Of the minutest cricket,
The most unworthy flower.

When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps;
Then, bending from the sky,

With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere.

The use of the word “aisles” in line 13 brings in the imagery of a

church
railroad car
cornfield
supermarket
sea

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

This poem reflects a spiritual appreciation for nature. The use of “aisles” compares the natural world to a church where all creatures pray in thanks.

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QUESTION: 25

Nature, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest, –
Her admonition mild

In forest and the hill
By traveller is heard,
Restraining rampant squirrel
Or too impetuous bird.

How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon, –
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down

Her voice among the aisles
Incites the timid prayer
Of the minutest cricket,
The most unworthy flower.

When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps;
Then, bending from the sky,

With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere.

The “lamps” mentioned in line 20 are probably

fireflies
street lamps
stars
house lights
campfires

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

The poem ends with sunset and nightfall. The lighting of the lamps represents the stars coming out in the night sky.

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Test Prep CLEP Composition and Literature Exam (page: 5) Test Prep CLEP Composition and Literature: American Literature, English Literature, Humanities Updated on: 09-Feb-2026

QUESTION: 21

Explanation:

QUESTION: 22

Explanation:

QUESTION: 23

Explanation:

QUESTION: 24

Explanation:

QUESTION: 25

Explanation:

Test Prep CLEP Composition and Literature Exam (page: 5)
Test Prep CLEP Composition and Literature: American Literature, English Literature, Humanities
Updated on: 09-Feb-2026