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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Solitary Reaper.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the fourth stanza, when the speaker finally places himself in the scene, what is it clear he is there to do?
(a) He is delivering supplies.
(b) He is working on a farm.
(c) He is there to confess his love for the woman.
(d) He is out walking.

2. What reasonable inference can be made about the reaper from line 17, "Will no one tell me what she sings?"?
(a) She is too far away to be heard clearly.
(b) She is singing in a language the speaker does not understand.
(c) She is singing a song that she has made up herself.
(d) She is singing an old folk song that the speaker does not know the title of.

3. In line 4, "Stop here, or gently pass!" what is the grammatical mood of the words "stop" and "pass"?
(a) Interrogative.
(b) Subjunctive.
(c) Imperative.
(d) Indicative.

4. Which is the best interpretation of line 6's reference to "a melancholy strain"?
(a) A sad song.
(b) Persistent pain.
(c) A difficult burden.
(d) Hard work.

5. How does line 3, "Reaping and singing by herself," interrupt the poem's dominant metrical pattern?
(a) It begins with a spondee.
(b) It begins with a trochee.
(c) It ends with a spondee.
(d) It ends with a trochee.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following most clearly communicates the speaker's admiration for the reaper's singing ability?

2. What technique is used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

3. What is the meaning of the word "lay" in the line "Or is it some more humble lay" (line 21)?

4. Which stanza could be reasonably called the most positive in tone?

5. What technique is evident in the poem's opening line, "Behold her, single in the field" (line 1)?

(see the answer key)

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