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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Where are "the farthest Hebrides" (line 16)?
(a) Chile.
(b) Australia.
(c) Russia.
(d) Scotland.

3. 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 there to confess his love for the woman.
(b) He is out walking.
(c) He is working on a farm.
(d) He is delivering supplies.

4. What is subtly appropriate about the meter in lines 25 and 26, "Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang / As if her song could have no ending"?
(a) Line 26 has four metrical feet instead of the expected three, creating a feeling of "lingering."
(b) The feminine ending of line 26 emphasizes the idea of something that does not end when it is expected to.
(c) Line 25 begins with a dactyl, emphasizing the importance of the content of the reaper's song.
(d) The contraction in line 25 creates a second line of trimeter in this stanza, emphasizing the musicality of the song.

5. What technique is used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?
(a) Symbolism.
(b) Imagery.
(c) Inversion.
(d) Simile.

Short Answer Questions

1. In which stanza does the speaker make it clear that this event happened some time in the past?

2. What is the young woman doing in the field?

3. What is the "sickle" in line 28?

4. Which is the best interpretation of line 6's reference to "a melancholy strain"?

5. What is the meaning of the word "Yon" in line 2, "Yon solitary Highland Lass"?

(see the answer key)

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