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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Besides that the reaper may be singing about some terrible moment in history, what else does the speaker guess she might be singing about?
(a) Ordinary, everyday troubles.
(b) Modern political events.
(c) The beauty of the Highlands.
(d) Love and romance.

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

3. What is the stanzaic form of "The Solitary Reaper"?
(a) Octet.
(b) Ballade.
(c) Octave.
(d) Ottava rima.

4. What technique is employed in lines 7 and 8, "O listen! for the Vale profound / Is overflowing with the sound"?
(a) Metonymy.
(b) Cacophony.
(c) Antanaclasis.
(d) Hyperbole.

5. What is the meaning of the word "lay" in the line "Or is it some more humble lay" (line 21)?
(a) Tune or song.
(b) A plan or pattern.
(c) A reclining position.
(d) A narrative poem written in couplets.

Short Answer Questions

1. The characterization of the woman as a "Highland Lass" indicates that she is a young woman from what area?

2. In the second stanza, to whom is the nightingale depicted singing?

3. From context, what is is likely meaning of "single" in line 1, "Behold her, single in the field"?

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

5. What technique is used in the line "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

(see the answer key)

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