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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What technique is evident in the line "Breaking the silence of the seas" (line 15)?
(a) Onomatopoeia.
(b) Synesthesia.
(c) Sibilance.
(d) Aphorismus.

2. From context, what is is likely meaning of "single" in line 1, "Behold her, single in the field"?
(a) Honest.
(b) Alone.
(c) Unmarried.
(d) Simple.

3. Which stanza could be reasonably called the most positive in tone?
(a) The fourth.
(b) The second.
(c) The third.
(d) The first.

4. What is the "sickle" in line 28?
(a) A handle used to pull a cart.
(b) A sharp cutting tool.
(c) A tied sheaf of grain.
(d) A mark dyed into wool to track sheep.

5. The characterization of the woman as a "Highland Lass" indicates that she is a young woman from what area?
(a) Ireland.
(b) The Hebrides.
(c) Wales.
(d) Scotland.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where are "the farthest Hebrides" (line 16)?

2. What do all three sentences in the third stanza have in common?

3. In line 4, "Stop here, or gently pass!" what is the grammatical mood of the words "stop" and "pass"?

4. What is the stanzaic form of "The Solitary Reaper"?

5. What technique is employed in lines 7 and 8, "O listen! for the Vale profound / Is overflowing with the sound"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the rhyme scheme of "The Solitary Reaper."

2. What are the names of the two forms of poetry that are combined in this poem, and how are they combined?

3. Describe the meter of "The Solitary Reaper."

4. To which two birds does the speaker compare the reaper, and what area of the world does the speaker associate with each?

5. Summarize the action of "The Solitary Reaper."

6. Describe the tense shift in "The Solitary Reaper" and explain what it reveals about the poem's narrative present.

7. Explain how the mention of "spring-time" in line 14's description of the cuckoo enhances the contrast between this image and the image of the nightingale.

8. In what way do the places associated with the two birds create a dramatic contrast with one another?

9. How does the speaker's line 26 description of the reaper singing "As if her song could have no ending" reinforce the meaning of the poem's ending?

10. What question does the speaker ask in the third stanza, and what two contrasting answers does he speculate about?

(see the answer keys)

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