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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. In which stanza does the speaker make it clear that this event happened some time in the past?
(a) The second.
(b) The first.
(c) The fourth.
(d) The third.

2. What technique is used in the line "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?
(a) Verbal irony.
(b) Paradox.
(c) Contraction.
(d) Litotes.

3. What is the meaning of the word "Yon" in line 2, "Yon solitary Highland Lass"?
(a) Over there, that one.
(b) My.
(c) You.
(d) Nearby, this one.

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

5. What do the metaphors in lines 9-12 and 13-16 have in common?
(a) The both compare music to a geographical location.
(b) They both compare the speaker to a traveler.
(c) They both compare the reaper to a bird.
(d) They both compare traveling to a specific time of year.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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"?

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

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

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

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

5. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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