View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. Who is the author of "The Solitary Reaper"?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Summarize the action 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. 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?

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

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

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

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

9. 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.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the relationship of the reaper to the land in "The Solitary Reaper." Defend your ideas with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Wordsworth wrote in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads that poetry emerges from the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" that are "recollected in tranquility." Write an essay that demonstrates how these ideas are reflected in "The Solitary Reaper." Be sure to support your claims with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you use evidence from the poem to affirm, refute, or qualify the following statement: Wordsworth's 'The Solitary Reaper' would be a less effective poem if the reader were aware of the specific song the reaper sings.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 916 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample