View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which technique is used in the phrase "the fever of the world" in line 55?
(a) Synecdoche.
(b) Metaphor.
(c) Simile.
(d) Metonymy.

2. What is the best definition of "cataract" in the context of line 78?
(a) Narrowing canyon.
(b) Pounding heart.
(c) Clouded vision.
(d) Rushing water.

3. What is emphasized by the unusual word order in line 78's "What then I was"?
(a) The speaker's eccentricity.
(b) The speaker's ego.
(c) The speaker's distance from the past.
(d) The speaker's philosophical nature.

4. Which sound device is used in line 56, "Have hung upon the beatings of my heart"?
(a) Cacophony.
(b) Sibilance.
(c) Alliteration.
(d) Elision.

5. How did the speaker primarily relate to nature when he was younger?
(a) Through his mind.
(b) Through his actions.
(c) Through his spirit.
(d) Through his senses.

6. What is the "remoter charm" that the speaker mentions in line 83?
(a) The attraction of far-away places.
(b) The excitement of discovery.
(c) The pleasure of philosophical thought.
(d) The bittersweet feeling of nostalgia.

7. What idea is conveyed by the details listed toward the end of the fourth verse paragraph?
(a) Nature is far more mysterious than most people understand.
(b) It is natural for people to get more philosophical and less emotional as they age.
(c) All things are unified and guided by a single spiritual force.
(d) Although essentially amoral, nature can still teach humans important lessons.

8. How do the speaker's present emotions compare with his past emotions?
(a) His emotions are now deeper and more overwhelming.
(b) His emotions are now less complicated and confusing.
(c) His emotions are now less concealed and secretive.
(d) His emotions are now more muted and controlled.

9. Which technique is employed in line 64, "While here I stand, not only with the sense"?
(a) Inversion.
(b) Paraprosdokian.
(c) Platitude.
(d) Isocolon.

10. Which is the best definition of "perplexity" in the context of line 62?
(a) Intuition.
(b) Complication.
(c) Confusion.
(d) Melancholy.

11. What do lines 60 and 61 describe with expressions like "recognitions dim and faint"?
(a) Fading memories.
(b) Misunderstandings.
(c) Failing vision.
(d) Shallow relationships.

12. In line 75, what word does the speaker use to characterize his boyhood pleasures?
(a) "Coarser."
(b) "Heedless."
(c) "Foolish."
(d) "Sweeter."

13. What technique is used in lines 100-101: "And the round ocean and the living air,/ And the blue sky, and in the mind of man"?
(a) Caesura.
(b) Polysyndeton.
(c) Epizeuxis.
(d) Chiasmus.

14. How does the speaker characterize the daytime activities of humans in the city?
(a) They are dangerous.
(b) They are pointless.
(c) They are reckless.
(d) They are panicked.

15. What is the primary rhetorical function of the alliteration in line 65, "Of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts"?
(a) It distinguishes between the poet's senses and thoughts.
(b) It connects the present to the future.
(c) It creates a rhythmic tone that mimics footsteps.
(d) It stresses the speaker's serene state of mind.

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is employed when the speaker says he cannot "paint" the person he used to be?

2. What "still sad music" does the speaker hear when he looks at the landscape (93)?

3. What technique is employed when the speaker calls the view "food" for future years (line 66)?

4. What techniques are evidence in line 88's phrase "nor mourn nor murmur"?

5. To whom is the apostrophe in lines 57-59 addressed?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 542 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample