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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 7 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. What is the best definition of "impels" in the context of line 102?
(a) To force compliance.
(b) To inspire and improve.
(c) To drive or motivate action.
(d) To limit or define.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the best definition of "cataract" in the context of line 78?

2. What is emphasized by the diction "appetite" and "feeling" in line 82?

3. What is a "roe" (line 69)?

4. Which sound device is used in line 56, "Have hung upon the beatings of my heart"?

5. What is emphasized by the unusual word order in line 78's "What then I was"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways does the speaker compare himself to an animal?

2. In the third verse paragraph, what argument does the speaker have with himself?

3. What does the speaker say he is gaining from looking at the scene, besides "present pleasure" (65)?

4. What evidence does the speaker provide that demonstrates how much he enjoyed the sensations of nature when he was younger?

5. What does the speaker say he now sees in nature that he did not see when he was younger?

6. What is the "sad perplexity" the speaker feels in line 62?

7. What comment does the speaker make about his motivations for being in nature when he was younger?

(see the answer keys)

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