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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Solitary Reaper.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Where are "the farthest Hebrides" (line 16)?
(a) Scotland.
(b) Australia.
(c) Russia.
(d) Chile.

3. 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"?
(a) The contraction in line 25 creates a second line of trimeter in this stanza, emphasizing the musicality of the song.
(b) The feminine ending of line 26 emphasizes the idea of something that does not end when it is expected to.
(c) Line 25 begins with a dactyl, emphasizing the importance of the content of the reaper's song.
(d) Line 26 has four metrical feet instead of the expected three, creating a feeling of "lingering."

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What reasonable inference can be made about the reaper from line 17, "Will no one tell me what she sings?"?

2. The characterization of the woman as a "Highland Lass" indicates that she is a young woman from what area?

3. What technique is evident in the line "Breaking the silence of the seas" (line 15)?

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

5. How does line 3, "Reaping and singing by herself," interrupt the poem's dominant metrical pattern?

(see the answer key)

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