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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the "sickle" in line 28?
(a) A tied sheaf of grain.
(b) A handle used to pull a cart.
(c) A sharp cutting tool.
(d) A mark dyed into wool to track sheep.

2. Which is the best interpretation of line 6's reference to "a melancholy strain"?
(a) Hard work.
(b) A sad song.
(c) A difficult burden.
(d) Persistent pain.

3. How does line 3, "Reaping and singing by herself," interrupt the poem's dominant metrical pattern?
(a) It begins with a spondee.
(b) It begins with a trochee.
(c) It ends with a trochee.
(d) It ends with a spondee.

4. Besides that the reaper may be singing about some terrible moment in history, what else does the speaker guess she might be singing about?
(a) Modern political events.
(b) The beauty of the Highlands.
(c) Love and romance.
(d) Ordinary, everyday troubles.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. In the fourth stanza, when the speaker finally places himself in the scene, what is it clear he is there to do?

4. What do the metaphors in lines 9-12 and 13-16 have in common?

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

(see the answer key)

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