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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. In the second stanza, to whom is the nightingale depicted singing?
(a) Travelers.
(b) The reaper.
(c) The speaker.
(d) Shepherds.

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

4. The characterization of the woman as a "Highland Lass" indicates that she is a young woman from what area?
(a) Wales.
(b) The Hebrides.
(c) Scotland.
(d) Ireland.

5. In the fourth stanza, when the speaker finally places himself in the scene, what is it clear he is there to do?
(a) He is delivering supplies.
(b) He is there to confess his love for the woman.
(c) He is out walking.
(d) He is working on a farm.

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. Which stanza could be reasonably called the most positive in tone?

3. What technique is used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

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

5. Besides that the reaper may be singing about some terrible moment in history, what else does the speaker guess she might be singing about?

(see the answer key)

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