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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 technique is evident in the poem's opening line, "Behold her, single in the field" (line 1)?
(a) Allusion.
(b) Apostrophe.
(c) Apology.
(d) Analogy.

2. 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) The beauty of the Highlands.
(b) Ordinary, everyday troubles.
(c) Love and romance.
(d) Modern political events.

3. Which of the following most clearly communicates the speaker's admiration for the reaper's singing ability?
(a) The poem's elevated diction.
(b) The metaphors in the second stanza.
(c) The repeated use of exclamation points.
(d) The poem's nature imagery.

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

5. Where in the Highlands is the field where the woman is standing?
(a) On the hillside.
(b) By a river in the foothills.
(c) In a valley.
(d) At the top of a mountain.

Short Answer Questions

1. From context, what is is likely meaning of "single" in line 1, "Behold her, single in the field"?

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

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

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

5. In the lines "Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow / For old, unhappy, far-off things," what does "plaintive numbers" refer to (lines 18-19)?

(see the answer key)

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