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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 used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?
(a) Inversion.
(b) Imagery.
(c) Simile.
(d) Symbolism.

2. What do the metaphors in lines 9-12 and 13-16 have in common?
(a) The both compare music to a geographical location.
(b) They both compare the reaper to a bird.
(c) They both compare the speaker to a traveler.
(d) They both compare traveling to a specific time of year.

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

4. What is the young woman doing in the field?
(a) Watching the speaker from the hillside.
(b) Pushing a cart down a path.
(c) Harvesting a grain crop.
(d) Watching over grazing sheep.

5. What is the stanzaic form of "The Solitary Reaper"?
(a) Ottava rima.
(b) Ballade.
(c) Octet.
(d) Octave.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. 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"?

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 technique is evident in the poem's opening line, "Behold her, single in the field" (line 1)?

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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