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

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

3. What technique is evident in the line "Breaking the silence of the seas" (line 15)?
(a) Aphorismus.
(b) Onomatopoeia.
(c) Synesthesia.
(d) Sibilance.

4. 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.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the meaning of the word "lay" in the line "Or is it some more humble lay" (line 21)?

2. What technique is employed in lines 7 and 8, "O listen! for the Vale profound / Is overflowing with the sound"?

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

4. Which of the following most clearly communicates the speaker's admiration for the reaper's singing ability?

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

(see the answer key)

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