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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In line 4, "Stop here, or gently pass!" what is the grammatical mood of the words "stop" and "pass"?
(a) Interrogative.
(b) Subjunctive.
(c) Indicative.
(d) Imperative.

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

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

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

5. In the lines "Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow / For old, unhappy, far-off things," what does "plaintive numbers" refer to (lines 18-19)?
(a) The reaper's tears.
(b) The reaper's personal experience.
(c) Time and history.
(d) The song.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the "sickle" in line 28?

2. How does line 3, "Reaping and singing by herself," interrupt the poem's dominant metrical pattern?

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

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

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

(see the answer key)

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