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

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

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

4. What is the meaning of the word "lay" in the line "Or is it some more humble lay" (line 21)?
(a) A plan or pattern.
(b) Tune or song.
(c) A narrative poem written in couplets.
(d) A reclining position.

5. From context, what is is likely meaning of "single" in line 1, "Behold her, single in the field"?
(a) Simple.
(b) Honest.
(c) Unmarried.
(d) Alone.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the second stanza, to whom is the nightingale depicted singing?

2. Which line uses deliberate redundancy for emphasis?

3. Where are "the farthest Hebrides" (line 16)?

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

5. What do all three sentences in the third stanza have in common?

(see the answer key)

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