View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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 poem's nature imagery.
(d) The metaphors in the second stanza.

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) 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) The contraction in line 25 creates a second line of trimeter in this stanza, emphasizing the musicality of the song.

5. What technique is employed in lines 7 and 8, "O listen! for the Vale profound / Is overflowing with the sound"?
(a) Metonymy.
(b) Antanaclasis.
(c) Cacophony.
(d) Hyperbole.

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 technique is used in the line "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

3. The characterization of the woman as a "Highland Lass" indicates that she is a young woman from what area?

4. Who is the author of "The Solitary Reaper"?

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)

This section contains 359 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample