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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The characterization of the woman as a "Highland Lass" indicates that she is a young woman from what area?
(a) Scotland.
(b) Ireland.
(c) The Hebrides.
(d) Wales.

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

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

4. What reasonable inference can be made about the reaper from line 17, "Will no one tell me what she sings?"?
(a) She is singing an old folk song that the speaker does not know the title of.
(b) She is too far away to be heard clearly.
(c) She is singing in a language the speaker does not understand.
(d) She is singing a song that she has made up herself.

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) Time and history.
(b) The song.
(c) The reaper's personal experience.
(d) The reaper's tears.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the meaning of the word "Yon" in line 2, "Yon solitary Highland Lass"?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer key)

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