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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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.

2. What do all three sentences in the third stanza have in common?
(a) They are all run-ons.
(b) They are all questions.
(c) They are all periodic sentences.
(d) They are all fragments.

3. What is the stanzaic form of "The Solitary Reaper"?
(a) Ottava rima.
(b) Octet.
(c) Ballade.
(d) Octave.

4. What technique is used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?
(a) Imagery.
(b) Simile.
(c) Inversion.
(d) Symbolism.

5. 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) Line 26 has four metrical feet instead of the expected three, creating a feeling of "lingering."
(d) The feminine ending of line 26 emphasizes the idea of something that does not end when it is expected to.

Short Answer Questions

1. In which stanza does the speaker make it clear that this event happened some time in the past?

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

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

4. Besides that the reaper may be singing about some terrible moment in history, what else does the speaker guess she might be singing about?

5. From context, what is is likely meaning of "single" in line 1, "Behold her, single in the field"?

(see the answer key)

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