View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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) Line 25 begins with a dactyl, emphasizing the importance of the content of the reaper's song.
(b) The contraction in line 25 creates a second line of trimeter in this stanza, emphasizing the musicality of the 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. What is the young woman doing in the field?
(a) Harvesting a grain crop.
(b) Watching the speaker from the hillside.
(c) Pushing a cart down a path.
(d) Watching over grazing sheep.

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

5. Which stanza could be reasonably called the most positive in tone?
(a) The fourth.
(b) The first.
(c) The third.
(d) The second.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which line uses deliberate redundancy for emphasis?

2. In the lines "Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow / For old, unhappy, far-off things," what does "plaintive numbers" refer to (lines 18-19)?

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

4. Where in the Highlands is the field where the woman is standing?

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

(see the answer key)

This section contains 312 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample