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

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

3. Which line uses deliberate redundancy for emphasis?
(a) "I listened, motionless and still" (line 29).
(b) "Stop here, or gently pass" (line 4).
(c) "Behold her, single in the field" (line 1).
(d) "For old, unhappy, far-off things" (line 19).

4. How does line 3, "Reaping and singing by herself," interrupt the poem's dominant metrical pattern?
(a) It begins with a spondee.
(b) It begins with a trochee.
(c) It ends with a spondee.
(d) It ends with a trochee.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What do the metaphors in lines 9-12 and 13-16 have in common?

2. What technique is evident in the poem's opening line, "Behold her, single in the field" (line 1)?

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

4. What technique is evident in the line "Breaking the silence of the seas" (line 15)?

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

(see the answer key)

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