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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) Ireland.
(b) Wales.
(c) Scotland.
(d) The Hebrides.

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

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

4. What is the meaning of the word "Yon" in line 2, "Yon solitary Highland Lass"?
(a) You.
(b) Over there, that one.
(c) My.
(d) Nearby, this one.

5. What is the "sickle" in line 28?
(a) A sharp cutting tool.
(b) A mark dyed into wool to track sheep.
(c) A handle used to pull a cart.
(d) A tied sheaf of grain.

Short Answer Questions

1. What reasonable inference can be made about the reaper from line 17, "Will no one tell me what she sings?"?

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

3. What is the stanzaic form of "The Solitary Reaper"?

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

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"?

(see the answer key)

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