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

2. In the fourth stanza, when the speaker finally places himself in the scene, what is it clear he is there to do?
(a) He is there to confess his love for the woman.
(b) He is delivering supplies.
(c) He is out walking.
(d) He is working on a farm.

3. What is the young woman doing in the field?
(a) Harvesting a grain crop.
(b) Pushing a cart down a path.
(c) Watching the speaker from the hillside.
(d) Watching over grazing sheep.

4. 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).

5. What do the metaphors in lines 9-12 and 13-16 have in common?
(a) They both compare the speaker to a traveler.
(b) They both compare traveling to a specific time of year.
(c) They both compare the reaper to a bird.
(d) The both compare music to a geographical location.

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is used in the line "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

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?

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

4. How does line 3, "Reaping and singing by herself," interrupt the poem's dominant metrical pattern?

5. Which is the best interpretation of line 6's reference to "a melancholy strain"?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 321 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample