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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the author of "The Solitary Reaper"?
(a) William Wordsworth.
(b) John Keats.
(c) William Blake.
(d) Percy Shelley.

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

3. In line 4, "Stop here, or gently pass!" what is the grammatical mood of the words "stop" and "pass"?
(a) Indicative.
(b) Imperative.
(c) Interrogative.
(d) Subjunctive.

4. 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 feminine ending of line 26 emphasizes the idea of something that does not end when it is expected to.
(b) Line 26 has four metrical feet instead of the expected three, creating a feeling of "lingering."
(c) Line 25 begins with a dactyl, emphasizing the importance of the content of the reaper's song.
(d) The contraction in line 25 creates a second line of trimeter in this stanza, emphasizing the musicality of the song.

5. In the second stanza, to whom is the nightingale depicted singing?
(a) Travelers.
(b) The speaker.
(c) Shepherds.
(d) The reaper.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What technique is used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

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

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

(see the answer key)

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