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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 technique is used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?
(a) Symbolism.
(b) Imagery.
(c) Inversion.
(d) Simile.

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

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

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

5. 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 out walking.
(c) He is working on a farm.
(d) He is delivering supplies.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What technique is employed in lines 7 and 8, "O listen! for the Vale profound / Is overflowing with the sound"?

3. Besides that the reaper may be singing about some terrible moment in history, what else does the speaker guess she might be singing about?

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

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

(see the answer key)

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