View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. The characterization of the woman as a "Highland Lass" indicates that she is a young woman from what area?
(a) The Hebrides.
(b) Scotland.
(c) Wales.
(d) Ireland.

3. 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 25 begins with a dactyl, emphasizing the importance of the content of the reaper's song.
(c) Line 26 has four metrical feet instead of the expected three, creating a feeling of "lingering."
(d) The contraction in line 25 creates a second line of trimeter in this stanza, emphasizing the musicality of the song.

4. What technique is used in the line "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?
(a) Paradox.
(b) Contraction.
(c) Litotes.
(d) Verbal irony.

5. What technique is evident in the line "Breaking the silence of the seas" (line 15)?
(a) Sibilance.
(b) Onomatopoeia.
(c) Aphorismus.
(d) Synesthesia.

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

7. Where are "the farthest Hebrides" (line 16)?
(a) Chile.
(b) Russia.
(c) Australia.
(d) Scotland.

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

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

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

11. What reasonable inference can be made about the reaper from line 17, "Will no one tell me what she sings?"?
(a) She is singing in a language the speaker does not understand.
(b) She is singing a song that she has made up herself.
(c) She is singing an old folk song that the speaker does not know the title of.
(d) She is too far away to be heard clearly.

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

13. 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 periodic sentences.
(d) They are all run-ons.

14. 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 narrative poem written in couplets.
(c) Tune or song.
(d) A plan or pattern.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. In the lines "Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow / For old, unhappy, far-off things," what does "plaintive numbers" refer to (lines 18-19)?

2. In the fourth stanza, when the speaker finally places himself in the scene, what is it clear he is there to do?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 643 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample