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 tied sheaf of grain.
(b) A handle used to pull a cart.
(c) A mark dyed into wool to track sheep.
(d) A sharp cutting tool.

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

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

4. 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 out walking.
(b) He is working on a farm.
(c) He is there to confess his love for the woman.
(d) He is delivering supplies.

5. From context, what is is likely meaning of "single" in line 1, "Behold her, single in the field"?
(a) Unmarried.
(b) Alone.
(c) Simple.
(d) Honest.

6. How does line 3, "Reaping and singing by herself," interrupt the poem's dominant metrical pattern?
(a) It ends with a spondee.
(b) It begins with a spondee.
(c) It ends with a trochee.
(d) It begins with a trochee.

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

8. What is the stanzaic form of "The Solitary Reaper"?
(a) Octet.
(b) Octave.
(c) Ballade.
(d) Ottava rima.

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

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

11. 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) Line 25 begins with a dactyl, emphasizing the importance of the content of the reaper's song.
(b) The feminine ending of line 26 emphasizes the idea of something that does not end when it is expected to.
(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.

12. 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) Simile.
(c) Imagery.
(d) Inversion.

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

14. In which stanza does the speaker make it clear that this event happened some time in the past?
(a) The first.
(b) The fourth.
(c) The second.
(d) The third.

15. 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 the reaper to a bird.
(c) The both compare music to a geographical location.
(d) They both compare traveling to a specific time of year.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What do all three sentences in the third stanza have in common?

4. Where in the Highlands is the field where the woman is standing?

5. Which stanza could be reasonably called the most positive in tone?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 623 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample