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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Which stanza could be reasonably called the most positive in tone?
(a) The first.
(b) The fourth.
(c) The third.
(d) The second.

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

4. Which line uses deliberate redundancy for emphasis?
(a) "Behold her, single in the field" (line 1).
(b) "I listened, motionless and still" (line 29).
(c) "Stop here, or gently pass" (line 4).
(d) "For old, unhappy, far-off things" (line 19).

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

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

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

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

9. What technique is employed in lines 7 and 8, "O listen! for the Vale profound / Is overflowing with the sound"?
(a) Hyperbole.
(b) Metonymy.
(c) Cacophony.
(d) Antanaclasis.

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

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

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

13. In the lines "Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow / For old, unhappy, far-off things," what does "plaintive numbers" refer to (lines 18-19)?
(a) Time and history.
(b) The song.
(c) The reaper's personal experience.
(d) The reaper's tears.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

4. Who is the author of "The Solitary Reaper"?

5. What is the meaning of the word "lay" in the line "Or is it some more humble lay" (line 21)?

(see the answer keys)

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