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

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) Simile.
(d) Inversion.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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) 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.

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

13. 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) Modern political events.
(c) Love and romance.
(d) Ordinary, everyday troubles.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What technique is used in the line "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

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

4. What is the young woman doing in the field?

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

(see the answer keys)

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