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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) Inversion.
(b) Imagery.
(c) Simile.
(d) Symbolism.

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

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

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

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

6. 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 reclining position.
(c) Tune or song.
(d) A plan or pattern.

7. What technique is evident in the poem's opening line, "Behold her, single in the field" (line 1)?
(a) Allusion.
(b) Apostrophe.
(c) Analogy.
(d) Apology.

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

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

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

11. 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 third.
(d) The second.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. In line 4, "Stop here, or gently pass!" what is the grammatical mood of the words "stop" and "pass"?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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