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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. 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.

3. 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) Symbolism.
(c) Simile.
(d) Inversion.

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

5. 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.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is the "sickle" in line 28?

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

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

5. From context, what is is likely meaning of "single" in line 1, "Behold her, single in the field"?

Short Essay Questions

1. To which two birds does the speaker compare the reaper, and what area of the world does the speaker associate with each?

2. In what way do the places associated with the two birds create a dramatic contrast with one another?

3. Describe the rhyme scheme of "The Solitary Reaper."

4. Summarize the action of "The Solitary Reaper."

5. Describe the meter of "The Solitary Reaper."

6. How does the speaker's line 26 description of the reaper singing "As if her song could have no ending" reinforce the meaning of the poem's ending?

7. What are the names of the two forms of poetry that are combined in this poem, and how are they combined?

8. Describe the tense shift in "The Solitary Reaper" and explain what it reveals about the poem's narrative present.

9. What question does the speaker ask in the third stanza, and what two contrasting answers does he speculate about?

10. Explain how the mention of "spring-time" in line 14's description of the cuckoo enhances the contrast between this image and the image of the nightingale.

(see the answer keys)

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