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

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

3. What do all three sentences in the third stanza have in common?
(a) They are all fragments.
(b) They are all periodic sentences.
(c) They are all run-ons.
(d) They are all questions.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. 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"?

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

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

4. In the fourth stanza, when the speaker finally places himself in the scene, what is it clear he is there to do?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. 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.

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

(see the answer keys)

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