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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. 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 contraction in line 25 creates a second line of trimeter in this stanza, emphasizing the musicality of the song.
(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 feminine ending of line 26 emphasizes the idea of something that does not end when it is expected to.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Which is the best interpretation of line 6's reference to "a melancholy strain"?

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

3. In which stanza does the speaker make it clear that this event happened some time in the past?

4. Where in the Highlands is the field where the woman is standing?

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

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

3. 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.

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

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

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

7. 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?

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

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

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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