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

2. 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.

3. What technique is used in the line "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?
(a) Litotes.
(b) Paradox.
(c) Contraction.
(d) Verbal irony.

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

5. 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) Symbolism.
(d) Simile.

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

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

4. What reasonable inference can be made about the reaper from line 17, "Will no one tell me what she sings?"?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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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