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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. In line 4, "Stop here, or gently pass!" what is the grammatical mood of the words "stop" and "pass"?
(a) Subjunctive.
(b) Indicative.
(c) Interrogative.
(d) Imperative.

2. 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."

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

4. 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) Symbolism.
(c) Simile.
(d) Imagery.

5. What is the meaning of the word "lay" in the line "Or is it some more humble lay" (line 21)?
(a) Tune or song.
(b) A plan or pattern.
(c) A reclining position.
(d) A narrative poem written in couplets.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What technique is employed in lines 7 and 8, "O listen! for the Vale profound / Is overflowing with the sound"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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. Describe the meter of "The Solitary Reaper."

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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