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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 reasonable inference can be made about the reaper from line 17, "Will no one tell me what she sings?"?
(a) She is singing an old folk song that the speaker does not know the title of.
(b) She is singing a song that she has made up herself.
(c) She is too far away to be heard clearly.
(d) She is singing in a language the speaker does not understand.

2. What technique is used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?
(a) Simile.
(b) Symbolism.
(c) Imagery.
(d) Inversion.

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Where are "the farthest Hebrides" (line 16)?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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