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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is the meaning of the word "Yon" in line 2, "Yon solitary Highland Lass"?

3. What is the meaning of the word "lay" in the line "Or is it some more humble lay" (line 21)?

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

5. Which line uses deliberate redundancy for emphasis?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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. Summarize the action of "The Solitary Reaper."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you respond analytically to the following question: why is the reaper's song so sad? Be sure to support your claims with textual evidence.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the portrayal of the feminine in "The Solitary Reaper." Defend your assertions with textual evidence.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze the symbolic value of the nightingale in Wordsworth's poem. Be sure to research how this bird is traditionally used in Western literature, and support your assertions with evidence from the text and from your research. Cite all sources in MLA format.

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