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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. In the second stanza, to whom is the nightingale depicted singing?

2. Which line uses deliberate redundancy for emphasis?

3. Besides that the reaper may be singing about some terrible moment in history, what else does the speaker guess she might be singing about?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. 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.

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

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

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that analyzes the multiple functions performed by the apostrophe to the reader in the poem's first stanza. Support your ideas with textual evidence.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you evaluate how characteristic the language of "The Solitary Reaper" is as an example of Wordsworth's style. Research the elements of style considered typical of Wordsworth's writing and use evidence from this research as well as quoted evidence from the poem itself to support your ideas. Cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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