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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. Where in the Highlands is the field where the woman is standing?

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

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

4. What do all three sentences in the third stanza have in common?

5. What technique is evident in the poem's opening line, "Behold her, single in the field" (line 1)?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. 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?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about how the rhyme scheme of "The Solitary Reaper" supports the poem's meaning. Use quoted textual evidence to defend your assertions.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about mood in "The Solitary Reaper." Defend your ideas with textual evidence.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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