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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 used in the line "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

2. What is the "sickle" in line 28?

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

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. 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?

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

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

7. 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.

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. 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 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 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 make and defend a claim about the cultural perspective revealed by the images of the birds in the second stanza. Be sure to support your ideas with textual evidence.

(see the answer keys)

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