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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 technique is used in phrases like "the Vale profound" (line 7) and "A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard" (line 13)?

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

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

5. What is subtly appropriate about the meter in lines 25 and 26, "Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang / As if her song could have no ending"?

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. Summarize the action of "The Solitary Reaper."

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

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 rhyme scheme of "The Solitary Reaper."

6. 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.

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write an essay in which you analyze how linebreak is used to support meaning in "The Solitary Reaper." Support your ideas 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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