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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In lines 2-3, "in his riding/ Of the rolling level underneath him steady air," which word tells what the bird is "riding"?
(a) "Rolling."
(b) "Him."
(c) "Level."
(d) "Air."

2. What does line 10 say "Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume" do "here" (line 9)?
(a) Break.
(b) Buckle.
(c) Stir.
(d) Soar.

3. What would it mean to have "Rebuffed the big wind" (line 7)?
(a) To have brushed against its force and been knocked back.
(b) To have abruptly and rudely responded to it.
(c) To have used rapid movements to shine or polish it.
(d) To have stood up to and turned away its advance.

4. Between which lines does the poem use "light rhyme"?
(a) A and B.
(b) B and C.
(c) B and D.
(d) A and C.

5. In line 5, what does the speaker claim the bird is feeling?
(a) Awe.
(b) Anticipation.
(c) Pride.
(d) Ecstasy.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which word is enjambed at the end of line 1 and the beginning of line 2?

2. In lines 5 and 6, what is the bird's motion compared to?

3. What does the word "wimpling" literally mean in the context of line 4?

4. To whom is the poem dedicated?

5. What type of rhyme is seen in the poem's "A" lines?

Short Essay Questions

1. What Christian paradox is expressed when the speaker refers to the bird as both a "minion" and a "dauphin" (lines 1-2)?

2. What makes a creature like the windhover an appropriate symbol for Christ?

3. What is a "windhover," and what characteristic of its flight is focused on in this poem?

4. Describe the relationship of the content in the poem's final six lines to the content in lines 1-8.

5. What are the literal and figurative meanings of the poem's references to a "dauphin" and a "chevalier"?

6. What is the relationship of the expression "in his riding/ Of the rolling level underneath him steady air" (lines 2-3) to the later reference to "the rein of a wimpling wing" (line 4)?

7. In "The Windhover," who is speaking, and what moves him to speak?

8. What is the meaning of the simile contained in lines 6 and 7: " As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding/ Rebuffed the big wind"?

9. Describe the poetic form of "The Windhover."

10. How do the images in the last three lines support the idea that there is "no wonder" in the kestrel's fight (line 9)?

(see the answer keys)

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