Barn Owl Quizzes

Barn Owl Quiz

1 In what year was the poem published?
1980

1965

1970

1969
2 Which of the following is an example of a metaphor used in the poem?
"the wrecked thing that could / not bear the light nor hide" (lines 37-38)

"I am the owl" (line 8)

"to his place on a high beam" (line 11)

"A horny fiend, I crept" (line 3)
3 Which of the following best describes the rhyme scheme of the poem?
ABCABC

ABBABB

ABABCC

AABBCC
4 What is the speaker's "prize" in line 8?
The owl

Waking up early before her parents

The barn

The gun
5 Who is the "old no-sayer, robber of power / by sleep" in lines 7-8?
The speaker's father

The speaker

The speaker's mother

The owl
6 As used in lines 17-18, "a wisp-haired judge whose law / would punish beak and claw" is an example of which literary device?
Antonym

Metaphor

Personification

Simile
7 Which adjective best describes the speaker's tone in stanza 1?
Somber but hopeful

Straightforward and intellectual

Excited and condescending

Horrified and remorseful
8 Which adjective best describes the speaker's tone in stanzas 5 and 6?
Excited and condescending

Straightforward and intellectual

Horrified and remorseful

Somber but hopeful
9 Which of the owl's features is NOT mentioned by the speaker?
Its eyes

Its wings

Its tail

Its bowels
10 How many times does the speaker shoot the owl?
Three times

Many times

Once

Twice
11 From what point of view and tense is "Barn Owl" told?
First-person, past tense

First-person, present tense

Third-person limited, past tense

Third-person limited, present tense
12 Which of the following is NOT a phrase that the speaker uses to describe herself in the poem?
"a child / obedient, angel-mind-"

"a horny fiend"

"master of life and death"

"a lonely child"
13 Which stanza contains the poem's climax?
Stanza Two

Stanza Four

Stanza Five

Stanza One
14 Gwen Harwood is a(n) ____ poet.
Australian

American

British

Canadian
15 Which of the following is an example of caesura?
child who believed death clean

My father reached my side,

Let him dream of a child

My first shot struck. He swayed,
16 Before shooting the owl, what did the speaker believe about death?
That it was clean and final

That is was messy and obscene

She had never heard of death

That it only applied to humans
17 What is the title of the companion poem to "Barn Owl" in the diptych "Father and Child"?
"The Fallen Gun"

"Quadrant"

"Nightfall"

"A Child's Rebellion"
18 Which of the following is an example of slant rhyme in the poem?
"gave me the fallen gun. / 'End what you have begun.'"

"a wisp-haired judge whose law / would punish beak and claw"

"to his place on a high beam / in our old stables, to dream"

"Let him dream of a child / obedient, angel-mind-"
19 When does the poem take place?
In early morning

At dusk

At night

In the afternoon
20 In line 25, "bundle of stuff" best means
The urine-scented hay

The injured owl

The fallen gun

The objects that the speaker is carrying
21 Which of the following best describes the structure of each stanza?
A couplet

A sestet

Free-form

A quartet
22 Which of the following is NOT an example of alliteration?
"home at this hour"

"My first shot struck. He swayed,"

"dropped, / and dribbled"

"Let him dream of a child"
23 Which of the following is NOT a feature of the barn as stated in the poem?
Loose straw on the floor

A beam

Hay on the floor

A red door
24 Which of the following is an example of religious subtext in the poem?
"those eyes that did not see"

"blessed by the sun"

"gave me the fallen gun."

"dribbled through the loose straw"
25 Which of the following is NOT a symbol in the poem?
Nightfall

Sunlight

The owl

Vision

Study Guide for Barn Owl

Barn Owl study guide contains a biography of Gwen Harwood, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Barn Owl…

Barn Owl

by Gwen Harwood

Barn Owl Quiz

Barn Owl Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Barn Owl

Lesson Plan for Barn Owl