Barn Owl Quizzes

Barn Owl Quiz

1 In what year was the poem published?

1980

1969

1970

1965
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)

"A horny fiend, I crept" (line 3)

"to his place on a high beam" (line 11)
3 Which of the following best describes the rhyme scheme of the poem?

ABABCC

ABBABB

ABCABC

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

Waking up early before her parents

The gun

The barn

The owl
5 Who is the "old no-sayer, robber of power / by sleep" in lines 7-8?

The speaker

The speaker's father

The owl

The speaker's mother
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?

Personification

Simile

Metaphor

Antonym
7 Which adjective best describes the speaker's tone in stanza 1?

Straightforward and intellectual

Somber but hopeful

Excited and condescending

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

Excited and condescending

Somber but hopeful

Straightforward and intellectual

Horrified and remorseful
9 Which of the owl's features is NOT mentioned by the speaker?

Its tail

Its bowels

Its eyes

Its wings
10 How many times does the speaker shoot the owl?

Three times

Once

Many times

Twice
11 From what point of view and tense is "Barn Owl" told?

Third-person limited, past tense

First-person, past tense

Third-person limited, present tense

First-person, present tense
12 Which of the following is NOT a phrase that the speaker uses to describe herself in the poem?

"master of life and death"

"a lonely child"

"a child / obedient, angel-mind-"

"a horny fiend"
13 Which stanza contains the poem's climax?

Stanza Five

Stanza One

Stanza Four

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

Australian

British

American

Canadian
15 Which of the following is an example of caesura?

Let him dream of a child

child who believed death clean

My father reached my side,

My first shot struck. He swayed,
16 Before shooting the owl, what did the speaker believe about death?

That it only applied to humans

That is was messy and obscene

That it was clean and final

She had never heard of death
17 What is the title of the companion poem to "Barn Owl" in the diptych "Father and Child"?

"Quadrant"

"A Child's Rebellion"

"Nightfall"

"The Fallen Gun"
18 Which of the following is an example of slant rhyme in the poem?

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

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

"Let him dream of a child / obedient, angel-mind-"

"gave me the fallen gun. / 'End what you have begun.'"
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 objects that the speaker is carrying

The urine-scented hay

The fallen gun

The injured owl
21 Which of the following best describes the structure of each stanza?

A couplet

Free-form

A quartet

A sestet
22 Which of the following is NOT an example of alliteration?

"dropped, / and dribbled"

"home at this hour"

"My first shot struck. He swayed,"

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

A beam

Loose straw on the floor

Hay on the floor

A red door
24 Which of the following is an example of religious subtext in the poem?

"dribbled through the loose straw"

"those eyes that did not see"

"blessed by the sun"

"gave me the fallen gun."
25 Which of the following is NOT a symbol in the poem?

Vision

The owl

Nightfall

Sunlight

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.

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Barn Owl

by Gwen Harwood

Barn Owl Quiz

Barn Owl Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Barn Owl

Lesson Plan for Barn Owl