Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) Quizzes

Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) Quiz

1 What birds are mentioned at the poem's beginning and end?
Blue Jays

Starlings

Sparrows

Swallows
2 What word best describes the poem's tone?
Enraged

Comedic

Nostalgic

Elegiac
3 What religious imagery appears in the poem?
A painted icon

A wooden cross

Stained glass

A small church built from logs
4 What does the speaker say about the soldiers' personalities?
Being badly wounded has briefly divested them of their differences

They are silent and unmoving

They cling to their beliefs fiercely, even in the face of death

They verbally express hopeful camaraderie to one another
5 Where do the events of the poem take place?
In a tactical meeting

In the middle of a gunfight

In a battlefield hospital

In a field in the aftermath of a battle
6 What does the image of the bullet represent?
The rupture of the soldiers' regional alliances

The soldiers' faith in politicians

The soldiers' grim determination to win

The soldiers' focus on tactical prowess
7 What is the poem's title referencing?
A whaling ship

A battle during the Civil War

A town in Massachusetts

The signing of the Declaration of Independence
8 What does the line "Fame or country least their care" describe?
The newfound understanding between the dying soldiers

Flying swallows

The signing of a treaty

Soldiers returning home
9 What is the poem's main thematic thread?
A historical reckoning with slavery

Southern aristocratic values

The history of a navy yard

The aftermath of war
10 Which of the following is NOT an image in the poem?
April rain

Swallows

A church

Bayonets
11 What is Shiloh's historical reputation?
A bitter stalement

A key victory for the Union

A Union surrender

A rallying cry for the Confederacy
12 Which of the following describes a character in the poem?
Anonymous soldiers

Robert E. Lee

Ulysses S. Grant

Battlefield medics
13 Which of the following is NOT a conflict in the poem?
A soldier's suppression of commonalities

The struggle of growing up

The collapse of a soldier's individual identity

The senseless carnage of war
14 Which of these lines contains assonance?
"Through the pause of night"

"Solaced the parched ones stretched in pain"

"The forest-field of Shiloh-"

"The swallows fly low"
15 Which of these lines contains a reference to religion?
"Over the field in clouded days,"

"(What like a bullet can undeceive!)"

"The church so lone, the log built one,"

"While over them the swallows skim,"
16 Which adjectives describe the swallows?
Graceful and light

Fearful and shaky

Dangerous and violent

Stealthy and fast
17 What is the rhyme scheme of lines 4-8?
There isn't one

ABAC

ABAB

AABB
18 What describes the mood of the weather in them poem?
Rainy and somber

Freezing and harsh

Snowy and peaceful

Sunny and happy
19 What image bookends the poem?
Swallows

Rain clouds

A church

A graveyard
20 What does "hushed" mean in the context of the poem?
It refers to the exit movement of an army from a town.

It refers the migration pattern of swallows.

It refers to the silence in a church service.

It refers to the passing of the wounded soldiers and the resulting silence.
21 How many stanzas does the poem have?
8

4

2

7
22 Which of the following elements are at work in the poem?
Metonymy

Assonance

Rhyme

All three
23 Which of the following words is an example of onomatopoeia
Hushed

Prayer

Skim

Rain
24 What does the phrase "parting groan" most likely mean?
Dying gasp

Grumbled goodbye

Annoyed message

Bitter send off
25 What is the antagonizing force in the poem?
Famine

Taxes

War

Prejudice

Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Shiloh (Herman Melville poem)

Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) study guide contains a biography of Herman Melville, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Shiloh (Herman Melville poem)…