Storm on the Island Quizzes

Storm on the Island Quiz Storm on the Island

1 Which phrase is an example of alliteration?
"the wizened earth has never"

"space is a salvo"

"listen to the thing"

"can raise a tragic refrain"
2 What do the poem's houses symbolize?
The strength of the storm

The oppressiveness of education

The talent and artistry of Irish people

The culture of the people who live in them
3 To which animal does Heaney compare the storm?
A wolf

A lizard

A cat

A lion
4 Which best describes the speaker's tone at the beginning of the poem?
Confident

Imploring

Furious

Sarcastic
5 Which best describes the speaker's tone at the end of the poem?
Thoughtful

Brash

Comic

Protective
6 What is this poem's meter?
Iambic hexameter

Iambic pentameter

Dactylic pentameter

The poem lacks a consistent meter
7 Which word from "Storm on the Island" is the clearest instance of onomatpoeia?
"salvo"

"fear"

"blast"

"wizened"
8 Which real event may the poem's storm refer to?
The American invasion of Iraq

The Troubles in Ireland

The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy

The 1918 Russian Revolution
9 What best describes the poem's central contradiction or paradox?
The islanders fear the storm, though it is made of air

The islanders choose to remain on a dangerous island

The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm

The islanders build low houses, even though they flood with every storm
10 What does the speaker articulate about the relationship between the sea and the storm?
The sea is a frightening place to be in the storm, more so than on land

The sea helps slow the storm's winds as they approach the island

The storm whips up the sea and scares the fish

The storm turns the sea into a dangerous force
11 Which of the following is a motif in this poem?
Tourism

Clocks

War

The theater
12 What does the word "salvo," as used in line 17, refer to?
A Catholic ceremony

A large ceramic bowl

A type of medicine used for burns

A discharge of gunfire
13 What does the word "stooks," as used in line 5, refer to?
A leather belt

An arrangement of grain

A test taken by Irish schoolchildren

A bird of prey
14 Who is the poem's speaker?
A resident, or group of residents, on the island

A visitor to the island

A child who likes to pretend to live on an island

An anthropologist studying the island
15 The "ai" sounds in the phrase "raise a tragic refrain" create which of the following?
Anaphora

Alliteration

Rhyme

Assonance
16 The phrase "spits like a tamed cat / Turned savage" makes use of:
Enjambment

Hyperbole

Rhyme

Onomatopoeia
17 Which phrase is an example of assonance?
"We are prepared"

"there are no stacks / or stooks"

"the very windows, / spits like a tame cat"

"the empty air, / strange"
18 What poetic form does "Storm on the Island" follow?
Heroic couplet

Sonnet

Villanelle

None
19 Which word best describes the island residents?
Stoic

Tasteful

Creative

Silly
20 How many lines are in this poem?
19

20

15

12
21 What is the primary effect of the "K" and "T" sounds in the poem's first lines?
Showing the speaker's practical, efficient attitude

Revealing that the speaker is a young child

Mimicking the sound of falling rain

Making the islanders' language sound foreign and strange
22 The phrase "the wizened earth has never troubled us" is an example of which device?
Simile

Understatement

Personification

Metonymy
23 In which lines does the poem's only use of end-rhyme occur?
1-2

14-15

11-12

18-19
24 Which theme is NOT extensively explored in this poem?
Science and technology

Fear

Nature

Community and Solidarity
25 What does the word "strafe" implicitly compare the wind to?
A carriage pulled by four horses

A military aircraft

A small sailboat

A canoe used in Ireland

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Storm on the Island study guide contains a biography of Seamus Heaney, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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