Storm on the Island Quizzes

Storm on the Island Quiz Storm on the Island

1 Which phrase is an example of alliteration?

"space is a salvo"

"can raise a tragic refrain"

"listen to the thing"

"the wizened earth has never"
2 What do the poem's houses symbolize?

The oppressiveness of education

The talent and artistry of Irish people

The culture of the people who live in them

The strength of the storm
3 To which animal does Heaney compare the storm?

A lion

A lizard

A wolf

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

Sarcastic

Furious

Imploring

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

Protective

Comic

Brash

Thoughtful
6 What is this poem's meter?

Dactylic pentameter

The poem lacks a consistent meter

Iambic hexameter

Iambic pentameter
7 Which word from "Storm on the Island" is the clearest instance of onomatpoeia?

"fear"

"salvo"

"wizened"

"blast"
8 Which real event may the poem's storm refer to?

The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy

The Troubles in Ireland

The American invasion of Iraq

The 1918 Russian Revolution
9 What best describes the poem's central contradiction or paradox?

The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm

The islanders choose to remain on a dangerous island

The islanders fear the storm, though it is made of air

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 storm whips up the sea and scares the fish

The storm turns the sea into a dangerous force

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
11 Which of the following is a motif in this poem?

Clocks

The theater

War

Tourism
12 What does the word "salvo," as used in line 17, refer to?

A large ceramic bowl

A type of medicine used for burns

A Catholic ceremony

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

An arrangement of grain

A leather belt

A bird of prey

A test taken by Irish schoolchildren
14 Who is the poem's speaker?

An anthropologist studying the island

A visitor to the island

A child who likes to pretend to live on an island

A resident, or group of residents, on the island
15 The "ai" sounds in the phrase "raise a tragic refrain" create which of the following?

Assonance

Rhyme

Alliteration

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

Rhyme

Enjambment

Onomatopoeia

Hyperbole
17 Which phrase is an example of assonance?

"the empty air, / strange"

"there are no stacks / or stooks"

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

"We are prepared"
18 What poetic form does "Storm on the Island" follow?

Villanelle

Heroic couplet

Sonnet

None
19 Which word best describes the island residents?

Stoic

Creative

Tasteful

Silly
20 How many lines are in this poem?

12

20

19

15
21 What is the primary effect of the "K" and "T" sounds in the poem's first lines?

Making the islanders' language sound foreign and strange

Mimicking the sound of falling rain

Revealing that the speaker is a young child

Showing the speaker's practical, efficient attitude
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

11-12

14-15

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

Fear

Community and Solidarity

Nature

Science and technology
25 What does the word "strafe" implicitly compare the wind to?

A carriage pulled by four horses

A military aircraft

A canoe used in Ireland

A small sailboat

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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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