Storm on the Island Quizzes

Storm on the Island Quiz Storm on the Island

1 Which phrase is an example of alliteration?
"listen to the thing"

"the wizened earth has never"

"can raise a tragic refrain"

"space is a salvo"
2 What do the poem's houses symbolize?
The oppressiveness of education

The talent and artistry of Irish people

The strength of the storm

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

A lion

A cat

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

Furious

Imploring

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

Thoughtful

Brash

Protective
6 What is this poem's meter?
The poem lacks a consistent meter

Dactylic pentameter

Iambic hexameter

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

"blast"

"wizened"

"fear"
8 Which real event may the poem's storm refer to?
The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy

The American invasion of Iraq

The Troubles in Ireland

The 1918 Russian Revolution
9 What best describes the poem's central contradiction or paradox?
The islanders choose to remain on a dangerous island

The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm

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 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 turns the sea into a dangerous force

The storm whips up the sea and scares the fish
11 Which of the following is a motif in this poem?
Tourism

War

Clocks

The theater
12 What does the word "salvo," as used in line 17, refer to?
A type of medicine used for burns

A Catholic ceremony

A discharge of gunfire

A large ceramic bowl
13 What does the word "stooks," as used in line 5, refer to?
A bird of prey

A leather belt

A test taken by Irish schoolchildren

An arrangement of grain
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?
Rhyme

Anaphora

Alliteration

Assonance
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?
"there are no stacks / or stooks"

"We are prepared"

"the empty air, / strange"

"the very windows, / spits like a tame cat"
18 What poetic form does "Storm on the Island" follow?
None

Villanelle

Sonnet

Heroic couplet
19 Which word best describes the island residents?
Stoic

Tasteful

Silly

Creative
20 How many lines are in this poem?
15

19

12

20
21 What is the primary effect of the "K" and "T" sounds in the poem's first lines?
Revealing that the speaker is a young child

Making the islanders' language sound foreign and strange

Showing the speaker's practical, efficient attitude

Mimicking the sound of falling rain
22 The phrase "the wizened earth has never troubled us" is an example of which device?
Personification

Understatement

Simile

Metonymy
23 In which lines does the poem's only use of end-rhyme occur?
11-12

18-19

1-2

14-15
24 Which theme is NOT extensively explored in this poem?
Nature

Community and Solidarity

Science and technology

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

A small sailboat

A military aircraft

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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