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"

"space is a salvo"

"can raise a tragic refrain"

"the wizened earth has never"
2 What do the poem's houses symbolize?
The culture of the people who live in them

The strength of the storm

The oppressiveness of education

The talent and artistry of Irish people
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

Sarcastic

Imploring

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

Brash

Comic

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

Dactylic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

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

"wizened"

"salvo"

"blast"
8 Which real event may the poem's storm refer to?
The Troubles in Ireland

The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy

The 1918 Russian Revolution

The American invasion of Iraq
9 What best describes the poem's central contradiction or paradox?
The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm

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

The islanders choose to remain on a dangerous island

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

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

Tourism

Clocks

War
12 What does the word "salvo," as used in line 17, refer to?
A discharge of gunfire

A Catholic ceremony

A large ceramic bowl

A type of medicine used for burns
13 What does the word "stooks," as used in line 5, refer to?
An arrangement of grain

A test taken by Irish schoolchildren

A bird of prey

A leather belt
14 Who is the poem's speaker?
A visitor to the island

A resident, or group of residents, on the island

An anthropologist studying the island

A child who likes to pretend to live on an island
15 The "ai" sounds in the phrase "raise a tragic refrain" create which of the following?
Assonance

Anaphora

Alliteration

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

Onomatopoeia

Rhyme

Hyperbole
17 Which phrase is an example of assonance?
"there are no stacks / or stooks"

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

"We are prepared"

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

None

Sonnet

Villanelle
19 Which word best describes the island residents?
Creative

Tasteful

Stoic

Silly
20 How many lines are in this poem?
19

15

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

Mimicking the sound of falling rain

Showing the speaker's practical, efficient attitude

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

Personification

Metonymy

Understatement
23 In which lines does the poem's only use of end-rhyme occur?
14-15

11-12

18-19

1-2
24 Which theme is NOT extensively explored in this poem?
Science and technology

Nature

Fear

Community and Solidarity
25 What does the word "strafe" implicitly compare the wind to?
A military aircraft

A small sailboat

A canoe used in Ireland

A carriage pulled by four horses

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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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