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"

"can raise a tragic refrain"

"listen to the thing"
2 What do the poem's houses symbolize?
The strength of the storm

The talent and artistry of Irish people

The oppressiveness of education

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

A lizard

A lion

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

Confident

Furious

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

Brash

Protective

Comic
6 What is this poem's meter?
Iambic pentameter

Dactylic pentameter

The poem lacks a consistent meter

Iambic hexameter
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 Troubles in Ireland

The 1918 Russian Revolution

The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy

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

The islanders build low houses, even though they flood with every storm

The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm

The islanders choose to remain on a dangerous island
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 storm turns the sea into a dangerous force

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

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

Tourism

The theater

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

A large ceramic bowl

A type of medicine used for burns

A Catholic ceremony
13 What does the word "stooks," as used in line 5, refer to?
A test taken by Irish schoolchildren

A leather belt

A bird of prey

An arrangement of grain
14 Who is the poem's speaker?
A resident, or group of residents, on the island

An anthropologist studying the island

A visitor to 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

Rhyme

Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia
17 Which phrase is an example of assonance?
"the very windows, / spits like a tame cat"

"We are prepared"

"the empty air, / strange"

"there are no stacks / or stooks"
18 What poetic form does "Storm on the Island" follow?
Villanelle

Heroic couplet

None

Sonnet
19 Which word best describes the island residents?
Stoic

Creative

Tasteful

Silly
20 How many lines are in this poem?
20

15

19

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

Making the islanders' language sound foreign and strange

Revealing that the speaker is a young child

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

Simile

Personification

Metonymy
23 In which lines does the poem's only use of end-rhyme occur?
18-19

1-2

14-15

11-12
24 Which theme is NOT extensively explored in this poem?
Nature

Fear

Community and Solidarity

Science and technology
25 What does the word "strafe" implicitly compare the wind to?
A canoe used in Ireland

A military aircraft

A small sailboat

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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