Storm on the Island Quizzes

Storm on the Island Quiz Storm on the Island

1 Which phrase is an example of alliteration?
"can raise a tragic refrain"

"space is a salvo"

"listen to the thing"

"the wizened earth has never"
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 cat

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

Furious

Confident

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

Protective

Thoughtful

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

The poem lacks a consistent meter

Dactylic pentameter

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

"fear"

"salvo"

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

The storm whips up the sea and scares the fish

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

The theater

Tourism

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

A type of medicine used for burns

A large ceramic bowl

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

A leather belt

An arrangement of grain

A test taken by Irish schoolchildren
14 Who is the poem's speaker?
An anthropologist studying the island

A resident, or group of residents, on the island

A child who likes to pretend to live on an island

A visitor to the island
15 The "ai" sounds in the phrase "raise a tragic refrain" create which of the following?
Alliteration

Rhyme

Assonance

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

Onomatopoeia

Hyperbole

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

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

"there are no stacks / or stooks"

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

None

Villanelle

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

Stoic

Tasteful

Silly
20 How many lines are in this poem?
19

12

20

15
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

Making the islanders' language sound foreign and strange

Showing the speaker's practical, efficient attitude
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?
18-19

14-15

11-12

1-2
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 military aircraft

A canoe used in Ireland

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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