The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?
Richmond

Shenandoah

Harper's Ferry

Washington D.C.
2 Which of the following phrases contains alliteration?
"Slowly swaying"

"Hidden in the cap"

"The shadow on your green"

"The meteor of war"
3 What word best describes the tone of the poem?
Eerie

Tragic

Serene

Gleeful
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?
Twelve

Four

Seven

Two
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?
"Weird John Brown!"

"The meteor of war!"

"His soul goes marching on!"

"Shenandoah!"
6 When does the poem take place?
During John Brown's execution

During Robert E. Lee's capture of John Brown

During Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation

During John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
7 What was John Brown fighting to end?
Slavery

The Fugitive Slave Act

Commercial whaling

The Civil War
8 What are meteors associated with?
The alignment of the solar system

The cost of warfare

The cruelty of slavery

The foretelling of the future
9 What is the poem's central theme?
The radical violence of John Brown's actions

The life and work of Frederick Douglass

The enduring (and predictive) legacy of John Brown

The military tactics of Robert E. Lee
10 What was Brown's most notable physical feature?
The scar on his left cheek

His shaved head

His missing thumb

His long beard
11 What type of stanzas are the poems made up of?
Sestets

Septet

Octaves

Couplets
12 Which of the follow lines contains personification?
"(Weird John Brown),"

"The cut is on the crown"

"So your future veils its face,"

"Gaunt the shadow on your green,"
13 What is the poem's final image?
A meteor

The grass of the Shenandoah Valley

A cloud of rifle smoke

A confederate soldier
14 What war was Brown's rebellion and death a "portent" of?
The Revolutionary War

The War of 1812

The Civil War

The Vietnam War
15 Where was John Brown captured?
Lawrence

Harper's Ferry

Quebec

Pottowatomie Creek
16 The phrase "the meteor of war" is an example of which of the following?
Hyperbole

Assonance

Metaphor

Metonymy
17 Which of the following historical events did NOT impact John Brown?
The Kansas-Nebraska Act

The caning of Charles Sumner

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Fugitive Slave Act
18 What best describes the mood of the poem?
Pensive and worried

Eulogizing and grim

Alarmed and afraid

Subdued and optimistic
19 Which of the following does NOT describe a structural similarity between the two stanzas?
The number of lines

The mention of Shenandoah in the fourth line

The mention of John Brown in the sixth line

A description of Harper's Ferry in the first line
20 Which of the following is a theme the poem explores?
Urban living

Civic duty

Religion

The law
21 Which of the following was John Brown's mocking nickname?
Wrathful John Brown

Old John Brown

Weird John Brown

Strange John Brown
22 What was the name of John Brown's cause?
Federalism

The Union

Abolition

Communism
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preston Brooks

Charles Sumner

Frederick Douglass
24 What does the phrase "anguish none can draw" refer to?
John Brown's physical pain

The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown

John Brown's pain over not ending slavery
25 Why does the line "Shenandoah!" fall in the middle of both stanzas?
Because it refers to Shenandoah, Kansas

Because it refers to the dividing line between the North and South that determined slavery's legality

Because the Shenandoah Valley is exactly even on both sides

Because Shenandoah is a town located exactly in the middle of the U.S.

Study Guide for The Portent

The Portent study guide contains a biography of Herman Melville, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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The Portent

by Herman Melville

The Portent Quiz

The Portent Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Portent

Lesson Plan for The Portent