The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?
Richmond

Harper's Ferry

Washington D.C.

Shenandoah
2 Which of the following phrases contains alliteration?
"Slowly swaying"

"The meteor of war"

"The shadow on your green"

"Hidden in the cap"
3 What word best describes the tone of the poem?
Eerie

Serene

Tragic

Gleeful
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?
Twelve

Two

Seven

Four
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?
"His soul goes marching on!"

"Shenandoah!"

"The meteor of war!"

"Weird John Brown!"
6 When does the poem take place?
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

During John Brown's execution
7 What was John Brown fighting to end?
The Civil War

The Fugitive Slave Act

Commercial whaling

Slavery
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 enduring (and predictive) legacy of John Brown

The military tactics of Robert E. Lee

The life and work of Frederick Douglass

The radical violence of John Brown's actions
10 What was Brown's most notable physical feature?
His long beard

The scar on his left cheek

His shaved head

His missing thumb
11 What type of stanzas are the poems made up of?
Couplets

Octaves

Sestets

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

"So your future veils its face,"

"Gaunt the shadow on your green,"

"The cut is on the crown"
13 What is the poem's final image?
A cloud of rifle smoke

The grass of the Shenandoah Valley

A meteor

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?
Pottowatomie Creek

Lawrence

Quebec

Harper's Ferry
16 The phrase "the meteor of war" is an example of which of the following?
Assonance

Hyperbole

Metonymy

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

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Fugitive Slave Act

The caning of Charles Sumner
18 What best describes the mood of the poem?
Eulogizing and grim

Alarmed and afraid

Subdued and optimistic

Pensive and worried
19 Which of the following does NOT describe a structural similarity between the two stanzas?
A description of Harper's Ferry in the first line

The mention of John Brown in the sixth line

The number of lines

The mention of Shenandoah in the fourth line
20 Which of the following is a theme the poem explores?
The law

Civic duty

Religion

Urban living
21 Which of the following was John Brown's mocking nickname?
Strange John Brown

Wrathful John Brown

Old John Brown

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

Abolition

The Union

Communism
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?
Preston Brooks

Frederick Douglass

Charles Sumner

Ralph Waldo Emerson
24 What does the phrase "anguish none can draw" refer to?
John Brown's physical pain

John Brown's pain over not ending slavery

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown

The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War
25 Why does the line "Shenandoah!" fall in the middle of both stanzas?
Because it refers to Shenandoah, Kansas

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

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

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