The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?

Harper's Ferry

Richmond

Shenandoah

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

"Hidden in the cap"

"The meteor of war"

"The shadow on your green"

"Slowly swaying"
3 What word best describes the tone of the poem?

Tragic

Eerie

Gleeful

Serene
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?

Four

Two

Seven

Twelve
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?

"Shenandoah!"

"His soul goes marching on!"

"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 execution

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

The Civil War

Commercial whaling

The Fugitive Slave Act

Slavery
8 What are meteors associated with?

The cruelty of slavery

The cost of warfare

The foretelling of the future

The alignment of the solar system
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 missing thumb

His long beard

His shaved head

The scar on his left cheek
11 What type of stanzas are the poems made up of?

Couplets

Septet

Octaves

Sestets
12 Which of the follow lines contains personification?

"Gaunt the shadow on your green,"

"(Weird John Brown),"

"The cut is on the crown"

"So your future veils its face,"
13 What is the poem's final image?

The grass of the Shenandoah Valley

A meteor

A cloud of rifle smoke

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

The Revolutionary War

The Civil War

The Vietnam War

The War of 1812
15 Where was John Brown captured?

Lawrence

Pottowatomie Creek

Harper's Ferry

Quebec
16 The phrase "the meteor of war" is an example of which of the following?

Metonymy

Hyperbole

Assonance

Metaphor
17 Which of the following historical events did NOT impact John Brown?

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Fugitive Slave Act

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

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?

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

The number of lines
20 Which of the following is a theme the poem explores?

The law

Urban living

Religion

Civic duty
21 Which of the following was John Brown's mocking nickname?

Old John Brown

Weird John Brown

Wrathful John Brown

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

Abolition

Federalism

Communism

The Union
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?

Frederick Douglass

Preston Brooks

Charles Sumner

Ralph Waldo Emerson
24 What does the phrase "anguish none can draw" refer to?

The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War

John Brown's physical pain

John Brown's pain over not ending slavery

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown
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.

Read the Study Guide for The Portent…

The Portent

by Herman Melville

The Portent Quiz

The Portent Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Portent

Lesson Plan for The Portent