The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?
Richmond

Washington D.C.

Shenandoah

Harper's Ferry
2 Which of the following phrases contains alliteration?
"The meteor of war"

"Hidden in the cap"

"The shadow on your green"

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

Eerie

Tragic

Gleeful
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?
Four

Two

Seven

Twelve
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?
"The meteor of war!"

"Weird John Brown!"

"Shenandoah!"

"His soul goes marching on!"
6 When does the poem take place?
During John Brown's execution

During John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry

During Robert E. Lee's capture of John Brown

During Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation
7 What was John Brown fighting to end?
Commercial whaling

Slavery

The Fugitive Slave Act

The Civil War
8 What are meteors associated with?
The cost of warfare

The cruelty of slavery

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 life and work of Frederick Douglass

The radical violence of John Brown's actions

The military tactics of Robert E. Lee
10 What was Brown's most notable physical feature?
His missing thumb

His shaved head

His long beard

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

Couplets

Octaves

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

"Gaunt the shadow on your green,"

"The cut is on the crown"

"So your future veils its face,"
13 What is the poem's final image?
A cloud of rifle smoke

A confederate soldier

A meteor

The grass of the Shenandoah Valley
14 What war was Brown's rebellion and death a "portent" of?
The Vietnam War

The Civil War

The Revolutionary War

The War of 1812
15 Where was John Brown captured?
Quebec

Harper's Ferry

Pottowatomie Creek

Lawrence
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 caning of Charles Sumner

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Fugitive Slave Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act
18 What best describes the mood of the poem?
Subdued and optimistic

Eulogizing and grim

Pensive and worried

Alarmed and afraid
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 mention of Shenandoah in the fourth line

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

The law

Religion

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

Strange John Brown

Weird John Brown

Old John Brown
22 What was the name of John Brown's cause?
The Union

Abolition

Communism

Federalism
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?
Charles Sumner

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preston Brooks

Frederick Douglass
24 What does the phrase "anguish none can draw" refer to?
The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown

John Brown's pain over not ending slavery

John Brown's physical pain
25 Why does the line "Shenandoah!" fall in the middle of both stanzas?
Because Shenandoah is a town located exactly in the middle of the U.S.

Because the Shenandoah Valley is exactly even on both sides

Because it refers to Shenandoah, Kansas

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

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