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?

"The shadow on your green"

"Slowly swaying"

"Hidden in the cap"

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

Gleeful

Tragic

Eerie

Serene
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?

Seven

Four

Two

Twelve
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?

"Weird John Brown!"

"Shenandoah!"

"His soul goes marching on!"

"The meteor of war!"
6 When does the poem take place?

During John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry

During John Brown's execution

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?

The Civil War

Commercial whaling

Slavery

The Fugitive Slave Act
8 What are meteors associated with?

The cost of warfare

The cruelty of slavery

The alignment of the solar system

The foretelling of the future
9 What is the poem's central theme?

The life and work of Frederick Douglass

The radical violence of John Brown's actions

The enduring (and predictive) legacy of John Brown

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

His long beard

His missing thumb

The scar on his left cheek

His shaved head
11 What type of stanzas are the poems made up of?

Couplets

Sestets

Octaves

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 meteor

A cloud of rifle smoke

A confederate soldier

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

The Civil War

The Vietnam War

The Revolutionary War

The War of 1812
15 Where was John Brown captured?

Harper's Ferry

Lawrence

Pottowatomie Creek

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

Metonymy

Assonance

Metaphor

Hyperbole
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?

Alarmed and afraid

Pensive and worried

Eulogizing and grim

Subdued and optimistic
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 number of lines

The mention of Shenandoah in the fourth line

The mention of John Brown in the sixth line
20 Which of the following is a theme the poem explores?

The law

Civic duty

Urban living

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

Strange John Brown

Wrathful John Brown

Weird John Brown

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

Abolition

Federalism

The Union

Communism
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Charles Sumner

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 physical pain

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

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

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