The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?
Washington D.C.

Shenandoah

Richmond

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

"The shadow on your green"

"Hidden in the cap"

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

Gleeful

Tragic

Serene
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?
Seven

Twelve

Four

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

"His soul goes marching on!"

"Shenandoah!"

"The meteor of war!"
6 When does the poem take place?
During Robert E. Lee's capture of John Brown

During John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry

During Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation

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

Slavery

The Fugitive Slave Act

Commercial whaling
8 What are meteors associated with?
The alignment of the solar system

The foretelling of the future

The cruelty of slavery

The cost of warfare
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 long beard

His missing thumb

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

Septet

Sestets

Octaves
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 confederate soldier

A cloud of rifle smoke
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?
Harper's Ferry

Quebec

Lawrence

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

Metaphor

Assonance

Hyperbole
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

Alarmed and afraid

Pensive and worried

Eulogizing and grim
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 Shenandoah in the fourth line

The number of lines

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

Urban living

Civic duty

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

Wrathful John Brown

Weird John Brown

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

Communism

The Union

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

Frederick Douglass

Preston Brooks

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

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown

John Brown's pain over not ending slavery

The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War
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 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

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