The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?

Shenandoah

Harper's Ferry

Washington D.C.

Richmond
2 Which of the following phrases contains alliteration?

"The meteor of war"

"Slowly swaying"

"Hidden in the cap"

"The shadow on your green"
3 What word best describes the tone of the poem?

Gleeful

Eerie

Serene

Tragic
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?

Twelve

Four

Two

Seven
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?

"The meteor of war!"

"His soul goes marching on!"

"Shenandoah!"

"Weird John Brown!"
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?

Commercial whaling

The Fugitive Slave Act

The Civil War

Slavery
8 What are meteors associated with?

The cruelty of slavery

The foretelling of the future

The alignment of the solar system

The cost of warfare
9 What is the poem's central theme?

The life and work of Frederick Douglass

The radical violence of John Brown's actions

The military tactics of Robert E. Lee

The enduring (and predictive) legacy of John Brown
10 What was Brown's most notable physical feature?

His missing thumb

The scar on his left cheek

His shaved head

His long beard
11 What type of stanzas are the poems made up of?

Couplets

Octaves

Septet

Sestets
12 Which of the follow lines contains personification?

"So your future veils its face,"

"(Weird John Brown),"

"Gaunt the shadow on your green,"

"The cut is on the crown"
13 What is the poem's final image?

A meteor

A confederate soldier

A cloud of rifle smoke

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?

Pottowatomie Creek

Lawrence

Harper's Ferry

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

Assonance

Metaphor

Hyperbole

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

The Fugitive Slave Act

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

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

Alarmed and afraid

Pensive and worried

Subdued and optimistic

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?

Civic duty

Urban living

Religion

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

Old John Brown

Strange John Brown

Weird John Brown

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

The Union

Federalism

Abolition

Communism
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?

Preston Brooks

Charles Sumner

Frederick Douglass

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

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown

The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War

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 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.

Because it refers to Shenandoah, Kansas

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