Winter Swans Quizzes

Winter Swans Quiz

1 What kind of verse is this poem written in?
Rhymed verse

Blank Verse

Fake Verse

Free verse
2 Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this poem?
After it rains, swans swim in lakes.

Swans are a type of bird that mate for life.

Nature is used metaphorically to communicate that reconciliation is not possible.

Nature is used metaphorically to express reconciliation between a couple.
3 What best describes the conflict in the poem?
A couple cannot be together because of long distance.

Seeing swans swim in a lake make a couple realize they cannot be together.

A couple argue with each other.

A couple are distant and uncommunicative after a fight or disagreement.
4 Which of the following is NOT an explicit theme of the work?
Nature

Relational Tension

Nostalgia

Reconciliation
5 What collection is "Winter Swans" published in?
Skirrid Hall

The Blue Book

Skirrid Hill

Mametz Wood
6 What is Owen Sheers' heritage?
American

Scottish

Irish

Welsh
7 How many lines does each stanza have?
Each has 2 except for the last, which has 3.

Each has 3 except for the last, which has 2.

Each has 2.

Each has 3.
8 Which line best symbolizes reconciliation between the couple?
"until the swans came and stopped us"

"'They mate for life' you said as they left,"

"like a pair of wings settling after flight."

"I noticed our hands..."
9 Which best describes the significance of the change in number of lines per stanza?
The last stanza ends with 3 lines as opposed to 2, which numerically suggests an addition to the couple's family.

All stanzas have the same number of lines.

The last stanza ends with 2 lines as opposed to 3, which suggests the theme of loss.

The last stanza ends with 2 lines as opposed to 3, which numerically settles upon a pair.
10 Which of the following literary elements does not appear in the poem?
Metaphor

Anaphora

Irony

Simile
11 Which of the following best describes the tone?
Dry and regretful

Melancholy and loving

Hopeful and calm

Excited and assertive
12 Which of the following is a metaphor in the poem?
"like boats righting in rough weather" (Line 12)

"The clouds had given their all-" (Line 1)

"the waterlogged earth" (Line 4)

"porcelain over stilling water" (Line 14)
13 What is special about the material of porcelain?
Porcelain appears to be fragile, but is actually strong.

Plates can be made of porcelain.

Porcelain appears to be strong, but is actually fragile.

Porcelain is a kind of ceramic.
14 How many stanzas does the poem have?
Six, made of tercets

Seven, made of five tercets and two couplet

Seven, made of six tercets and one couplet

Seven, made of tercets
15 What does it mean to "skirt?"
To wear a skirt

To go on top of something

To go through something rather than around it

To go around something rather than directly through or across it
16 What is the poem's setting?
Beside a river in a break after a two-day rainstorm

In the couple's house

Beside a lake during a two-day rainstorm

Beside a lake in a break after a two-day rainstorm
17 Why is the earth gulping for breath?
It is the result of the heavy rains, which symbolize the argument taking place during the poem.

It is the result of the amount of swans congregating by the lake.

It is the result of the heavy rains, which symbolize the earlier argument between the couple.

It is the result of the extreme cold of winter.
18 Which is an example of consonance?
"the waterlogged earth" (Line 4)

"with a show of tipping in unison" (Line 8)

"like boats righting in rough weather" (Line 12)

"icebergs of white feather" (Line 11)
19 What is the English translation of the Welsh "Ysgyryd (skirrid) fawr?"
Great Shattered Hill

Great Sloping Mountain

Great Sloping Hill

The Kingdom of Wales
20 What theme in Sheers's work, indicated by the title of the collection, appears in "Winter Swans"?
Separation

Nature

Togetherness

Swans
21 When is enjambment used in the poem?
It is used throughout the poem.

It is used when describing the way the couple walks together.

It is used during the swan's movement and the ending image where the couple's hands come together.

The poem does not use enjambment.
22 What does it mean for the swans to "[halve] themselves?"
They are killed by hunters.

They dive their heads beneath the water.

They are separated from each other.

They feel the loss of a breakup.
23 Does the speaker reply when his or her partner remarks that the swans mate for life?
Not in words, the speaker hugs his or her partner.

The speaker only looks at his or her partner.

Not in words; eventually the couple's hands find each other.

The speaker does not reply at all.
24 What does rain symbolize in the poem?
Nature's natural cycles

The coming-together of the couple.

The unspecified conflict that had occurred between the couple.

The unspecified conflict that had occurred between the swans.
25 What best describes the ending image of the poem?
The couple's entwined hands resemble the swans swimming in the lake.

The couple's hands swing side by side like birds taking off in flight.

The couple's entwined hands resemble a pair of wings taking off in flight.

The couple's entwined hands resemble a pair of wings settling after flight.

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