Storm on the Island Quizzes

Storm on the Island Quiz Storm on the Island

1 Which phrase is an example of alliteration?
"can raise a tragic refrain"

"listen to the thing"

"the wizened earth has never"

"space is a salvo"
2 What do the poem's houses symbolize?
The talent and artistry of Irish people

The strength of the storm

The culture of the people who live in them

The oppressiveness of education
3 To which animal does Heaney compare the storm?
A lion

A lizard

A cat

A wolf
4 Which best describes the speaker's tone at the beginning of the poem?
Imploring

Furious

Sarcastic

Confident
5 Which best describes the speaker's tone at the end of the poem?
Thoughtful

Brash

Protective

Comic
6 What is this poem's meter?
Dactylic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

Iambic hexameter

The poem lacks a consistent meter
7 Which word from "Storm on the Island" is the clearest instance of onomatpoeia?
"wizened"

"blast"

"salvo"

"fear"
8 Which real event may the poem's storm refer to?
The 1918 Russian Revolution

The Troubles in Ireland

The American invasion of Iraq

The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy
9 What best describes the poem's central contradiction or paradox?
The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm

The islanders choose to remain on a dangerous island

The islanders fear the storm, though it is made of air

The islanders build low houses, even though they flood with every storm
10 What does the speaker articulate about the relationship between the sea and the storm?
The storm turns the sea into a dangerous force

The storm whips up the sea and scares the fish

The sea is a frightening place to be in the storm, more so than on land

The sea helps slow the storm's winds as they approach the island
11 Which of the following is a motif in this poem?
Tourism

War

Clocks

The theater
12 What does the word "salvo," as used in line 17, refer to?
A large ceramic bowl

A Catholic ceremony

A type of medicine used for burns

A discharge of gunfire
13 What does the word "stooks," as used in line 5, refer to?
A leather belt

An arrangement of grain

A bird of prey

A test taken by Irish schoolchildren
14 Who is the poem's speaker?
A child who likes to pretend to live on an island

A resident, or group of residents, on the island

An anthropologist studying the island

A visitor to the island
15 The "ai" sounds in the phrase "raise a tragic refrain" create which of the following?
Assonance

Alliteration

Rhyme

Anaphora
16 The phrase "spits like a tamed cat / Turned savage" makes use of:
Rhyme

Hyperbole

Enjambment

Onomatopoeia
17 Which phrase is an example of assonance?
"the very windows, / spits like a tame cat"

"We are prepared"

"the empty air, / strange"

"there are no stacks / or stooks"
18 What poetic form does "Storm on the Island" follow?
Heroic couplet

Villanelle

Sonnet

None
19 Which word best describes the island residents?
Silly

Creative

Stoic

Tasteful
20 How many lines are in this poem?
12

15

19

20
21 What is the primary effect of the "K" and "T" sounds in the poem's first lines?
Mimicking the sound of falling rain

Showing the speaker's practical, efficient attitude

Making the islanders' language sound foreign and strange

Revealing that the speaker is a young child
22 The phrase "the wizened earth has never troubled us" is an example of which device?
Simile

Metonymy

Understatement

Personification
23 In which lines does the poem's only use of end-rhyme occur?
11-12

18-19

14-15

1-2
24 Which theme is NOT extensively explored in this poem?
Nature

Science and technology

Fear

Community and Solidarity
25 What does the word "strafe" implicitly compare the wind to?
A canoe used in Ireland

A small sailboat

A carriage pulled by four horses

A military aircraft

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Storm on the Island study guide contains a biography of Seamus Heaney, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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