Storm on the Island Quizzes

Storm on the Island Quiz Storm on the Island

1 Which phrase is an example of alliteration?

"space is a salvo"

"listen to the thing"

"the wizened earth has never"

"can raise a tragic refrain"
2 What do the poem's houses symbolize?

The talent and artistry of Irish people

The strength of the storm

The oppressiveness of education

The culture of the people who live in them
3 To which animal does Heaney compare the storm?

A lizard

A cat

A lion

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

Sarcastic

Confident

Furious

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

Thoughtful

Protective

Comic

Brash
6 What is this poem's meter?

Iambic hexameter

Iambic pentameter

The poem lacks a consistent meter

Dactylic pentameter
7 Which word from "Storm on the Island" is the clearest instance of onomatpoeia?

"wizened"

"salvo"

"blast"

"fear"
8 Which real event may the poem's storm refer to?

The 1918 Russian Revolution

The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy

The Troubles in Ireland

The American invasion of Iraq
9 What best describes the poem's central contradiction or paradox?

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

The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm

The islanders build low houses, even though they flood with every storm

The islanders choose to remain on a dangerous island
10 What does the speaker articulate about the relationship between the sea and the storm?

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

The storm turns the sea into a dangerous force

The sea helps slow the storm's winds as they approach the island

The storm whips up the sea and scares the fish
11 Which of the following is a motif in this poem?

War

Clocks

Tourism

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

A Catholic ceremony

A large ceramic bowl

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 bird of prey

A leather belt

A test taken by Irish schoolchildren

An arrangement of grain
14 Who is the poem's speaker?

A visitor to the island

A resident, or group of residents, on the island

An anthropologist studying the island

A child who likes to pretend to live on an 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:

Hyperbole

Rhyme

Onomatopoeia

Enjambment
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

Sonnet

None

Villanelle
19 Which word best describes the island residents?

Creative

Silly

Tasteful

Stoic
20 How many lines are in this poem?

20

12

19

15
21 What is the primary effect of the "K" and "T" sounds in the poem's first lines?

Showing the speaker's practical, efficient attitude

Mimicking the sound of falling rain

Revealing that the speaker is a young child

Making the islanders' language sound foreign and strange
22 The phrase "the wizened earth has never troubled us" is an example of which device?

Simile

Understatement

Personification

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

11-12

14-15

18-19

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

Community and Solidarity

Fear

Science and technology

Nature
25 What does the word "strafe" implicitly compare the wind to?

A canoe used in Ireland

A military aircraft

A small sailboat

A carriage pulled by four horses

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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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