Storm on the Island Quizzes

Storm on the Island Quiz Storm on the Island

1 Which phrase is an example of alliteration?
"listen to the thing"

"the wizened earth has never"

"can raise a tragic refrain"

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

The oppressiveness of education

The culture of the people who live in them

The strength of the storm
3 To which animal does Heaney compare the storm?
A wolf

A lion

A cat

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

Imploring

Sarcastic

Furious
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

The poem lacks a consistent meter

Iambic hexameter

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

"blast"

"wizened"

"fear"
8 Which real event may the poem's storm refer to?
The Troubles in Ireland

The 1918 Russian Revolution

The American invasion of Iraq

The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy
9 What best describes the poem's central contradiction or paradox?
The islanders fear the storm, though it is made of air

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

The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm

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

The storm whips up the sea and scares the fish

The storm turns the sea into a dangerous force

The sea is a frightening place to be in the storm, more so than on land
11 Which of the following is a motif in this poem?
War

Clocks

The theater

Tourism
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?
An arrangement of grain

A test taken by Irish schoolchildren

A bird of prey

A leather belt
14 Who is the poem's speaker?
An anthropologist studying the island

A resident, or group of residents, on the island

A visitor to 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?
Rhyme

Assonance

Anaphora

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

Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia

Rhyme
17 Which phrase is an example of assonance?
"We are prepared"

"there are no stacks / or stooks"

"the very windows, / spits like a tame cat"

"the empty air, / strange"
18 What poetic form does "Storm on the Island" follow?
Villanelle

Heroic couplet

None

Sonnet
19 Which word best describes the island residents?
Tasteful

Creative

Silly

Stoic
20 How many lines are in this poem?
12

20

15

19
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?
Metonymy

Understatement

Simile

Personification
23 In which lines does the poem's only use of end-rhyme occur?
18-19

1-2

11-12

14-15
24 Which theme is NOT extensively explored in this poem?
Nature

Fear

Community and Solidarity

Science and technology
25 What does the word "strafe" implicitly compare the wind to?
A small sailboat

A military aircraft

A carriage pulled by four horses

A canoe used in Ireland

Storm on the Island Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Storm on the Island is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Storm on the Island

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.

Read the Study Guide for Storm on the Island…