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"

"can raise a tragic refrain"

"the wizened earth has never"
2 What do the poem's houses symbolize?
The culture of the people who live in them

The strength of the storm

The oppressiveness of education

The talent and artistry of Irish people
3 To which animal does Heaney compare the storm?
A lizard

A wolf

A lion

A cat
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?
Comic

Brash

Thoughtful

Protective
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?
"salvo"

"wizened"

"blast"

"fear"
8 Which real event may the poem's storm refer to?
The American invasion of Iraq

The Troubles in Ireland

The toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy

The 1918 Russian Revolution
9 What best describes the poem's central contradiction or paradox?
The islanders build low houses, even though they flood with every storm

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

The islanders choose to remain on a dangerous island

The islanders pray for rain, though storms cause them harm
10 What does the speaker articulate about the relationship between the sea and the storm?
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

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

Tourism

War

Clocks
12 What does the word "salvo," as used in line 17, refer to?
A Catholic ceremony

A type of medicine used for burns

A discharge of gunfire

A large ceramic bowl
13 What does the word "stooks," as used in line 5, refer to?
A test taken by Irish schoolchildren

An arrangement of grain

A bird of prey

A leather belt
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?
Anaphora

Alliteration

Rhyme

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

Onomatopoeia

Hyperbole

Rhyme
17 Which phrase is an example of assonance?
"there are no stacks / or stooks"

"We are prepared"

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

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

None

Sonnet

Heroic couplet
19 Which word best describes the island residents?
Tasteful

Stoic

Creative

Silly
20 How many lines are in this poem?
19

12

15

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?
Understatement

Personification

Simile

Metonymy
23 In which lines does the poem's only use of end-rhyme occur?
14-15

11-12

1-2

18-19
24 Which theme is NOT extensively explored in this poem?
Nature

Science and technology

Community and Solidarity

Fear
25 What does the word "strafe" implicitly compare the wind to?
A military aircraft

A carriage pulled by four horses

A small sailboat

A canoe used in Ireland

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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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