The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?

Washington D.C.

Harper's Ferry

Richmond

Shenandoah
2 Which of the following phrases contains alliteration?

"Slowly swaying"

"The shadow on your green"

"Hidden in the cap"

"The meteor of war"
3 What word best describes the tone of the poem?

Serene

Tragic

Gleeful

Eerie
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?

Two

Twelve

Seven

Four
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?

"His soul goes marching on!"

"The meteor of war!"

"Shenandoah!"

"Weird John Brown!"
6 When does the poem take place?

During Robert E. Lee's capture of John Brown

During John Brown's execution

During Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation

During John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
7 What was John Brown fighting to end?

Commercial whaling

The Fugitive Slave Act

Slavery

The Civil War
8 What are meteors associated with?

The alignment of the solar system

The foretelling of the future

The cruelty of slavery

The cost of warfare
9 What is the poem's central theme?

The military tactics of Robert E. Lee

The enduring (and predictive) legacy of John Brown

The radical violence of John Brown's actions

The life and work of Frederick Douglass
10 What was Brown's most notable physical feature?

The scar on his left cheek

His long beard

His missing thumb

His shaved head
11 What type of stanzas are the poems made up of?

Octaves

Septet

Sestets

Couplets
12 Which of the follow lines contains personification?

"(Weird John Brown),"

"The cut is on the crown"

"Gaunt the shadow on your green,"

"So your future veils its face,"
13 What is the poem's final image?

A meteor

A confederate soldier

The grass of the Shenandoah Valley

A cloud of rifle smoke
14 What war was Brown's rebellion and death a "portent" of?

The War of 1812

The Revolutionary War

The Civil War

The Vietnam War
15 Where was John Brown captured?

Quebec

Lawrence

Harper's Ferry

Pottowatomie Creek
16 The phrase "the meteor of war" is an example of which of the following?

Hyperbole

Assonance

Metaphor

Metonymy
17 Which of the following historical events did NOT impact John Brown?

The Fugitive Slave Act

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

The caning of Charles Sumner
18 What best describes the mood of the poem?

Alarmed and afraid

Subdued and optimistic

Eulogizing and grim

Pensive and worried
19 Which of the following does NOT describe a structural similarity between the two stanzas?

The mention of Shenandoah in the fourth line

The number of lines

The mention of John Brown in the sixth line

A description of Harper's Ferry in the first line
20 Which of the following is a theme the poem explores?

Religion

Urban living

The law

Civic duty
21 Which of the following was John Brown's mocking nickname?

Weird John Brown

Wrathful John Brown

Old John Brown

Strange John Brown
22 What was the name of John Brown's cause?

Federalism

The Union

Abolition

Communism
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preston Brooks

Frederick Douglass

Charles Sumner
24 What does the phrase "anguish none can draw" refer to?

The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War

John Brown's pain over not ending slavery

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown

John Brown's physical pain
25 Why does the line "Shenandoah!" fall in the middle of both stanzas?

Because it refers to the dividing line between the North and South that determined slavery's legality

Because the Shenandoah Valley is exactly even on both sides

Because it refers to Shenandoah, Kansas

Because Shenandoah is a town located exactly in the middle of the U.S.

Study Guide for The Portent

The Portent study guide contains a biography of Herman Melville, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for The Portent…

The Portent

by Herman Melville

The Portent Quiz

The Portent Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Portent

Lesson Plan for The Portent