The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?

Washington D.C.

Shenandoah

Harper's Ferry

Richmond
2 Which of the following phrases contains alliteration?

"The shadow on your green"

"Slowly swaying"

"Hidden in the cap"

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

Eerie

Gleeful

Tragic

Serene
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?

Seven

Twelve

Four

Two
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?

"The meteor of war!"

"Shenandoah!"

"His soul goes marching on!"

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

During Robert E. Lee's capture of John Brown

During John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry

During John Brown's execution

During Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation
7 What was John Brown fighting to end?

The Civil War

The Fugitive Slave Act

Commercial whaling

Slavery
8 What are meteors associated with?

The foretelling of the future

The cost of warfare

The alignment of the solar system

The cruelty of slavery
9 What is the poem's central theme?

The life and work of Frederick Douglass

The military tactics of Robert E. Lee

The radical violence of John Brown's actions

The enduring (and predictive) legacy of John Brown
10 What was Brown's most notable physical feature?

The scar on his left cheek

His missing thumb

His shaved head

His long beard
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),"

"So your future veils its face,"

"Gaunt the shadow on your green,"

"The cut is on the crown"
13 What is the poem's final image?

The grass of the Shenandoah Valley

A meteor

A cloud of rifle smoke

A confederate soldier
14 What war was Brown's rebellion and death a "portent" of?

The Vietnam War

The War of 1812

The Civil War

The Revolutionary War
15 Where was John Brown captured?

Lawrence

Pottowatomie Creek

Harper's Ferry

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

Metaphor

Hyperbole

Metonymy

Assonance
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 mention of John Brown in the sixth line

The number of lines

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

Civic duty

The law

Urban living

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

Weird John Brown

Old John Brown

Strange John Brown

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

Abolition

Communism

Federalism

The Union
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?

Frederick Douglass

Preston Brooks

Charles Sumner

Ralph Waldo Emerson
24 What does the phrase "anguish none can draw" refer to?

The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown

John Brown's physical pain

John Brown's pain over not ending slavery
25 Why does the line "Shenandoah!" fall in the middle of both stanzas?

Because the Shenandoah Valley is exactly even on both sides

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

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

Because it refers to Shenandoah, Kansas

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