Barn Owl Quizzes

Barn Owl Quiz

1 In what year was the poem published?
1965

1970

1980

1969
2 Which of the following is an example of a metaphor used in the poem?
"to his place on a high beam" (line 11)

"A horny fiend, I crept" (line 3)

"the wrecked thing that could / not bear the light nor hide" (lines 37-38)

"I am the owl" (line 8)
3 Which of the following best describes the rhyme scheme of the poem?
ABCABC

ABABCC

ABBABB

AABBCC
4 What is the speaker's "prize" in line 8?
Waking up early before her parents

The barn

The gun

The owl
5 Who is the "old no-sayer, robber of power / by sleep" in lines 7-8?
The speaker's mother

The speaker

The speaker's father

The owl
6 As used in lines 17-18, "a wisp-haired judge whose law / would punish beak and claw" is an example of which literary device?
Antonym

Simile

Metaphor

Personification
7 Which adjective best describes the speaker's tone in stanza 1?
Straightforward and intellectual

Somber but hopeful

Horrified and remorseful

Excited and condescending
8 Which adjective best describes the speaker's tone in stanzas 5 and 6?
Horrified and remorseful

Excited and condescending

Straightforward and intellectual

Somber but hopeful
9 Which of the owl's features is NOT mentioned by the speaker?
Its bowels

Its wings

Its eyes

Its tail
10 How many times does the speaker shoot the owl?
Twice

Once

Three times

Many times
11 From what point of view and tense is "Barn Owl" told?
First-person, present tense

Third-person limited, past tense

Third-person limited, present tense

First-person, past tense
12 Which of the following is NOT a phrase that the speaker uses to describe herself in the poem?
"a lonely child"

"a horny fiend"

"master of life and death"

"a child / obedient, angel-mind-"
13 Which stanza contains the poem's climax?
Stanza One

Stanza Four

Stanza Five

Stanza Two
14 Gwen Harwood is a(n) ____ poet.
American

British

Canadian

Australian
15 Which of the following is an example of caesura?
My first shot struck. He swayed,

child who believed death clean

Let him dream of a child

My father reached my side,
16 Before shooting the owl, what did the speaker believe about death?
That it only applied to humans

That it was clean and final

She had never heard of death

That is was messy and obscene
17 What is the title of the companion poem to "Barn Owl" in the diptych "Father and Child"?
"A Child's Rebellion"

"Nightfall"

"Quadrant"

"The Fallen Gun"
18 Which of the following is an example of slant rhyme in the poem?
"gave me the fallen gun. / 'End what you have begun.'"

"Let him dream of a child / obedient, angel-mind-"

"to his place on a high beam / in our old stables, to dream"

"a wisp-haired judge whose law / would punish beak and claw"
19 When does the poem take place?
At night

At dusk

In the afternoon

In early morning
20 In line 25, "bundle of stuff" best means
The injured owl

The fallen gun

The objects that the speaker is carrying

The urine-scented hay
21 Which of the following best describes the structure of each stanza?
A sestet

Free-form

A couplet

A quartet
22 Which of the following is NOT an example of alliteration?
"home at this hour"

"dropped, / and dribbled"

"My first shot struck. He swayed,"

"Let him dream of a child"
23 Which of the following is NOT a feature of the barn as stated in the poem?
Loose straw on the floor

A red door

A beam

Hay on the floor
24 Which of the following is an example of religious subtext in the poem?
"those eyes that did not see"

"dribbled through the loose straw"

"gave me the fallen gun."

"blessed by the sun"
25 Which of the following is NOT a symbol in the poem?
The owl

Nightfall

Sunlight

Vision

Study Guide for Barn Owl

Barn Owl study guide contains a biography of Gwen Harwood, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Barn Owl…

Barn Owl

by Gwen Harwood

Barn Owl Quiz

Barn Owl Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Barn Owl

Lesson Plan for Barn Owl