Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) Quizzes

Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) Quiz

1 What birds are mentioned at the poem's beginning and end?
Sparrows

Swallows

Starlings

Blue Jays
2 What word best describes the poem's tone?
Elegiac

Enraged

Nostalgic

Comedic
3 What religious imagery appears in the poem?
A wooden cross

A painted icon

Stained glass

A small church built from logs
4 What does the speaker say about the soldiers' personalities?
They cling to their beliefs fiercely, even in the face of death

Being badly wounded has briefly divested them of their differences

They are silent and unmoving

They verbally express hopeful camaraderie to one another
5 Where do the events of the poem take place?
In a tactical meeting

In a field in the aftermath of a battle

In the middle of a gunfight

In a battlefield hospital
6 What does the image of the bullet represent?
The soldiers' focus on tactical prowess

The soldiers' grim determination to win

The rupture of the soldiers' regional alliances

The soldiers' faith in politicians
7 What is the poem's title referencing?
A whaling ship

A battle during the Civil War

The signing of the Declaration of Independence

A town in Massachusetts
8 What does the line "Fame or country least their care" describe?
Flying swallows

The signing of a treaty

The newfound understanding between the dying soldiers

Soldiers returning home
9 What is the poem's main thematic thread?
The aftermath of war

The history of a navy yard

Southern aristocratic values

A historical reckoning with slavery
10 Which of the following is NOT an image in the poem?
Bayonets

A church

April rain

Swallows
11 What is Shiloh's historical reputation?
A bitter stalement

A Union surrender

A key victory for the Union

A rallying cry for the Confederacy
12 Which of the following describes a character in the poem?
Ulysses S. Grant

Anonymous soldiers

Battlefield medics

Robert E. Lee
13 Which of the following is NOT a conflict in the poem?
A soldier's suppression of commonalities

The collapse of a soldier's individual identity

The struggle of growing up

The senseless carnage of war
14 Which of these lines contains assonance?
"Through the pause of night"

"Solaced the parched ones stretched in pain"

"The swallows fly low"

"The forest-field of Shiloh-"
15 Which of these lines contains a reference to religion?
"(What like a bullet can undeceive!)"

"The church so lone, the log built one,"

"While over them the swallows skim,"

"Over the field in clouded days,"
16 Which adjectives describe the swallows?
Dangerous and violent

Fearful and shaky

Stealthy and fast

Graceful and light
17 What is the rhyme scheme of lines 4-8?
ABAC

ABAB

AABB

There isn't one
18 What describes the mood of the weather in them poem?
Snowy and peaceful

Rainy and somber

Sunny and happy

Freezing and harsh
19 What image bookends the poem?
A church

A graveyard

Swallows

Rain clouds
20 What does "hushed" mean in the context of the poem?
It refers the migration pattern of swallows.

It refers to the exit movement of an army from a town.

It refers to the passing of the wounded soldiers and the resulting silence.

It refers to the silence in a church service.
21 How many stanzas does the poem have?
7

2

8

4
22 Which of the following elements are at work in the poem?
Assonance

Rhyme

All three

Metonymy
23 Which of the following words is an example of onomatopoeia
Skim

Rain

Hushed

Prayer
24 What does the phrase "parting groan" most likely mean?
Annoyed message

Grumbled goodbye

Dying gasp

Bitter send off
25 What is the antagonizing force in the poem?
Prejudice

Taxes

War

Famine

Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Shiloh (Herman Melville poem)

Shiloh (Herman Melville poem) 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 Shiloh (Herman Melville poem)…