The Portent Quizzes

The Portent Quiz

1 What is the setting of the poem?
Harper's Ferry

Shenandoah

Richmond

Washington D.C.
2 Which of the following phrases contains alliteration?
"The meteor of war"

"Slowly swaying"

"Hidden in the cap"

"The shadow on your green"
3 What word best describes the tone of the poem?
Gleeful

Eerie

Serene

Tragic
4 How many stanzas does the poem have?
Seven

Four

Twelve

Two
5 What phrase is exclaimed twice in the poem?
"Shenandoah!"

"The meteor of war!"

"Weird John Brown!"

"His soul goes marching on!"
6 When does the poem take place?
During Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation

During John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry

During Robert E. Lee's capture of John Brown

During John Brown's execution
7 What was John Brown fighting to end?
The Civil War

Commercial whaling

The Fugitive Slave Act

Slavery
8 What are meteors associated with?
The cost of warfare

The cruelty of slavery

The alignment of the solar system

The foretelling of the future
9 What is the poem's central theme?
The enduring (and predictive) legacy of John Brown

The life and work of Frederick Douglass

The military tactics of Robert E. Lee

The radical violence of John Brown's actions
10 What was Brown's most notable physical feature?
His long beard

His missing thumb

The scar on his left cheek

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

Couplets

Sestets

Octaves
12 Which of the follow lines contains personification?
"Gaunt the shadow on your green,"

"So your future veils its face,"

"(Weird John Brown),"

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

A cloud of rifle smoke

The grass of the Shenandoah Valley

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

The War of 1812

The Civil War

The Vietnam 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?
Hyperbole

Metaphor

Metonymy

Assonance
17 Which of the following historical events did NOT impact John Brown?
The caning of Charles Sumner

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Fugitive Slave Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act
18 What best describes the mood of the poem?
Alarmed and afraid

Eulogizing and grim

Pensive and worried

Subdued and optimistic
19 Which of the following does NOT describe a structural similarity between the two stanzas?
The number of lines

The mention of John Brown in the sixth line

A description of Harper's Ferry in the first line

The mention of Shenandoah in the fourth 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?
Strange John Brown

Old John Brown

Weird John Brown

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

Communism

Federalism

Abolition
23 Who was a noteworthy friend of John Brown?
Frederick Douglass

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preston Brooks

Charles Sumner
24 What does the phrase "anguish none can draw" refer to?
The national anxiety over the encroaching Civil War

John Brown's physical pain

John Brown's pain over not ending slavery

Henry David Thoreau's memorial for John Brown
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 it refers to Shenandoah, Kansas

Because the Shenandoah Valley is exactly even on both sides

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.

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The Portent

by Herman Melville

The Portent Quiz

The Portent Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Portent

Lesson Plan for The Portent