Paul Revere's Ride Comprehension

How many lanterns were hung in the Old North Church if the British were traveling by sea?

• 3 lanterns

• 1 lantern

• 0 lanterns

• 2 lanterns

How does this stanza add to the sense of danger in this poem?

Then he said “Good-night!” and with muffled oar

Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,

Just as the moon rose over the bay,

Where swinging wide at her moorings lay

The Somerset, British man-of-war;

A phantom ship, with each mast and spar

Across the moon like a prison-bar,

And a huge black hulk, that was magnified

By its own reflection in the tide.

• Paul Revere has to row undetected past the enemy’s ship that seems larger than it really is.

• Paul Revere imagines prisoners are held captive on the ship.

• The moonlight threatens to reveal Paul Revere.

• Paul Revere is so frightened, he thinks of turning back.

Which of the following inferences about Paul Revere’s horse would the poet most likely agree with?

• The horse is critical to the timely delivery of a life-saving message to a nation.

• The horse’s hoofs may be putting Paul Revere at risk because they are too loud.

• The horse sacrifices his life to save a nation.

• The horse is being pushed beyond the limits of what is considered humane.

Why does the poet most likely open his poem with this stanza?

• The poet wants to scare his readers.

• The poet is afraid that he will bore the reader.

• The poet intends to interest his readers through a sense of mystery.

• The poet is speaking down to his audience as though they are children.

Which lines in the poem best support your answer to question 5?

• “Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,

  Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.”

• “Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,

  Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride

• “He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,

  But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight

  A second lamp in the belfry burns!”

• “The fate of a nation was riding that night;”

Which lines in the poem best support you answer to question 7?

• “The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,

  And the measured tread of the grenadiers,

  Marching down to their boats on the shore.”

• “A line of black, that bends and floats

  On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.”

• “He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,

  But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight

  A second lamp in the belfry burns!”

• “How the British regulars fired and fled, —

  How the farmers gave them ball for ball,

  From behind each fence and farm-yard wall,

  Chasing the red-coats down the lane,”

Which happened first chronologically in the poem?

• He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,But lingers and gazes, till full on his sightA second lamp in the belfry burns!

• The watchful night-wind, as it went

  Creeping along from tent to tent,

  And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"

• To every Middlesex village and farm, —A cry of defiance and not of fear,A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,And a word that shall echo forevermore!

• And one was safe and asleep in his bed

  Who at the bridge would be first to fall,

  Who that day would be lying dead,

  Pierced by a British musket-ball.

Which happened last chronologically in the poem?

• He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,But lingers and gazes, till full on his sightA second lamp in the belfry burns!

• The watchful night-wind, as it went

  Creeping along from tent to tent,

  And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"

• To every Middlesex village and farm, —A cry of defiance and not of fear,A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,And a word that shall echo forevermore!

• And one was safe and asleep in his bed

  Who at the bridge would be first to fall,

  Who that day would be lying dead,

  Pierced by a British musket-ball.

What is most likely the reason the poet includes references to “the dead”?

• He only wants to bring an eerie element to his poem.

• His main character would like to trade places with the dead.

• He uses that phrase as a constant reminder to the colonists of the possible fate that awaits them.

• He wishes to show that the early days of our country were not very cheerful.

What is the main purpose of Paul Revere's ride as depicted in the poem?

• To deliver a message of peace to the British

• To warn the American colonies of the British approach

• To find a safe place to hide from the British

• To gather troops for an attack on the British