On my First Son Quizzes

On my First Son "On my First Son"

1 Who is the poem about?
Jonson's seven-year-old son

Jonson's friend's son

The child Jesus

A fictional character
2 What does the speaker say his greatest mistake was?
Resenting God for taking his son

Liking his son too much

Not telling his son he loved him when he had the chance

Having high expectations for his son's future
3 Who does the speaker compare himself to?
A loaner

A God

A father

A debtor
4 Which word in the ninth line is an unconventional addition to a cliché?
Peace

Rest

Soft

Here
5 What is Jonson's tone in the first line?
Wistful

Bitter

Angry

Despairing
6 What is the genre of the poem?
Epitaph

Sonnet

Lyric

Limerick
7 How does "On my First Son" compare to "On my First Daughter"?
More conventional and impassioned

Less conventional and more distant

Less conventional and more impassioned

More conventional and distant
8 Who of the following is a famous contemporary of Ben Jonson?
Marvell

Shakespeare

Milton

Chaucer
9 Which of the following is NOT one of the traditional three parts of an epitaph?
Commemoration

Recrimination

Consolation

Lamentation
10 What do the lines, "Seven years tho' wert lent to me, and I thee pay, / Exacted by thy fate, on the just day" suggest about the speaker's relationship with God?
The speaker sees God as a distant but righteous force

The speaker sees God as actively malicious

The speaker has a close and loving relationship with God

The speaker is losing his faith in God
11 Why is the line "O, could I lose all father now!" ambiguous?
It isn't clear whether the speaker is referring to himself or God

It isn't clear whether the speaker is actively trying to get rid of fathers

It isn't clear whether the speaker really means what he says

It isn't clear whether the speaker is referring to himself or his own father
12 How does Jonson present the relationship between fatherhood and grief?
Being a father means you're always grieving, whether your children live or die

Being a father means he can't help but grieve his son's death

Being a father means you're too busy to grieve

Being a good father means being strong and not grieving
13 Which of the following is NOT an attribute of an "ideal" patriarch?
Economically powerful

Dominant over the family

Emotionally stoic

Politically powerful
14 What is the most important similarity between God and Jonson in the poem?
Both are male

Both are heartbroken

Both are just

Both are creators
15 How does Jonson treat his own poetic work in this poem?
As relatively insignificant

As a powerful antidote to death

As his most important work

As immortal but superficial
16 What is the tone of the end of the poem?
Mournful

Bitter

Resigned

Angry
17 What does the final line of the poem present?
A resolve to fight

A bold new vow

A chance for hope

An impossible predicament
18 What was Jonson best known for during his life?
His love for his children

His plays

His aristocratic status

His poems
19 Who first used the language of debt to speak about religious matters?
Early Christians

Elizabethan theologians

Medieval Christians

Ben Jonson
20 What is original sin, according to orthodox Christianity?
The most important sin

The first sin someone commits

Adam and Eve's first sin

Sin everyone is born with
21 What is unusual, for early-modern poetry, about Jonson's description of his son as a poem?
Describing the son as a poem, rather than the poem as a son

Describing writing a poem as akin to having a child

Describing the poet as a creator

Referring to poetry in a poem
22 What is NOT implied by Jonson's account of the world as miserable?
The speaker finds his own life difficult

The speaker wants to end his own life

The speaker cannot console himself

The speaker currently has a pessimistic attitude
23 What is Jonson's relationship to his son in the poem?
Intimate

Ignorant

Formal

Tense
24 What is the speaker's attitude towards the body?
Indifferent

Negative

Positive

Passionate
25 Which literary device does NOT appear in the poem?
Simile

Metaphor

Personification

Apostrophe

On my First Son Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for On my First Son is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for On my First Son

On my First Son study guide contains a biography of Ben Jonson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for On my First Son…