On my First Son Quizzes

On my First Son "On my First Son"

1 Who is the poem about?
A fictional character

The child Jesus

Jonson's friend's son

Jonson's seven-year-old son
2 What does the speaker say his greatest mistake was?
Not telling his son he loved him when he had the chance

Resenting God for taking his son

Having high expectations for his son's future

Liking his son too much
3 Who does the speaker compare himself to?
A debtor

A God

A father

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

Soft

Here

Peace
5 What is Jonson's tone in the first line?
Despairing

Angry

Bitter

Wistful
6 What is the genre of the poem?
Epitaph

Sonnet

Limerick

Lyric
7 How does "On my First Son" compare to "On my First Daughter"?
Less conventional and more distant

More conventional and distant

Less conventional and more impassioned

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

Chaucer

Shakespeare

Milton
9 Which of the following is NOT one of the traditional three parts of an epitaph?
Lamentation

Consolation

Commemoration

Recrimination
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 actively malicious

The speaker sees God as a distant but righteous force

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 really means what he says

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 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 too busy to grieve

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

Politically powerful

Dominant over the family

Emotionally stoic
14 What is the most important similarity between God and Jonson in the poem?
Both are creators

Both are male

Both are heartbroken

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

As a powerful antidote to death

As immortal but superficial

As his most important work
16 What is the tone of the end of the poem?
Resigned

Angry

Mournful

Bitter
17 What does the final line of the poem present?
A chance for hope

A bold new vow

A resolve to fight

An impossible predicament
18 What was Jonson best known for during his life?
His aristocratic status

His love for his children

His plays

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

Early Christians

Ben Jonson

Elizabethan theologians
20 What is original sin, according to orthodox Christianity?
Sin everyone is born with

The most important sin

Adam and Eve's first sin

The first sin someone commits
21 What is unusual, for early-modern poetry, about Jonson's description of his son as a poem?
Describing writing a poem as akin to having a child

Describing the son as a poem, rather than the poem as a son

Referring to poetry in a poem

Describing the poet as a creator
22 What is NOT implied by Jonson's account of the world as miserable?
The speaker wants to end his own life

The speaker cannot console himself

The speaker finds his own life difficult

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

Formal

Ignorant

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

Passionate

Indifferent

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

Metaphor

Apostrophe

Personification

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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.

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