The Poetry of John Dryden Quizzes

The Poetry of John Dryden Dryden's Poetry

1 Which of the following is a central topic of "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day"?
Monarchy

Music

Romantic love

Nature
2 Which type of stanza is Dryden most associated with?
Tercet

Ballad Stanza

Blank verse

Heroic couplets
3 The phrase "Trade, which, like blood,/should circularly flow" contains which of the following?
Hyperbole

Personification

Simile

Metaphor
4 Which of Dryden's poems celebrates the new reign of Charles II?
Astrea Redux

Happy the Man

Alexander's Feast

Religio Laici
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?
A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Astrea Redux

Anne Killigrew

Marriage a-la-mode
6 Which of the following is metaphorically compared to a "peal of thunder" in Alexander's Feast"?
The singing at a Catholic church service

The arrival of St. Cecilia

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The sound of a lyre
7 Which of the following is NOT an apt description of Dryden's typical tone?
Saccharine

Astute

Incisive

Reasoned
8 Which of the following is NOT a prominent theme in Dryden's work?
Reason and passion

Art

Grief

Gender and gender inequality
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?
The Whigs create a medal, though they are against ornament and material possessions

The medal's image is shallowly carved, but it depicts a deep, profound mind

The medal is made for Shaftesbury, but ultimately awarded to his enemy

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously
10 Which animal represents Catholicism in The Hind and the Panther?
The panther

The fox

The goose

The hind
11 Which of Dryden's poems criticizes the poet Thomas Shadwell?
The Hind and the Panther

Mac Flecknoe

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Absalom and Achitophel
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?
The Exclusion Crisis

The Great Fire of London

The English Civil War

The French Revolution
13 In Mac Flecknoe, the claim that Shadwell "never deviates into sense" is an instance of what?
Alliteration

Metonymy

Simile

Understatement
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?
Religio Laici

Annus Mirabilis

Alexander's Feast

The Hind and the Panther
15 The word "hiss" in the phrase "See the snakes that they rear / How they hiss in their hair" in an instance of what?
Metaphor

Onomatopoeia

Hyperbole

Anaphora
16 The phrase "Of the thundering drum" includes an example of which device?
End rhyme

Assonance

Understatement

Alliteration
17 Which of Dryden's poems is NOT primarily about another poet?
The Medall

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Anne Killigrew

Mac Flecknoe
18 Which of the following works is written in quatrains rather than couplets?
Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

Absalom and Achitophel
19 The use of "tongue" to mean "language" in "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" is an instance of what?
Metonymy

Understatement

Motif

Personification
20 Which of the following is a major event in "Annus Mirabilis"?
The Great Fire of London

Both

Neither

England's naval victories
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?
Year of Tranquility

Year of Wonders

Year of Farce

Year of Return
22 Which of the following does Dryden most often allude to?
The Bible

Classical texts

Modern science

Renaissance poetry and art
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?
The Duke of Monmouth

The Earl of Shaftesbury

Thomas Shadwell

King Charles II
24 Dryden's description of flutes "breathing" in "Alexander's Feast" is an instance of which?
Hyperbole

Symbolism

Personification

Onomatopoeia
25 What verse form comprises the play "All for Love"?
Blank verse

Sonnets

Heroic couplets

Prose

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