1 Who is the poem about? Jonson's friend's son Jonson's seven-year-old 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 father A debtor A loaner A God 4 Which word in the ninth line is an unconventional addition to a cliché? Soft Here Rest Peace 5 What is Jonson's tone in the first line? Angry Despairing Wistful Bitter 6 What is the genre of the poem? Epitaph Lyric Sonnet Limerick 7 How does "On my First Son" compare to "On my First Daughter"? More conventional and distant Less conventional and more impassioned More conventional and impassioned Less conventional and more distant 8 Who of the following is a famous contemporary of Ben Jonson? Milton Shakespeare Chaucer Marvell 9 Which of the following is NOT one of the traditional three parts of an epitaph? Lamentation Recrimination Commemoration Consolation 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 is losing his faith in God The speaker sees God as a distant but righteous force The speaker has a close and loving relationship with God The speaker sees God as actively malicious 11 Why is the line "O, could I lose all father now!" ambiguous? 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 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 12 How does Jonson present the relationship between fatherhood and grief? Being a good father means being strong and not grieving Being a father means you're always grieving, whether your children live or die Being a father means you're too busy to grieve Being a father means he can't help but grieve his son's death 13 Which of the following is NOT an attribute of an "ideal" patriarch? Politically powerful Emotionally stoic Dominant over the family Economically powerful 14 What is the most important similarity between God and Jonson in the poem? Both are just Both are creators Both are male Both are heartbroken 15 How does Jonson treat his own poetic work in this poem? As relatively insignificant As immortal but superficial As a powerful antidote to death As his most important work 16 What is the tone of the end of the poem? Bitter Angry Mournful Resigned 17 What does the final line of the poem present? An impossible predicament A resolve to fight A bold new vow A chance for hope 18 What was Jonson best known for during his life? His plays His love for his children His poems His aristocratic status 19 Who first used the language of debt to speak about religious matters? Early Christians Medieval 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 the poet as a creator Describing the son as a poem, rather than the poem as a son Describing writing a poem as akin to having a child 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 cannot console himself The speaker wants to end his own life The speaker currently has a pessimistic attitude 23 What is Jonson's relationship to his son in the poem? Tense Intimate Ignorant Formal 24 What is the speaker's attitude towards the body? Negative Positive Indifferent Passionate 25 Which literary device does NOT appear in the poem? Personification Apostrophe Simile Metaphor