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"?
Nature

Monarchy

Romantic love

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

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

Ballad Stanza
3 The phrase "Trade, which, like blood,/should circularly flow" contains which of the following?
Simile

Metaphor

Personification

Hyperbole
4 Which of Dryden's poems celebrates the new reign of Charles II?
Happy the Man

Religio Laici

Astrea Redux

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

Marriage a-la-mode

Anne Killigrew

Astrea Redux
6 Which of the following is metaphorically compared to a "peal of thunder" in Alexander's Feast"?
The sound of a lyre

The arrival of St. Cecilia

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The singing at a Catholic church service
7 Which of the following is NOT an apt description of Dryden's typical tone?
Astute

Saccharine

Reasoned

Incisive
8 Which of the following is NOT a prominent theme in Dryden's work?
Gender and gender inequality

Grief

Reason and passion

Art
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?
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

The Whigs create a medal, though they are against ornament and material possessions
10 Which animal represents Catholicism in The Hind and the Panther?
The hind

The goose

The panther

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

Absalom and Achitophel

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Mac Flecknoe
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?
The French Revolution

The English Civil War

The Exclusion Crisis

The Great Fire of London
13 In Mac Flecknoe, the claim that Shadwell "never deviates into sense" is an instance of what?
Simile

Alliteration

Metonymy

Understatement
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?
Alexander's Feast

The Hind and the Panther

Annus Mirabilis

Religio Laici
15 The word "hiss" in the phrase "See the snakes that they rear / How they hiss in their hair" in an instance of what?
Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia

Metaphor

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

Anne Killigrew

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Mac Flecknoe
18 Which of the following works is written in quatrains rather than couplets?
Dryden never wrote in quatrains

Absalom and Achitophel

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

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

Understatement

Motif

Metonymy
20 Which of the following is a major event in "Annus Mirabilis"?
England's naval victories

Both

Neither

The Great Fire of London
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?
Year of Return

Year of Farce

Year of Tranquility

Year of Wonders
22 Which of the following does Dryden most often allude to?
Modern science

Classical texts

Renaissance poetry and art

The Bible
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?
King Charles II

The Earl of Shaftesbury

Thomas Shadwell

The Duke of Monmouth
24 Dryden's description of flutes "breathing" in "Alexander's Feast" is an instance of which?
Symbolism

Onomatopoeia

Hyperbole

Personification
25 What verse form comprises the play "All for Love"?
Prose

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

Sonnets

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