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

Ballad Stanza

Blank verse

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

Simile

Metaphor

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?
Anne Killigrew

Astrea Redux

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Marriage a-la-mode
6 Which of the following is metaphorically compared to a "peal of thunder" in Alexander's Feast"?
The sound of a lyre

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The arrival of St. Cecilia

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

Incisive

Saccharine

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

Reason and passion

Grief

Art
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?
The medal's image is shallowly carved, but it depicts a deep, profound mind

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

The Whigs create a medal, though they are against ornament and material possessions

The medal is made for Shaftesbury, but ultimately awarded to his enemy
10 Which animal represents Catholicism in The Hind and the Panther?
The goose

The hind

The fox

The panther
11 Which of Dryden's poems criticizes the poet Thomas Shadwell?
Mac Flecknoe

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Absalom and Achitophel

The Hind and the Panther
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?
The English Civil War

The French Revolution

The Great Fire of London

The Exclusion Crisis
13 In Mac Flecknoe, the claim that Shadwell "never deviates into sense" is an instance of what?
Metonymy

Understatement

Simile

Alliteration
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?
The Hind and the Panther

Religio Laici

Annus Mirabilis

Alexander's Feast
15 The word "hiss" in the phrase "See the snakes that they rear / How they hiss in their hair" in an instance of what?
Anaphora

Hyperbole

Metaphor

Onomatopoeia
16 The phrase "Of the thundering drum" includes an example of which device?
Understatement

End rhyme

Assonance

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

Mac Flecknoe

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Anne Killigrew
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?
Understatement

Personification

Metonymy

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

England's naval victories

Both

Neither
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?
Year of Tranquility

Year of Farce

Year of Return

Year of Wonders
22 Which of the following does Dryden most often allude to?
Renaissance poetry and art

Classical texts

The Bible

Modern science
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?
Hyperbole

Personification

Symbolism

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

Blank verse

Sonnets

Heroic couplets

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