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

Romantic love

Music

Monarchy
2 Which type of stanza is Dryden most associated with?

Ballad Stanza

Heroic couplets

Blank verse

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

Personification

Simile

Hyperbole

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

Alexander's Feast

Happy the Man

Astrea Redux

Religio Laici
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?

Marriage a-la-mode

Anne Killigrew

Astrea Redux

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day
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?

Reasoned

Saccharine

Astute

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

Art

Gender and gender inequality

Reason and passion

Grief
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?

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

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

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
10 Which animal represents Catholicism in The Hind and the Panther?

The panther

The hind

The goose

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

Absalom and Achitophel

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Mac Flecknoe

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

The Exclusion Crisis

The English Civil War

The Great Fire of London

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

Understatement

Simile

Metonymy

Alliteration
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?

Annus Mirabilis

Religio Laici

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

Hyperbole

Anaphora

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

End rhyme

Alliteration

Understatement

Assonance
17 Which of Dryden's poems is NOT primarily about another poet?

Mac Flecknoe

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Anne Killigrew

The Medall
18 Which of the following works is written in quatrains rather than couplets?

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

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

Metonymy

Motif

Understatement

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 Farce

Year of Return

Year of Tranquility

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

Modern science

Renaissance poetry and art

Classical texts

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

The Earl of Shaftesbury

King Charles II

Thomas Shadwell

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

Onomatopoeia

Personification

Hyperbole

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

Sonnets

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

Prose

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