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

Nature

Romantic love

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

Tercet

Heroic couplets

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

Hyperbole

Personification

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

Religio Laici

Alexander's Feast

Astrea Redux
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?
Anne Killigrew

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Astrea Redux

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 singing at a Catholic church service

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The arrival of St. Cecilia
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?
Art

Reason and passion

Gender and gender inequality

Grief
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?
The medal is made for Shaftesbury, but ultimately awarded to his enemy

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

The hind

The goose

The panther
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 French Revolution

The Exclusion Crisis

The English Civil War

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

Understatement

Alliteration

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

The Hind and the Panther

Religio Laici

Annus Mirabilis
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

Anaphora

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

Alliteration

Assonance

Understatement
17 Which of Dryden's poems is NOT primarily about another poet?
Anne Killigrew

The Medall

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

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

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

Metonymy

Motif

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

Both

The Great Fire of London

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?
The Bible

Modern science

Renaissance poetry and art

Classical texts
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?
The Duke of Monmouth

King Charles II

The Earl of Shaftesbury

Thomas Shadwell
24 Dryden's description of flutes "breathing" in "Alexander's Feast" is an instance of which?
Symbolism

Hyperbole

Personification

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

Prose

Sonnets

Heroic couplets

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