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

Romantic love

Music

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

Blank verse

Ballad Stanza

Heroic couplets
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?
Astrea Redux

Happy the Man

Alexander's Feast

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

Astrea Redux

Anne Killigrew

Marriage a-la-mode
6 Which of the following is metaphorically compared to a "peal of thunder" in Alexander's Feast"?
The singing at a Catholic church service

The arrival of St. Cecilia

The sound of a lyre

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation
7 Which of the following is NOT an apt description of Dryden's typical tone?
Astute

Saccharine

Incisive

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

Grief

Reason and passion

Gender and gender inequality
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?
Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

The medal is made for Shaftesbury, but ultimately awarded to his enemy

The medal's image is shallowly carved, but it depicts a deep, profound mind

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 panther

The goose

The hind

The fox
11 Which of Dryden's poems criticizes the poet Thomas Shadwell?
To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Absalom and Achitophel

The Hind and the Panther

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

The English Civil War

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

Simile

Alliteration

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

Alexander's Feast

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?
Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia

Anaphora

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

Understatement

End rhyme

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

Mac Flecknoe

The Medall

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
18 Which of the following works is written in quatrains rather than couplets?
Absalom and Achitophel

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Dryden never wrote in quatrains
19 The use of "tongue" to mean "language" in "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" is an instance of what?
Motif

Understatement

Personification

Metonymy
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 Tranquility

Year of Return

Year of Wonders

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

Modern science

The Bible

Classical texts
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?
Thomas Shadwell

King Charles II

The Duke of Monmouth

The Earl of Shaftesbury
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"?
Heroic couplets

Blank verse

Prose

Sonnets

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