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"?
Romantic love

Monarchy

Nature

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

Heroic couplets

Ballad Stanza

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

Hyperbole

Simile

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?
Marriage a-la-mode

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

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?
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 goose

The hind

The fox

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

The Hind and the Panther

Absalom and Achitophel

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?
The Exclusion Crisis

The French Revolution

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?
Simile

Understatement

Alliteration

Metonymy
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?
Religio Laici

Annus Mirabilis

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

Onomatopoeia

Anaphora
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

The Medall

Anne Killigrew

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

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

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?
Personification

Metonymy

Understatement

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

The Great Fire of London

Both

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

Year of Farce

Year of Return

Year of Tranquility
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"?
The Duke of Monmouth

King Charles II

Thomas Shadwell

The Earl of Shaftesbury
24 Dryden's description of flutes "breathing" in "Alexander's Feast" is an instance of which?
Hyperbole

Symbolism

Personification

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

Sonnets

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

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