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

Monarchy

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

Ballad Stanza

Heroic couplets

Tercet

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

Simile

Hyperbole

Metaphor

Personification
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?

Astrea Redux

Anne Killigrew

Marriage a-la-mode

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 yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The sound of a lyre

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

Astute

Saccharine
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?

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

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

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 fox

The hind

The goose

The panther
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 Great Fire of London

The French Revolution

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

Simile

Understatement

Metonymy

Alliteration
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?

Annus Mirabilis

Religio Laici

The Hind and the Panther

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

Metaphor

Hyperbole

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

End rhyme

Understatement

Alliteration

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

Mac Flecknoe

The Medall

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Anne Killigrew
18 Which of the following works is written in quatrains rather than couplets?

Absalom and Achitophel

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell
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"?

Neither

England's naval victories

Both

The Great Fire of London
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?

Year of Return

Year of Farce

Year of Wonders

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

The Bible

Classical texts

Modern science

Renaissance poetry and art
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?

The Earl of Shaftesbury

King Charles II

The Duke of Monmouth

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

Onomatopoeia

Hyperbole

Symbolism

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

Sonnets

Heroic couplets

Prose

Blank verse

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