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

Music

Romantic love

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

Blank verse

Tercet

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?

Happy the Man

Alexander's Feast

Astrea Redux

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

Astrea Redux

Marriage a-la-mode

Anne Killigrew

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 arrival of St. Cecilia

The singing at a Catholic church service

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The sound of a lyre
7 Which of the following is NOT an apt description of Dryden's typical tone?

Incisive

Reasoned

Saccharine

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

Reason and passion

Grief

Art

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

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

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

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 panther

The hind

The goose

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

Mac Flecknoe

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Absalom and Achitophel

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?

Metonymy

Alliteration

Understatement

Simile
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?

Alexander's Feast

Religio Laici

Annus Mirabilis

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?

Anaphora

Metaphor

Onomatopoeia

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

Alliteration

Understatement

Assonance

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

The Medall

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Anne Killigrew

Mac Flecknoe
18 Which of the following works is written in quatrains rather than couplets?

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

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

Understatement

Personification

Motif

Metonymy
20 Which of the following is a major event in "Annus Mirabilis"?

Neither

Both

England's naval victories

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

Year of Wonders

Year of Farce

Year of Tranquility

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

Classical texts

The Bible

Renaissance poetry and art

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

King Charles II

The Earl of Shaftesbury

Thomas Shadwell

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

Personification

Hyperbole

Symbolism

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

Prose

Blank verse

Sonnets

Heroic couplets

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