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

Nature

Music

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

Heroic couplets

Blank verse

Ballad Stanza

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

Hyperbole

Simile

Metaphor

Personification
4 Which of Dryden's poems celebrates the new reign of Charles II?

Alexander's Feast

Religio Laici

Astrea Redux

Happy the Man
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Anne Killigrew

Astrea Redux

Marriage a-la-mode
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 singing at a Catholic church service

The arrival of St. Cecilia

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

Astute

Reasoned

Incisive

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

Grief

Reason and passion

Gender and gender inequality

Art
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?

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

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

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously
10 Which animal represents Catholicism in The Hind and the Panther?

The fox

The panther

The goose

The hind
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 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?

Understatement

Alliteration

Metonymy

Simile
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?

Onomatopoeia

Hyperbole

Anaphora

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

Understatement

Assonance

End rhyme

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

The Medall

Anne Killigrew

Mac Flecknoe

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

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

Absalom and Achitophel

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?

Understatement

Metonymy

Motif

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

The Great Fire of London

England's naval victories

Both

Neither
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?

Modern science

Renaissance poetry and art

Classical texts

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

The Duke of Monmouth

The Earl of Shaftesbury

Thomas Shadwell

King Charles II
24 Dryden's description of flutes "breathing" in "Alexander's Feast" is an instance of which?

Onomatopoeia

Symbolism

Hyperbole

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

Prose

Heroic couplets

Sonnets

Blank verse

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