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"?

Music

Romantic love

Nature

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

Heroic couplets

Tercet

Blank verse

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

Hyperbole

Personification

Simile

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

Alexander's Feast

Astrea Redux

Happy the Man

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

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Marriage a-la-mode

Anne Killigrew

Astrea Redux
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 sound of a lyre

The arrival of St. Cecilia
7 Which of the following is NOT an apt description of Dryden's typical tone?

Saccharine

Astute

Incisive

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

Gender and gender inequality

Reason and passion

Art

Grief
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

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

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
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

The Hind and the Panther

Mac Flecknoe

Absalom and Achitophel
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?

The Exclusion Crisis

The English Civil War

The French Revolution

The Great Fire of London
13 In Mac Flecknoe, the claim that Shadwell "never deviates into sense" is an instance of what?

Understatement

Simile

Alliteration

Metonymy
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?

Religio Laici

Alexander's Feast

The Hind and the Panther

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

Metaphor

Anaphora
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?

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?

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

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?

Motif

Personification

Understatement

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

Both

The Great Fire of London

Neither

England's naval victories
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?

Year of Return

Year of Farce

Year of Tranquility

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

The Bible

Modern science

Renaissance poetry and art

Classical texts
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"?

Sonnets

Prose

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

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