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?
Tercet

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

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

Metaphor

Simile

Hyperbole
4 Which of Dryden's poems celebrates the new reign of Charles II?
Astrea Redux

Happy the Man

Religio Laici

Alexander's Feast
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 sound of a lyre

The singing at a Catholic church service

The arrival of St. Cecilia

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation
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?
Reason and passion

Grief

Art

Gender and gender inequality
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?
Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

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

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 fox

The goose

The hind
11 Which of Dryden's poems criticizes the poet Thomas Shadwell?
To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Absalom and Achitophel

Mac Flecknoe

The Hind and the Panther
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?
The French Revolution

The Exclusion Crisis

The Great Fire of London

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

Metonymy

Alliteration

Understatement
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?
Annus Mirabilis

The Hind and the Panther

Alexander's Feast

Religio Laici
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?
Assonance

Alliteration

End rhyme

Understatement
17 Which of Dryden's poems is NOT primarily about another poet?
The Medall

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Mac Flecknoe

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

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

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

Understatement

Metonymy

Motif
20 Which of the following is a major event in "Annus Mirabilis"?
The Great Fire of London

Neither

England's naval victories

Both
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?
Year of Wonders

Year of Return

Year of Farce

Year of Tranquility
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"?
Thomas Shadwell

King Charles II

The Duke of Monmouth

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

Onomatopoeia

Personification

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

Heroic couplets

Sonnets

Prose

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