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?

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?

Religio Laici

Astrea Redux

Happy the Man

Alexander's Feast
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?

Astrea Redux

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Marriage a-la-mode

Anne Killigrew
6 Which of the following is metaphorically compared to a "peal of thunder" in Alexander's Feast"?

The singing at a Catholic church service

The arrival of St. Cecilia

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

Astute

Saccharine

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

Gender and gender inequality

Grief

Art

Reason and passion
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 goose

The panther

The fox

The hind
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 English Civil War

The Great Fire of London

The Exclusion Crisis

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

Alliteration

Metonymy

Understatement

Simile
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?

Alexander's Feast

Religio Laici

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?

Metaphor

Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia

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

Alliteration

Assonance

End rhyme

Understatement
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?

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

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

Metonymy

Understatement

Motif

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

England's naval victories

The Great Fire of London

Neither

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

Year of Return

Year of Tranquility

Year of Wonders

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

Renaissance poetry and art

The Bible

Classical texts

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

King Charles II

The Earl of Shaftesbury

The Duke of Monmouth

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

Symbolism

Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia

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

Sonnets

Prose

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

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