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

Nature

Monarchy

Romantic love
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?
Metaphor

Hyperbole

Simile

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

Happy the Man

Religio Laici

Astrea Redux
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?
Marriage a-la-mode

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Anne Killigrew

Astrea Redux
6 Which of the following is metaphorically compared to a "peal of thunder" in Alexander's Feast"?
The arrival of St. Cecilia

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The singing at a Catholic church service

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?
Art

Gender and gender inequality

Reason and passion

Grief
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?
The medal's image is shallowly carved, but it depicts a deep, profound mind

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

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

The medal is made for Shaftesbury, but ultimately awarded to his enemy
10 Which animal represents Catholicism in The Hind and the Panther?
The goose

The hind

The panther

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 French Revolution

The Great Fire of London

The Exclusion Crisis

The English Civil War
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?
Alexander's Feast

The Hind and the Panther

Religio Laici

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?
Anaphora

Onomatopoeia

Metaphor

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

End rhyme

Understatement

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

Mac Flecknoe

Anne Killigrew

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

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

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?
Metonymy

Motif

Personification

Understatement
20 Which of the following is a major event in "Annus Mirabilis"?
Neither

England's naval victories

Both

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

Year of Wonders

Year of Farce

Year of Tranquility
22 Which of the following does Dryden most often allude to?
Modern science

The Bible

Classical texts

Renaissance poetry and art
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?
The Earl of Shaftesbury

King Charles II

The Duke of Monmouth

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

Personification

Onomatopoeia

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

Prose

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

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