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

Monarchy

Music

Romantic love
2 Which type of stanza is Dryden most associated with?

Blank verse

Tercet

Heroic couplets

Ballad Stanza
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?

Alexander's Feast

Happy the Man

Religio Laici

Astrea Redux
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?

Anne Killigrew

Marriage a-la-mode

Astrea Redux

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day
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?

Astute

Reasoned

Incisive

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

Reason and passion

Gender and gender inequality

Art

Grief
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?

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

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

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 fox

The goose

The hind

The panther
11 Which of Dryden's poems criticizes the poet Thomas Shadwell?

Absalom and Achitophel

The Hind and the Panther

Mac Flecknoe

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?

The Exclusion Crisis

The French Revolution

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?

Metonymy

Simile

Understatement

Alliteration
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?

Metaphor

Hyperbole

Anaphora

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

Assonance

End rhyme

Understatement

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

Anne Killigrew

Mac Flecknoe

The Medall

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

Absalom and Achitophel

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell
19 The use of "tongue" to mean "language" in "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" is an instance of what?

Understatement

Motif

Metonymy

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

England's naval victories

Both

Neither

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

Year of Tranquility

Year of Wonders

Year of Farce

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

Modern science

The Bible

Renaissance poetry and art

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

The Earl of Shaftesbury

King Charles II

Thomas Shadwell

The Duke of Monmouth
24 Dryden's description of flutes "breathing" in "Alexander's Feast" is an instance of which?

Onomatopoeia

Personification

Hyperbole

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

Heroic couplets

Prose

Blank verse

Sonnets

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