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?
Ballad Stanza

Tercet

Blank verse

Heroic couplets
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?
Astrea Redux

Alexander's Feast

Religio Laici

Happy the Man
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?
Anne Killigrew

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Astrea Redux

Marriage a-la-mode
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 sound of a lyre

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?
Saccharine

Incisive

Astute

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 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

The medal is made for Shaftesbury, but ultimately awarded to his enemy

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously
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?
Mac Flecknoe

The Hind and the Panther

Absalom and Achitophel

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

The French Revolution

The Great Fire of London

The Exclusion Crisis
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?
Annus Mirabilis

The Hind and the Panther

Religio Laici

Alexander's Feast
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?
End rhyme

Assonance

Understatement

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

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Mac Flecknoe

The Medall
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?
Personification

Understatement

Metonymy

Motif
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 Tranquility

Year of Wonders

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

Renaissance poetry and art

The Bible

Modern science
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?
Personification

Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia

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

Blank verse

Heroic couplets

Prose

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