To Penshurst Quizzes

1 Who does the speaker address in "To Penshurst"?

Jonson's patron

The king

The house

The lady of the house
2 Who was Sir Robert Sidney?

Jonson's friend

Jonson's neighbor

Jonson's father

Jonson's patron
3 Which of the following is NOT something Jonson praises Penshurst for?

The hospitality of the lord and lady

The beauty of the architecture

The goodness of the children

The quality of the land
4 What is Jonson alluding to in the opening of "To Penshurst"?

Catholic churches in Europe

Sidney's other estates

The king's palace

The temple of Solomon
5 How does Jonson depict the relationship between Sidney and his neighbors?

Envious

Equal

Resentful

Affectionate
6 How does the poet depict himself within the poem?

As a member of the family

As a prophet

As a fool

As an advisor
7 How does Jonson characterize other aristocrats in comparison to Sidney?

As more superficial

As less intelligent

As less wealthy

As more powerful
8 What genre did Jonson invent with "To Penshurst"?

The ode

The heroic couplet

The country-house poem

The patronage poem
9 In what sense is "To Penshurst" giving advice?

Jonson encourages Sidney to pay him more money

Jonson encourages Sidney to build a more spectacular house

Jonson encourages Sidney to continue to be a true nobleman

Jonson warns Sidney against selling Penshurst
10 Why was Penshurst less visually impressive than other aristocratic homes?

It had been built gradually, so the plan was not unified

The Sidneys were less wealthy, so could not achieve the same grandeur

The Sidneys had been too cheap to hire a good architect

The Sidneys chose to build a humble home to fit in with the neighbors
11 How does Jonson respond to Penshurst's unfashionable appearance?

He says true beauty is more important than trends

He argues that it was once in fashion

He argues that architectural beauty is not that important

He attempts to conceal it
12 What pattern established in the opening does the line "Thou joy’st in better marks, of soil, of air" disrupt?

Use of metaphors

Addressing various houses

Syntactical order

Use of negations
13 Why might Jonson suggest that Sidney's animals give themselves up willingly?

To suggest that Sidney is tyrannical

To prove that animals are foolish

To show that the poem is meant to be satirical

To emphasize Sidney's natural place at the top of the hierarchy
14 What is the "Great Chain of Being"?

A natural hierarchy of all living things

The bonds that connect people with God

The bonds that connect all people with one another

The natural stages in a person's life
15 Why does Jonson emphasize that Sidney's neighbors bring gifts?

To show that Sidney is at home in the community

To prove that everyone in the community is wealthy

To show that the Sidneys don't have everything

To show off his knowledge of consumer goods
16 How does Jonson depict the arrival of the king?

As an honor

As a show of disrespect

As a sign of the Sidney's political importance

As an inconvenience
17 What does Penshurst symbolize?

Sir Robert's character

The rivalry between Jonson and Sidney

The decline of England

The wisdom of God
18 What does the line "His children thy great lord may call his own" imply?

Sir Robert is wealthy enough to merit being a father

Sir Robert's children aren't his own biologically

Other noblemen can't be sure their wives are faithful

Sir Robert can claim anyone in the community as a son
19 Who is the speaker in "To Penshurst"?

Jonson himself

The lady

Sir Robert

A houseguest
20 What is the form of "To Penshurst"?

Sonnet sequence

Heroic couplets

Free verse

Rhyme royal
21 What is the meter of "To Penshurst"?

Trochaic pentameter (each line is made up of five pairs of one stressed and one unstressed syllable)

Iambic pentameter (each line is made up of five pairs of one unstressed and one stressed syllable)

Iambic tetrameter (each line is made up of four pairs of one unstressed and one stressed syllable)

Trochaic tetrameter (each line is made up of four pairs of one stressed and one unstressed syllable)
22 Which of the following contains alliteration?

Of touch or marble; nor canst boast a row

Fertile of wood, Ashore and Sidney’s copse

Of wood, of water; therein thou art fair.

Thou hast thy walks for health, as well as sport
23 Which of the following best replaces "copse" in "Fertile of wood, Ashore and Sidney’s copse"

Police

Patch of trees

Favorite spot

Clearing
24 Which of the following does Sidney personify?

Penshurst itself

The fruit trees

The animals of Penshurst

The other houses in the area
25 Which of the following is most obviously an example of hyperbole?

The blushing apricot and woolly peach / Hang on thy walls, that every child may reach.

With all their zeal to warm their welcome here. / What (great I will not say, but) sudden cheer

Bright eels that emulate them, and leap on land/Before the fisher, or into his hand.

Thy copse too, named of Gamage, thou hast there, / That never fails to serve thee seasoned deer

To Penshurst

by Ben Jonson

To Penshurst "To Penshurst"

To Penshurst Questions and Answers

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