To Penshurst Quizzes

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

Jonson's patron

The house

The king

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

Jonson's patron

Jonson's neighbor

Jonson's father

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

The goodness of the children

The hospitality of the lord and lady

The beauty of the architecture

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

The king's palace

Catholic churches in Europe

The temple of Solomon

Sidney's other estates
5 How does Jonson depict the relationship between Sidney and his neighbors?

Affectionate

Resentful

Equal

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

As a member of the family

As an advisor

As a prophet

As a fool
7 How does Jonson characterize other aristocrats in comparison to Sidney?

As more superficial

As more powerful

As less intelligent

As less wealthy
8 What genre did Jonson invent with "To Penshurst"?

The ode

The country-house poem

The patronage poem

The heroic couplet
9 In what sense is "To Penshurst" giving advice?

Jonson encourages Sidney to continue to be a true nobleman

Jonson encourages Sidney to pay him more money

Jonson encourages Sidney to build a more spectacular house

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

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

It had been built gradually, so the plan was not unified
11 How does Jonson respond to Penshurst's unfashionable appearance?

He argues that architectural beauty is not that important

He argues that it was once in fashion

He says true beauty is more important than trends

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?

Addressing various houses

Use of negations

Syntactical order

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

To prove that animals are foolish

To suggest that Sidney is tyrannical

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"?

The natural stages in a person's life

The bonds that connect all people with one another

A natural hierarchy of all living things

The bonds that connect people with God
15 Why does Jonson emphasize that Sidney's neighbors bring gifts?

To show off his knowledge of consumer goods

To show that the Sidneys don't have everything

To prove that everyone in the community is wealthy

To show that Sidney is at home in the community
16 How does Jonson depict the arrival of the king?

As a show of disrespect

As an inconvenience

As a sign of the Sidney's political importance

As an honor
17 What does Penshurst symbolize?

The decline of England

The wisdom of God

Sir Robert's character

The rivalry between Jonson and Sidney
18 What does the line "His children thy great lord may call his own" imply?

Sir Robert's children aren't his own biologically

Other noblemen can't be sure their wives are faithful

Sir Robert is wealthy enough to merit being a father

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

Sir Robert

Jonson himself

A houseguest

The lady
20 What is the form of "To Penshurst"?

Heroic couplets

Sonnet sequence

Rhyme royal

Free verse
21 What is the meter of "To Penshurst"?

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)

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)
22 Which of the following contains alliteration?

Fertile of wood, Ashore and Sidney’s copse

Of touch or marble; nor canst boast a row

Thou hast thy walks for health, as well as sport

Of wood, of water; therein thou art fair.
23 Which of the following best replaces "copse" in "Fertile of wood, Ashore and Sidney’s copse"

Favorite spot

Patch of trees

Clearing

Police
24 Which of the following does Sidney personify?

The animals of Penshurst

Penshurst itself

The other houses in the area

The fruit trees
25 Which of the following is most obviously an example of hyperbole?

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

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

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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