To The Memory of Mr. Oldham Quizzes

To The Memory of Mr. Oldham Quiz

1 Who was John Oldham?
A writer

A politician

A painter

An explorer
2 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABB ABB

ABAB BCBC

AB AB AB

AABBCCDD
3 Which meter is used in this poem?
Trochaic pentameter

Iambic hexameter

Dactylic dimeter

Iambic pentameter
4 What does the word "ally'd" mean in this poem's context?
Identical

United

Supportive

Peaceful
5 What is a lyre?
A country estate

A person who routinely lies

A graveyard plot

A string instrument
6 Which word is used as a metonymy in "To The Memory of Mr. Oldham"?
Tongue

Abhorr'd

Farewell

Ivy
7 What does the word "numbers" mean in this particular context?
Musical notes

Poetic meter

Mathematics

Navigation
8 Who is the poem's speaker?
Mr. Oldham

Nisus

An unnamed young boy

John Dryden
9 The allusion to Nisus is drawn from which source?
The Canterbury Tales

Hamlet

The Aeneid

Aristotle's Poetics
10 What do ivy and laurels indicate in this work?
A rural lifestyle

The vengeance of nature

Bookish intelligence

A strong legacy
11 What does "mould" mean in the poem?
An interior design element used in homes

A container used to shape liquids

A type of growth found in rotting materials

A popular 18th-century dish
12 What, according to the speaker, might have happened to Oldham's poetry as he aged?
It might become more commercial because of changes in publishing

It might turn away from satire towards more timeless issues

It might grow technically perfect but less interesting

It might stay the same, but society would be ready for its message at last
13 When was John Oldham born?
1789

1691

1815

1653
14 The phrase "Thy generous fruits" is an instance of what?
Synecdoche

Metaphor

Simile

Paradox
15 The line "Cast in the same poetic mould with mine" denotes what?
That Oldham was never able to break away from his determined fate

That the speaker and Oldham competed for literary fame

That Oldham had influence and control over the speaker

That the speaker and subject are similar as writers and people
16 Of what is this poem primarily composed?
Monistich

Spenserian Stanzas

Tercets

Heroic couplets
17 Which specific genre do Dryden and Oldham both work in?
Satire

The Novel

Hymns

Pastoralism
18 This poem is an example of what?
A sonnet

An ekphrastic poem

An elegy

An acrostic
19 What was the relationship between Dryden and Oldham in real life?
They were not alive at the same time, but Dryden enjoyed his predecessor's work

They were friends

They never met, but exchanged several admiring letters

They were political rivals
20 Which of the following does Dryden critique in Oldham's writing?
Its lack of technical precision

Its aggressive political critiques

Its long-winded pomposity

Its blend of high and low allusions
21 Which of the following is an instance of irony?
That Oldham will be remembered as a fine poet, but he is actually a better novelist

That Oldham died on the day the speaker was born

That Oldham, though younger than the speaker, has died first

That the speaker has resented Oldham in the past but now misses him
22 What primarily makes the line "But mellows what we write to the dull sweets of rhyme" unique?
It uses mostly one-syllalbe words

It references taste imagery

It breaks the pattern of heroic couplets

It uses alliterative W sounds
23 The poem's first line features alliteration with which sound?
O

F

L

N
24 What is most closely meant by the word "knave"?
Know-it-all

Idiot

Knight

Scoundrel
25 What is the name "Marcellus" an allusion to?
A mythological character

An English prince

A roman general

Oldham's early pen name

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Study Guide for To The Memory of Mr. Oldham

To The Memory of Mr. Oldham study guide contains a biography of John Dryden, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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