On my First Son Quizzes

On my First Son "On my First Son"

1 Who is the poem about?
The child Jesus

Jonson's friend's son

A fictional character

Jonson's seven-year-old son
2 What does the speaker say his greatest mistake was?
Resenting God for taking his son

Not telling his son he loved him when he had the chance

Liking his son too much

Having high expectations for his son's future
3 Who does the speaker compare himself to?
A father

A loaner

A God

A debtor
4 Which word in the ninth line is an unconventional addition to a cliché?
Rest

Here

Soft

Peace
5 What is Jonson's tone in the first line?
Angry

Wistful

Despairing

Bitter
6 What is the genre of the poem?
Sonnet

Lyric

Limerick

Epitaph
7 How does "On my First Son" compare to "On my First Daughter"?
More conventional and impassioned

Less conventional and more impassioned

Less conventional and more distant

More conventional and distant
8 Who of the following is a famous contemporary of Ben Jonson?
Chaucer

Milton

Shakespeare

Marvell
9 Which of the following is NOT one of the traditional three parts of an epitaph?
Recrimination

Consolation

Lamentation

Commemoration
10 What do the lines, "Seven years tho' wert lent to me, and I thee pay, / Exacted by thy fate, on the just day" suggest about the speaker's relationship with God?
The speaker sees God as actively malicious

The speaker sees God as a distant but righteous force

The speaker is losing his faith in God

The speaker has a close and loving relationship with God
11 Why is the line "O, could I lose all father now!" ambiguous?
It isn't clear whether the speaker is actively trying to get rid of fathers

It isn't clear whether the speaker really means what he says

It isn't clear whether the speaker is referring to himself or his own father

It isn't clear whether the speaker is referring to himself or God
12 How does Jonson present the relationship between fatherhood and grief?
Being a father means he can't help but grieve his son's death

Being a father means you're too busy to grieve

Being a father means you're always grieving, whether your children live or die

Being a good father means being strong and not grieving
13 Which of the following is NOT an attribute of an "ideal" patriarch?
Dominant over the family

Emotionally stoic

Politically powerful

Economically powerful
14 What is the most important similarity between God and Jonson in the poem?
Both are just

Both are creators

Both are heartbroken

Both are male
15 How does Jonson treat his own poetic work in this poem?
As immortal but superficial

As relatively insignificant

As his most important work

As a powerful antidote to death
16 What is the tone of the end of the poem?
Resigned

Angry

Bitter

Mournful
17 What does the final line of the poem present?
A bold new vow

A chance for hope

A resolve to fight

An impossible predicament
18 What was Jonson best known for during his life?
His aristocratic status

His plays

His poems

His love for his children
19 Who first used the language of debt to speak about religious matters?
Early Christians

Elizabethan theologians

Medieval Christians

Ben Jonson
20 What is original sin, according to orthodox Christianity?
Adam and Eve's first sin

The most important sin

The first sin someone commits

Sin everyone is born with
21 What is unusual, for early-modern poetry, about Jonson's description of his son as a poem?
Describing the poet as a creator

Describing the son as a poem, rather than the poem as a son

Referring to poetry in a poem

Describing writing a poem as akin to having a child
22 What is NOT implied by Jonson's account of the world as miserable?
The speaker wants to end his own life

The speaker cannot console himself

The speaker finds his own life difficult

The speaker currently has a pessimistic attitude
23 What is Jonson's relationship to his son in the poem?
Intimate

Tense

Ignorant

Formal
24 What is the speaker's attitude towards the body?
Indifferent

Passionate

Negative

Positive
25 Which literary device does NOT appear in the poem?
Simile

Metaphor

Apostrophe

Personification

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On my First Son study guide contains a biography of Ben Jonson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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