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

Romantic love

Monarchy

Music
2 Which type of stanza is Dryden most associated with?
Blank verse

Heroic couplets

Tercet

Ballad Stanza
3 The phrase "Trade, which, like blood,/should circularly flow" contains which of the following?
Hyperbole

Simile

Personification

Metaphor
4 Which of Dryden's poems celebrates the new reign of Charles II?
Happy the Man

Alexander's Feast

Astrea Redux

Religio Laici
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?
A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Marriage a-la-mode

Anne Killigrew

Astrea Redux
6 Which of the following is metaphorically compared to a "peal of thunder" in Alexander's Feast"?
The arrival of St. Cecilia

The singing at a Catholic church service

The sound of a lyre

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation
7 Which of the following is NOT an apt description of Dryden's typical tone?
Astute

Saccharine

Reasoned

Incisive
8 Which of the following is NOT a prominent theme in Dryden's work?
Grief

Reason and passion

Gender and gender inequality

Art
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

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

The medal is made for Shaftesbury, but ultimately awarded to his enemy
10 Which animal represents Catholicism in The Hind and the Panther?
The panther

The hind

The goose

The fox
11 Which of Dryden's poems criticizes the poet Thomas Shadwell?
The Hind and the Panther

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Absalom and Achitophel

Mac Flecknoe
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?
The English Civil War

The Great Fire of London

The French Revolution

The Exclusion Crisis
13 In Mac Flecknoe, the claim that Shadwell "never deviates into sense" is an instance of what?
Simile

Understatement

Alliteration

Metonymy
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?
Annus Mirabilis

Alexander's Feast

The Hind and the Panther

Religio Laici
15 The word "hiss" in the phrase "See the snakes that they rear / How they hiss in their hair" in an instance of what?
Anaphora

Hyperbole

Metaphor

Onomatopoeia
16 The phrase "Of the thundering drum" includes an example of which device?
Understatement

Alliteration

End rhyme

Assonance
17 Which of Dryden's poems is NOT primarily about another poet?
To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Anne Killigrew

Mac Flecknoe

The Medall
18 Which of the following works is written in quatrains rather than couplets?
To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Dryden never wrote in quatrains

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

Absalom and Achitophel
19 The use of "tongue" to mean "language" in "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" is an instance of what?
Personification

Metonymy

Understatement

Motif
20 Which of the following is a major event in "Annus Mirabilis"?
Neither

England's naval victories

The Great Fire of London

Both
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?
Year of Farce

Year of Tranquility

Year of Return

Year of Wonders
22 Which of the following does Dryden most often allude to?
The Bible

Classical texts

Modern science

Renaissance poetry and art
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?
King Charles II

Thomas Shadwell

The Earl of Shaftesbury

The Duke of Monmouth
24 Dryden's description of flutes "breathing" in "Alexander's Feast" is an instance of which?
Symbolism

Onomatopoeia

Personification

Hyperbole
25 What verse form comprises the play "All for Love"?
Prose

Heroic couplets

Sonnets

Blank verse

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