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"?
Monarchy

Nature

Romantic love

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

Heroic couplets

Ballad Stanza

Blank verse
3 The phrase "Trade, which, like blood,/should circularly flow" contains which of the following?
Personification

Hyperbole

Metaphor

Simile
4 Which of Dryden's poems celebrates the new reign of Charles II?
Religio Laici

Astrea Redux

Happy the Man

Alexander's Feast
5 Which of the following poems is an elegy?
Anne Killigrew

A Song for St. Cecilia's Day

Astrea Redux

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

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The singing at a Catholic church service

The sound of a lyre
7 Which of the following is NOT an apt description of Dryden's typical tone?
Astute

Reasoned

Saccharine

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

Art

Gender and gender inequality

Reason and passion
9 Which situational irony is described in The Medall?
The medal is made for Shaftesbury, but ultimately awarded to his enemy

Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

The medal's image is shallowly carved, but it depicts a deep, profound mind

The Whigs create a medal, though they are against ornament and material possessions
10 Which animal represents Catholicism in The Hind and the Panther?
The fox

The panther

The hind

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

Absalom and Achitophel

Mac Flecknoe

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
12 For which real event is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?
The English Civil War

The Exclusion Crisis

The Great Fire of London

The French Revolution
13 In Mac Flecknoe, the claim that Shadwell "never deviates into sense" is an instance of what?
Alliteration

Understatement

Simile

Metonymy
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?
Religio Laici

Annus Mirabilis

Alexander's Feast

The Hind and the Panther
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

Metaphor

Onomatopoeia

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

Alliteration

Assonance

End rhyme
17 Which of Dryden's poems is NOT primarily about another poet?
Mac Flecknoe

The Medall

Anne Killigrew

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
18 Which of the following works is written in quatrains rather than couplets?
Dryden never wrote in quatrains

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham

Absalom and Achitophel

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell
19 The use of "tongue" to mean "language" in "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" is an instance of what?
Motif

Personification

Understatement

Metonymy
20 Which of the following is a major event in "Annus Mirabilis"?
The Great Fire of London

England's naval victories

Both

Neither
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?
Year of Farce

Year of Wonders

Year of Return

Year of Tranquility
22 Which of the following does Dryden most often allude to?
Classical texts

Modern science

The Bible

Renaissance poetry and art
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?
Thomas Shadwell

The Earl of Shaftesbury

The Duke of Monmouth

King Charles II
24 Dryden's description of flutes "breathing" in "Alexander's Feast" is an instance of which?
Symbolism

Hyperbole

Personification

Onomatopoeia
25 What verse form comprises the play "All for Love"?
Heroic couplets

Sonnets

Blank verse

Prose

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