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

Music

Romantic love

Monarchy
2 Which type of stanza is Dryden most associated with?
Ballad Stanza

Heroic couplets

Blank verse

Tercet
3 The phrase "Trade, which, like blood,/should circularly flow" contains which of the following?
Simile

Hyperbole

Metaphor

Personification
4 Which of Dryden's poems celebrates the new reign of Charles II?
Alexander's Feast

Happy the Man

Astrea Redux

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

Marriage a-la-mode

Astrea Redux

Anne Killigrew
6 Which of the following is metaphorically compared to a "peal of thunder" in Alexander's Feast"?
The sound of a lyre

The yelling of crowds at James II's coronation

The arrival of St. Cecilia

The singing at a Catholic church service
7 Which of the following is NOT an apt description of Dryden's typical tone?
Incisive

Astute

Reasoned

Saccharine
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?
Shaftesbury is praised and rewarded, despite acting traitorously

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

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

The panther

The hind

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

Mac Flecknoe

The Hind and the Panther

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

The Great Fire of London

The Exclusion Crisis

The English Civil War
13 In Mac Flecknoe, the claim that Shadwell "never deviates into sense" is an instance of what?
Understatement

Alliteration

Metonymy

Simile
14 Which poem most prominently praises Protestantism?
The Hind and the Panther

Annus Mirabilis

Religio Laici

Alexander's Feast
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?
Alliteration

Understatement

Assonance

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

The Medall

Mac Flecknoe

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

Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell

Absalom and Achitophel

To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
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"?
Both

Neither

England's naval victories

The Great Fire of London
21 What is the English translation of the title "Annus Mirabilis"?
Year of Farce

Year of Tranquility

Year of Wonders

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

Renaissance poetry and art

The Bible

Modern science
23 Which of the following figures is NOT allegorically represented in "Absalom and Achitophel"?
Thomas Shadwell

King Charles II

The Earl of Shaftesbury

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

Onomatopoeia

Personification

Symbolism
25 What verse form comprises the play "All for Love"?
Sonnets

Prose

Heroic couplets

Blank verse

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