Study Poetry Quiz
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Known all around the world for being arguably the world’s greatest playwright, it’s easy to forget that William Shakespeare was also a seasoned poet. What can you tell us about his work? Let’s find out!
- 1.In which of the following decades were Shakespeare’s sonnets written?
- A.
1580s
- B.
1590s
- C.
1570s
- D.
1610s
- 2.In what year were Shakespeare’s sonnets first published?
- A.
1600
- B.
1609
- C.
1619
- D.
1630
- 3.How many sonnets does Shakespeare’s collection contain?
- A.
154
- B.
160
- C.
164
- D.
170
- 4.Which is the last sonnet of part one of the collection?
- A.
120
- B.
122
- C.
124
- D.
126
- 5.Which of these events took place in the same year that Shakespeare’s sonnets were published?
- A.
The Dutch signed a twelve year truce with Spain ushering in the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic
- B.
Galileo demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers
- C.
Cosimo II de Medici became the Grand Duke of Tuscany
- D.
All of the above
- 6.Which of the following authors did Shakespeare’s sonnets influence?
- A.
John Dryden
- B.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- C.
John Keats
- D.
All of the above
- 7.Which of the following poets referred to the “dark lady” sonnet sequence as “abominably harsh, obscure & worthless”?
- A.
Miguel de Cervantes
- B.
Thomas Campion
- C.
Ben Jonson
- D.
William Wordsworth
- 8.Which Latin concept explored by Shakespeare in his sonnets refers to a state which lies between eternity and the temporal existence of material beings?
- A.
Aelus
- B.
Aegae
- C.
Aevum
- D.
Aedivum
- 9.It is thought that the publisher of the collection used an unauthorised manuscript. What was his name?
- A.
Henry Thorpe
- B.
Frederick Thorpe
- C.
Thomas Thorpe
- D.
James Thorpe
- 10.The sonnets include a dedication to a mystery man. What are the initials of his name?
- A.
Mr. W. H.
- B.
Mr. A. R.
- C.
Mr. P. S.
- D.
Mr. W. S.
- 11.What is the structure of the majority of the sonnets in the collection?
- A.
Three quatrains and a final couplet in trochaic pentameter
- B.
Five quatrains and a final couplet in iambic hexameter
- C.
Two quatrains and a final couplet in iambic tetrameter
- D.
Three quatrains and a final couplet in iambic pentameter
- 12.Every English foot contains one long syllable plus one or two short syllables. A long syllable is how much longer than a short one?
- A.
Double the length
- B.
Three times the length
- C.
Four times the length
- D.
Five times the length
- 13.The beginning of which quatrain normally marks the “volta” in Shakespeare’s sonnets?
- A.
The fourth
- B.
The second
- C.
The first
- D.
The third
- 14.St. Augustine and Shakespeare are considered forerunners of a group of philosophers which included Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. What is the name of this group?
- A.
Essentialists
- B.
Existentialists
- C.
Fatalists
- D.
Materialists
- 15.Which of the following adjectives best describes the nature of the present according to St. Augustine and Shakespeare?
- A.
Unvarying
- B.
Illusive
- C.
Ephemeral
- D.
Perplexing
- 16.Which words are missing in the following phrase from “The Confessions Of Saint Augustine”? “(…) if nothing passed away, time ……… were not; and if nothing were coming, a time to come were not; and if nothing were, time ……… were not.”
- A.
Past, future
- B.
Past, present
- C.
Present, past
- D.
Future, present
- 17.The first seventeen sonnets of the collection are traditionally called what?
- A.
The procreation sonnets
- B.
The procrastination sonnets
- C.
The propagation sonnets
- D.
The promulgation sonnets
- 18.Who is the addressee of part one?
- A.
A fair lady
- B.
A rival poet
- C.
A dark lady
- D.
A fair youth
- 19.Who is the addressee of part two?
- A.
A fair lady
- B.
A rival poet
- C.
A dark lady
- D.
A fair youth
- 20.Which of the two characters in the collection are having an affair?
- A.
The rival poet and author
- B.
The dark lady and fair youth
- C.
The author and fair youth
- D.
The dark lady and rival poet
- 21.Which of the characters of the collection is overtly sexually desired by the speaker?
- A.
The fair youth
- B.
The dark lady
- C.
The rival poet
- D.
None of the above
- 22.Which of the following is a theme dealt with in Shakespeare's sonnets?
- A.
Love
- B.
Mortality
- C.
The passage of time
- D.
All of the above
- 23.In his sonnets, Shakespeare refers to two ways to achieve a minor form of immortality. What are they?
- A.
Charity and penitence
- B.
Organ donation and embalming
- C.
Literature and fatherhood
- D.
Sculpture and music
- 24.Which word does Shakespeare always rhyme with youth in the sonnets, whenever either word occurs at the end of the line?
- A.
Forsooth
- B.
Proof
- C.
Truth
- D.
Uncouth
- 25.Sonnets 18, 60 and 73 all elaborate on the Ovidian concept “Tempus edax rerum”. What does this mean?
- A.
Time, that devours all things
- B.
Time, that always returns
- C.
Time, that keeps moving
- D.
Time, that stops all things
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