Shakespeare's sonnets

Shakespeare's sonnets - Test

1. How many sonnets are contained in the quarto published in 1609?

A) 160
B) 154
C) 200
D) 126

2. Which play by Shakespeare includes a prologue written as a sonnet?

A) Romeo and Juliet
B) Henry V
C) Much Ado About Nothing
D) Love's Labour's Lost

3. Who is the 'Fair Youth' in Shakespeare's sonnets?

A) Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
B) An unnamed young man addressed by the poet
C) William Hughes, a young actor
D) A fictional character with no historical basis

4. What is the rhyme scheme of Shakespearean sonnets?

A) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
B) ABC ABC DEF DEF GG
C) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
D) ABBA ABBA CDE CDE

5. Which character in Shakespeare's sonnets is described as having black hair and 'dun' skin?

A) The narrator
B) The Fair Youth
C) The Rival Poet
D) The Dark Lady

6. What is the form of 'A Lover's Complaint'?

A) Three quatrains and a final couplet
B) An epic poem
C) 154 sonnets
D) 47 seven-line stanzas written in rhyme royal

7. Who is often speculated to be the 'Rival Poet' in Shakespeare's sonnets?

A) Ben Jonson
B) John Davies of Hereford
C) Francis Davison
D) A composite of several poets

8. What is the primary theme of the 'Fair Youth' sonnets?

A) Admiration for the youth's beauty and a plea to marry and have children
B) Rejection and independence
C) Lust and homoeroticism
D) Infidelity and betrayal

9. Which sonnet sequence is considered a continuation of the Renaissance tradition?

A) Leaves of Grass
B) Shakespeare's Sonnets
C) Paradise Lost
D) The Canterbury Tales

10. What does the 'volta' in a sonnet typically signify?

A) The beginning of the poem
B) A turn or shift in thought or mood
C) The end of the poem
D) A repetition of ideas

11. Which play features sonnets written by characters as part of a comedic narrative?

A) Henry V
B) Romeo and Juliet
C) Love's Labour's Lost
D) Much Ado About Nothing

12. What is the significance of the dedication to 'Mr. W.H.' in Shakespeare's Sonnets?

A) It is a subject of speculation regarding his identity
B) It reveals him to be the Dark Lady
C) It identifies him as the Fair Youth
D) It confirms Mr. W.H. as the author

13. Which sonnet form does Shakespeare's Sonnets follow?

A) English or Shakespearean sonnet
B) Spenserian sonnet
C) Petrarchan sonnet
D) Free verse

14. What is the primary focus of 'A Lover's Complaint'?

A) The beauty of nature
B) The misery of a woman victimized by male desire
C) The triumphs of love
D) The adventures of a knight

15. Which play includes a sonnet at the end of its epilogue?

A) Henry V
B) Romeo and Juliet
C) Love's Labour's Lost
D) Much Ado About Nothing

16. What is a notable feature of the sonnets in 'A Lover's Complaint'?

A) They consist of three quatrains and a couplet
B) They follow the Shakespearean sonnet form
C) They are free verse
D) They are written in rhyme royal

17. Which historical figure is often speculated to be the Fair Youth?

A) Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
B) Ben Jonson
C) Edward Alleyn
D) William Hughes

18. What is the primary theme of the sonnets addressed to the Dark Lady?

A) Admiration for her intelligence
B) Rejection of her advances
C) Praise for her beauty
D) Overt sexuality and a defiant departure from traditional themes

19. What is the primary meter used in Shakespeare's sonnets?

A) Trochaic tetrameter
B) Anapestic trimeter
C) Dactylic hexameter
D) Iambic pentameter

20. Which play features a partial sonnet read aloud?

A) All’s Well that Ends Well
B) Much Ado About Nothing
C) Henry V
D) Romeo and Juliet

21. Who bought a copy of the 1609 quarto for one shilling in June 1609?

A) George Eld
B) Thomas Thorpe
C) William Shakespeare
D) Edward Alleyn

22. What is the title of the poem following the sonnets in the 1609 quarto?

A) A Lover's Complaint
B) Venus and Adonis
C) The Phoenix and the Turtle
D) The Rape of Lucrece

23. How many sonnets in the 1609 quarto are addressed to a woman?

A) 40
B) 28
C) 126
D) 14

24. Who entered Shakespeare's sonnets in the Stationers' Register?

A) John Wright
B) George Eld
C) Thomas Thorpe
D) William Aspley

25. What is the rhyme scheme of Shakespeare's English sonnets?

A) AABBCCDDEEFFGG
B) ABABCDCDEFEFGG
C) ABBAABBACDCDCD
D) ABABBCBCCDCDDC

26. How many copies of the 1609 quarto have survived?

A) Five
B) Twenty
C) Eight
D) Thirteen

27. To whom is Shakespeare's Sonnets dedicated?

A) The Earl of Southampton
B) Thomas Thorpe
C) William Shakespeare
D) Mr. W.H.

28. Which work by Ben Jonson is mentioned as having a dedication to Herbert?

A) Every Man in His Humour
B) The Alchemist
C) Epigrammes (1616)
D) Volpone

29. Which contemporary dramatist is suggested as 'Mr. W.H.'?

A) Christopher Marlowe
B) Thomas Kyd
C) Ben Jonson
D) William Haughton

30. Who was Shakespeare's nephew and male heir, suggested as 'Mr. W.H.'?

A) William Hart
B) Richard Burbage
C) Hamnet Shakespeare
D) Edward Alleyn

31. What is the term for the shift in mood or thought at the end of a sonnet's third quatrain?

A) Resolution
B) Climax
C) Volta
D) Denouement

32. Which author proposed that the Fair Youth was William Hughes?

A) Edmund Malone
B) Thomas Tyrwhitt
C) Oscar Wilde
D) Samuel Johnson

33. What role did William Hughes play in Shakespeare's plays?

A) Comedic roles
B) Villainous roles
C) Male lead roles
D) Female roles

34. How many sonnets are in the Dark Lady sequence?

A) 20
B) 30
C) 26
D) 15

35. In which year was 'A Lover's Complaint' published as part of a quarto?

A) 1616
B) 1592
C) 1609
D) 1588

36. In which year was 'Romeo and Juliet' published, featuring a prologue in sonnet form?

A) 1598
B) 1597
C) 1609
D) 1612

37. Who mentioned that Shakespeare's sonnets were being circulated privately?

A) Thomas Heywood
B) Francis Meres
C) Edmond Malone
D) William Jaggard

38. In which publication did William Jaggard include four sonnets by Shakespeare?

A) Poems: Written by Wil. Shakespeare Gent
B) The Passionate Pilgrime
C) Palladis Tamia
D) Shakespeare's Sonnets

39. Who was 'much offended' by Jaggard making bold with his name?

A) John Benson
B) Shakespeare
C) Edmond Malone
D) Francis Meres

40. In his plays, how did Shakespeare generally portray sonnets?

A) Indifferently
B) Admiringly
C) Scornfully
D) With great respect

41. What has been over-explored in understanding Shakespeare's sonnets?

A) Literary ambition.
B) Cultural context.
C) Linguistic structure.
D) Biographical aspects.

42. Which critical approach focuses on the text itself as a complex structure of language and ideas?

A) Cultural criticism.
B) Historical criticism.
C) Biographical criticism.
D) New Criticism.

43. According to Gerald Hammond, what is essential for the reader of Shakespeare's sonnets?

A) Ignoring abstract meanings.
B) Having experts simplify double meanings.
C) Dealing with perplexity on their own.
D) Focusing only on concrete meanings.

44. How was The Sonnets' reputation in England during the eighteenth century?

A) Unknown.
B) Widely celebrated.
C) Relatively low.
D) Highly esteemed.

45. Who did The Critical Review credit with perfecting the English sonnet in 1805?

A) Sir Philip Sidney.
B) Edmund Spenser.
C) William Shakespeare.
D) John Milton.

46. How many times have Shakespeare's Sonnets been reprinted?

A) Never.
B) Twice.
C) Only once.
D) Many times.

47. Which character in Love's Labour's Lost expresses love through a hexameter sonnet?

A) Lord Berowne
B) Lord Longaville
C) Dumaine
D) King of Navarre

48. How many sonnets are found in Romeo and Juliet?

A) Four
B) Three
C) Two
D) One

49. Which play features a sonnet by Beatrice and Benedick that are not committed to paper?

A) Romeo and Juliet
B) Love's Labour's Lost
C) Henry V
D) Much Ado About Nothing

50. In what year was the play 'Edward III' first printed?

A) 1601
B) 1588
C) 1612
D) 1596

51. Which phrase from Shakespeare's sonnets is found in 'Edward III'?

A) "that time of year thou mayst in me behold"
B) "my love is as a fever longing still"
C) "budding of this purple bud"
D) "scarlet ornaments"

Created with That Quiz — a math test site for students of all grade levels.