Shakespeare's sonnets

Shakespeare's sonnets - Test

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

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

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

A) Henry V
B) Romeo and Juliet
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) William Hughes, a young actor
C) A fictional character with no historical basis
D) An unnamed young man addressed by the poet

4. What is the rhyme scheme of Shakespearean sonnets?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A) Romeo and Juliet
B) Love's Labour's Lost
C) Henry V
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 confirms Mr. W.H. as the author
D) It identifies him as the Fair Youth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 are free verse
C) They follow the Shakespearean sonnet form
D) They are written in rhyme royal

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

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

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

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

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

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

20. Which play features a partial sonnet read aloud?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27. To whom is Shakespeare's Sonnets dedicated?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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