ThatQuiz Test Library Take this test now
Sonnet 55 - Test
Contributed by: Bennett
  • 1. In which year were William Shakespeare's sonnets published?
A) 1609
B) 1599
C) 1588
D) 1616
  • 2. How many sonnets did William Shakespeare publish in 1609?
A) 100
B) 200
C) 120
D) 154
  • 3. What is the rhyme scheme of a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet?
A) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
B) ABC ABC DEF DEF
C) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
D) ABBA ABBA CDE CDE
  • 4. What type of poetic metre is used in Sonnet 55?
A) Anapestic hexameter
B) Trochaic tetrameter
C) Iambic pentameter
D) Dactylic dimeter
  • 5. What does Sonnet 55 claim will outlast physical monuments?
A) Masonry structures
B) War memorials
C) Statues of princes
D) The poem itself
  • 6. Which ancient works are referenced in Sonnet 55?
A) Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad
B) Dante's Divine Comedy and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
C) Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Poetics
D) Horace's Odes and Ovid's Metamorphoses
  • 7. What does John Crowe Ransom point out about the promises of immortality in Sonnet 55?
A) It clearly describes the young man's physical features
B) It guarantees eternal life for both the poet and the subject
C) It focuses on the poet's own immortality
D) The poem is self-refuting as it keeps the young man mostly hidden
  • 8. What does Lars Engle argue about Shakespeare's claim regarding poetry?
A) Shakespeare bestows immortality on another through his poetry, unlike Horace and Ovid who claimed it for themselves
B) He argues that statues are more enduring than poetry
C) Shakespeare claims that only royalty can achieve immortality
D) Engle believes Shakespeare's poetry is inferior to ancient works
  • 9. What does Ernest Fontana focus on in the second quatrain of Sonnet 55?
A) The grandeur of monuments
B) The epithet 'sluttish time'
C) The beauty of the young man
D) The power of war
  • 10. According to Fontana, what does Shakespeare's use of 'besmeared' imply?
A) It highlights the resilience of masonry
B) It signifies the purity of marble monuments
C) It metaphorically refers to syphilis and its effects on the body
D) It describes the weathering of stone statues
  • 11. How does Helen Vendler describe the speaker's attitude towards entities connected to the beloved?
A) The speaker always regards them with contempt
B) The speaker only focuses on their physical attributes
C) The speaker is indifferent to their connection to the beloved
D) The speaker bestows grandeur on them when connected to the beloved, but mocks them otherwise
  • 12. What theme does Vendler argue revolves around in Sonnet 55?
A) The beauty of nature
B) The inevitability of death
C) The glory of war
D) The keyword 'live'
  • 13. What does the couplet in Sonnet 55 suggest about the young man's existence?
A) He will cease to exist after his death
B) The young man will only live physically until the Last Judgment
C) His existence is limited to the poem itself
D) 'Real' living is assigned to the day of the Last Judgment, but he also lives in memory and lovers' eyes
  • 14. Where was an epitaph written in memory of Shakespeare found?
A) Westminster Abbey
B) The British Museum
C) The Globe Theatre
D) The Folger Library
  • 15. What style of handwriting was used for the epitaph found in the Folger Library?
A) Gothic script
B) Cursive script
C) Italic hand
D) Secretary hand
  • 16. What imagery is used in Sonnet 55 to describe time?
A) "Eternal spring"
B) "Sluttish time"
C) "Golden age"
D) "Silent night"
  • 17. Which word does Ernest Fontana suggest Shakespeare intended as a metaphor for venereal disease?
A) "Obvious"
B) "Shining"
C) "Living"
D) "Besmeared"
  • 18. How does Helen Vendler describe the transformation of monuments in Sonnet 55 when they are not connected to the beloved?
A) They become 'unswept stone besmeared'.
B) They shine brighter.
C) They transform into golden statues.
D) They are celebrated by all.
  • 19. What is the central theme of Sonnet 55 according to Helen Vendler?
A) War
B) Death
C) Time
D) Love
  • 20. Which word does Vendler identify as revolving around in Sonnet 55, indicating different aspects of life and memory?
A) "Die"
B) "Remember"
C) "Forget"
D) "Live"
  • 21. In what century was the secretary hand style of handwriting commonly used?
A) 18th Century
B) 16th Century
C) 19th Century
D) 17th Century
  • 22. What color ink was the epitaph written in?
A) Brown ink
B) Blue ink
C) Red ink
D) Black ink
  • 23. Where is Shakespeare buried?
A) The Tower of London
B) Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
C) St. Paul's Cathedral
D) Westminster Abbey
  • 24. Which sonnet contains lines echoed in the epitaph found for Shakespeare?
A) Sonnet 73
B) Sonnet 55
C) Sonnet 18
D) Sonnet 116
  • 25. Who discovered the epitaph in the Folger Library?
A) Robert Evans
B) An unknown author
C) William Shakespeare
D) Richard Briers
  • 26. What sequence is Sonnet 55 a part of?
A) Procreation sequence
B) Rival Poet sequence
C) Fair Youth sequence
D) Dark Lady sequence
  • 27. How many quatrains does an English sonnet contain?
A) One
B) Two
C) Four
D) Three
  • 28. Between which other items were the lines of the verse found?
A) Two other epitaphs
B) A collection of sonnets
C) A series of poems by Shakespeare
D) Letters from contemporaries
Created with That Quiz — the site for test creation and grading in math and other subjects.