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