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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) 1616
D) 1609
  • 2. How many sonnets did William Shakespeare publish in 1609?
A) 154
B) 200
C) 100
D) 120
  • 3. What is the rhyme scheme of a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet?
A) ABC ABC DEF DEF
B) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
C) ABBA ABBA CDE CDE
D) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
  • 4. What type of poetic metre is used in Sonnet 55?
A) Anapestic hexameter
B) Dactylic dimeter
C) Iambic pentameter
D) Trochaic tetrameter
  • 5. What does Sonnet 55 claim will outlast physical monuments?
A) Statues of princes
B) The poem itself
C) Masonry structures
D) War memorials
  • 6. Which ancient works are referenced in Sonnet 55?
A) Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad
B) Horace's Odes and Ovid's Metamorphoses
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 guarantees eternal life for both the poet and the subject
B) It focuses on the poet's own immortality
C) The poem is self-refuting as it keeps the young man mostly hidden
D) It clearly describes the young man's physical features
  • 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 epithet 'sluttish time'
B) The beauty of the young man
C) The grandeur of monuments
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 describes the weathering of stone statues
C) It metaphorically refers to syphilis and its effects on the body
D) It signifies the purity of marble monuments
  • 11. How does Helen Vendler describe the speaker's attitude towards entities connected to the beloved?
A) The speaker only focuses on their physical attributes
B) The speaker is indifferent to their connection to the beloved
C) The speaker bestows grandeur on them when connected to the beloved, but mocks them otherwise
D) The speaker always regards them with contempt
  • 12. What theme does Vendler argue revolves around in Sonnet 55?
A) The inevitability of death
B) The beauty of nature
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) His existence is limited to the poem itself
B) He will cease to exist after his death
C) 'Real' living is assigned to the day of the Last Judgment, but he also lives in memory and lovers' eyes
D) The young man will only live physically until the Last Judgment
  • 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) Italic hand
C) Secretary hand
D) Cursive script
  • 16. What imagery is used in Sonnet 55 to describe time?
A) "Golden age"
B) "Sluttish time"
C) "Eternal spring"
D) "Silent night"
  • 17. Which word does Ernest Fontana suggest Shakespeare intended as a metaphor for venereal disease?
A) "Living"
B) "Shining"
C) "Obvious"
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 transform into golden statues.
B) They become 'unswept stone besmeared'.
C) They are celebrated by all.
D) They shine brighter.
  • 19. What is the central theme of Sonnet 55 according to Helen Vendler?
A) War
B) Love
C) Time
D) Death
  • 20. Which word does Vendler identify as revolving around in Sonnet 55, indicating different aspects of life and memory?
A) "Remember"
B) "Live"
C) "Die"
D) "Forget"
  • 21. In what century was the secretary hand style of handwriting commonly used?
A) 18th Century
B) 16th Century
C) 17th Century
D) 19th Century
  • 22. What color ink was the epitaph written in?
A) Brown ink
B) Blue ink
C) Black ink
D) Red ink
  • 23. Where is Shakespeare buried?
A) Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
B) Westminster Abbey
C) The Tower of London
D) St. Paul's Cathedral
  • 24. Which sonnet contains lines echoed in the epitaph found for Shakespeare?
A) Sonnet 18
B) Sonnet 73
C) Sonnet 55
D) Sonnet 116
  • 25. Who discovered the epitaph in the Folger Library?
A) An unknown author
B) William Shakespeare
C) Robert Evans
D) Richard Briers
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