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Shakespeare's sonnets - Test
Contributed by: Bennett
  • 1. How many sonnets are contained in the quarto published in 1609?
A) 154
B) 160
C) 200
D) 126
  • 2. Which play by Shakespeare includes a prologue written as a sonnet?
A) Much Ado About Nothing
B) Romeo and Juliet
C) Love's Labour's Lost
D) Henry V
  • 3. Who is the 'Fair Youth' in Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) William Hughes, a young actor
B) A fictional character with no historical basis
C) Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
D) An unnamed young man addressed by the poet
  • 4. What is the rhyme scheme of Shakespearean sonnets?
A) ABBA ABBA CDE CDE
B) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
C) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
D) ABC ABC DEF DEF GG
  • 5. Which character in Shakespeare's sonnets is described as having black hair and 'dun' skin?
A) The Rival Poet
B) The Fair Youth
C) The narrator
D) The Dark Lady
  • 6. What is the form of 'A Lover's Complaint'?
A) 154 sonnets
B) Three quatrains and a final couplet
C) 47 seven-line stanzas written in rhyme royal
D) An epic poem
  • 7. Who is often speculated to be the 'Rival Poet' in Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) Ben Jonson
B) Francis Davison
C) John Davies of Hereford
D) A composite of several poets
  • 8. What is the primary theme of the 'Fair Youth' sonnets?
A) Infidelity and betrayal
B) Admiration for the youth's beauty and a plea to marry and have children
C) Rejection and independence
D) Lust and homoeroticism
  • 9. Which sonnet sequence is considered a continuation of the Renaissance tradition?
A) Shakespeare's Sonnets
B) Leaves of Grass
C) Paradise Lost
D) The Canterbury Tales
  • 10. What does the 'volta' in a sonnet typically signify?
A) A repetition of ideas
B) A turn or shift in thought or mood
C) The end of the poem
D) The beginning of the poem
  • 11. Which play features sonnets written by characters as part of a comedic narrative?
A) Romeo and Juliet
B) Henry V
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 identifies him as the Fair Youth
C) It confirms Mr. W.H. as the author
D) It reveals him to be the Dark Lady
  • 13. Which sonnet form does Shakespeare's Sonnets follow?
A) Spenserian sonnet
B) Free verse
C) Petrarchan sonnet
D) English or Shakespearean sonnet
  • 14. What is the primary focus of 'A Lover's Complaint'?
A) The beauty of nature
B) The triumphs of love
C) The adventures of a knight
D) The misery of a woman victimized by male desire
  • 15. Which play includes a sonnet at the end of its epilogue?
A) Romeo and Juliet
B) Henry V
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 are written in rhyme royal
B) They follow the Shakespearean sonnet form
C) They are free verse
D) They consist of three quatrains and a couplet
  • 17. Which historical figure is often speculated to be the Fair Youth?
A) Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
B) William Hughes
C) Ben Jonson
D) Edward Alleyn
  • 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) Praise for her beauty
C) Rejection of her advances
D) Admiration for her intelligence
  • 19. What is the primary meter used in Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) Iambic pentameter
B) Dactylic hexameter
C) Trochaic tetrameter
D) Anapestic trimeter
  • 20. Which play features a partial sonnet read aloud?
A) Henry V
B) Much Ado About Nothing
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) William Shakespeare
C) Edward Alleyn
D) Thomas Thorpe
  • 22. What is the title of the poem following the sonnets in the 1609 quarto?
A) A Lover's Complaint
B) The Rape of Lucrece
C) Venus and Adonis
D) The Phoenix and the Turtle
  • 23. How many sonnets in the 1609 quarto are addressed to a woman?
A) 14
B) 40
C) 126
D) 28
  • 24. Who entered Shakespeare's sonnets in the Stationers' Register?
A) Thomas Thorpe
B) John Wright
C) George Eld
D) William Aspley
  • 25. What is the rhyme scheme of Shakespeare's English sonnets?
A) ABBAABBACDCDCD
B) ABABBCBCCDCDDC
C) AABBCCDDEEFFGG
D) ABABCDCDEFEFGG
  • 26. How many copies of the 1609 quarto have survived?
A) Thirteen
B) Eight
C) Five
D) Twenty
  • 27. To whom is Shakespeare's Sonnets dedicated?
A) Thomas Thorpe
B) The Earl of Southampton
C) Mr. W.H.
D) William Shakespeare
  • 28. Which work by Ben Jonson is mentioned as having a dedication to Herbert?
A) The Alchemist
B) Volpone
C) Every Man in His Humour
D) Epigrammes (1616)
  • 29. Which contemporary dramatist is suggested as 'Mr. W.H.'?
A) Thomas Kyd
B) Ben Jonson
C) Christopher Marlowe
D) William Haughton
  • 30. Who was Shakespeare's nephew and male heir, suggested as 'Mr. W.H.'?
A) Richard Burbage
B) William Hart
C) Edward Alleyn
D) Hamnet Shakespeare
  • 31. What is the term for the shift in mood or thought at the end of a sonnet's third quatrain?
A) Climax
B) Denouement
C) Volta
D) Resolution
  • 32. Which author proposed that the Fair Youth was William Hughes?
A) Edmund Malone
B) Samuel Johnson
C) Oscar Wilde
D) Thomas Tyrwhitt
  • 33. What role did William Hughes play in Shakespeare's plays?
A) Female roles
B) Villainous roles
C) Comedic roles
D) Male lead roles
  • 34. How many sonnets are in the Dark Lady sequence?
A) 30
B) 15
C) 20
D) 26
  • 35. In which year was 'A Lover's Complaint' published as part of a quarto?
A) 1616
B) 1592
C) 1588
D) 1609
  • 36. In which year was 'Romeo and Juliet' published, featuring a prologue in sonnet form?
A) 1598
B) 1612
C) 1597
D) 1609
  • 37. Who mentioned that Shakespeare's sonnets were being circulated privately?
A) Francis Meres
B) Thomas Heywood
C) Edmond Malone
D) William Jaggard
  • 38. In which publication did William Jaggard include four sonnets by Shakespeare?
A) Shakespeare's Sonnets
B) The Passionate Pilgrime
C) Palladis Tamia
D) Poems: Written by Wil. Shakespeare Gent
  • 39. Who was 'much offended' by Jaggard making bold with his name?
A) Shakespeare
B) Francis Meres
C) Edmond Malone
D) John Benson
  • 40. In his plays, how did Shakespeare generally portray sonnets?
A) Scornfully
B) Indifferently
C) With great respect
D) Admiringly
  • 41. What has been over-explored in understanding Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) Literary ambition.
B) Linguistic structure.
C) Biographical aspects.
D) Cultural context.
  • 42. Which critical approach focuses on the text itself as a complex structure of language and ideas?
A) Historical criticism.
B) New Criticism.
C) Cultural criticism.
D) Biographical criticism.
  • 43. According to Gerald Hammond, what is essential for the reader of Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) Dealing with perplexity on their own.
B) Focusing only on concrete meanings.
C) Having experts simplify double meanings.
D) Ignoring abstract meanings.
  • 44. How was The Sonnets' reputation in England during the eighteenth century?
A) Relatively low.
B) Widely celebrated.
C) Unknown.
D) Highly esteemed.
  • 45. Who did The Critical Review credit with perfecting the English sonnet in 1805?
A) William Shakespeare.
B) John Milton.
C) Sir Philip Sidney.
D) Edmund Spenser.
  • 46. How many times have Shakespeare's Sonnets been reprinted?
A) Many times.
B) Never.
C) Twice.
D) Only once.
  • 47. Which character in Love's Labour's Lost expresses love through a hexameter sonnet?
A) King of Navarre
B) Lord Berowne
C) Dumaine
D) Lord Longaville
  • 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) Love's Labour's Lost
B) Romeo and Juliet
C) Much Ado About Nothing
D) Henry V
  • 50. In what year was the play 'Edward III' first printed?
A) 1596
B) 1601
C) 1588
D) 1612
  • 51. Which phrase from Shakespeare's sonnets is found in 'Edward III'?
A) "budding of this purple bud"
B) "my love is as a fever longing still"
C) "that time of year thou mayst in me behold"
D) "scarlet ornaments"
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