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Shakespeare's sonnets - Test
Contributed by: Bennett
  • 1. How many sonnets are contained in the quarto published in 1609?
A) 126
B) 200
C) 154
D) 160
  • 2. Which play by Shakespeare includes a prologue written as a sonnet?
A) Henry V
B) Much Ado About Nothing
C) Romeo and Juliet
D) Love's Labour's Lost
  • 3. Who is the 'Fair Youth' in Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) A fictional character with no historical basis
B) William Hughes, a young actor
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) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
B) ABC ABC DEF DEF GG
C) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
D) ABBA ABBA CDE CDE
  • 5. Which character in Shakespeare's sonnets is described as having black hair and 'dun' skin?
A) The Rival Poet
B) The Dark Lady
C) The narrator
D) The Fair Youth
  • 6. What is the form of 'A Lover's Complaint'?
A) Three quatrains and a final couplet
B) 154 sonnets
C) An epic poem
D) 47 seven-line stanzas written in rhyme royal
  • 7. Who is often speculated to be the 'Rival Poet' in Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) A composite of several poets
B) Ben Jonson
C) John Davies of Hereford
D) Francis Davison
  • 8. What is the primary theme of the 'Fair Youth' sonnets?
A) Admiration for the youth's beauty and a plea to marry and have children
B) Infidelity and betrayal
C) Lust and homoeroticism
D) Rejection and independence
  • 9. Which sonnet sequence is considered a continuation of the Renaissance tradition?
A) Paradise Lost
B) Shakespeare's Sonnets
C) Leaves of Grass
D) The Canterbury Tales
  • 10. What does the 'volta' in a sonnet typically signify?
A) A turn or shift in thought or mood
B) A repetition of ideas
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) Love's Labour's Lost
B) Henry V
C) Much Ado About Nothing
D) Romeo and Juliet
  • 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) Petrarchan sonnet
B) Free verse
C) Spenserian sonnet
D) English or Shakespearean sonnet
  • 14. What is the primary focus of 'A Lover's Complaint'?
A) The adventures of a knight
B) The triumphs of love
C) The misery of a woman victimized by male desire
D) The beauty of nature
  • 15. Which play includes a sonnet at the end of its epilogue?
A) Love's Labour's Lost
B) Much Ado About Nothing
C) Romeo and Juliet
D) Henry V
  • 16. What is a notable feature of the sonnets in 'A Lover's Complaint'?
A) They are written in rhyme royal
B) They consist of three quatrains and a couplet
C) They are free verse
D) They follow the Shakespearean sonnet form
  • 17. Which historical figure is often speculated to be the Fair Youth?
A) Edward Alleyn
B) Ben Jonson
C) William Hughes
D) Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
  • 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) Anapestic trimeter
B) Dactylic hexameter
C) Trochaic tetrameter
D) Iambic pentameter
  • 20. Which play features a partial sonnet read aloud?
A) Romeo and Juliet
B) Much Ado About Nothing
C) Henry V
D) All’s Well that Ends Well
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