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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) Love's Labour's Lost
B) Romeo and Juliet
C) Much Ado About Nothing
D) Henry V
  • 3. Who is the 'Fair Youth' in Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) An unnamed young man addressed by the poet
B) Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
C) A fictional character with no historical basis
D) William Hughes, a young actor
  • 4. What is the rhyme scheme of Shakespearean sonnets?
A) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
B) ABC ABC DEF DEF GG
C) ABBA ABBA CDE CDE
D) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
  • 5. Which character in Shakespeare's sonnets is described as having black hair and 'dun' skin?
A) The Rival Poet
B) The narrator
C) The Dark Lady
D) The Fair Youth
  • 6. What is the form of 'A Lover's Complaint'?
A) An epic poem
B) 47 seven-line stanzas written in rhyme royal
C) 154 sonnets
D) Three quatrains and a final couplet
  • 7. Who is often speculated to be the 'Rival Poet' in Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) Ben Jonson
B) A composite of several poets
C) Francis Davison
D) John Davies of Hereford
  • 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) Rejection and independence
D) Lust and homoeroticism
  • 9. Which sonnet sequence is considered a continuation of the Renaissance tradition?
A) The Canterbury Tales
B) Leaves of Grass
C) Paradise Lost
D) Shakespeare's Sonnets
  • 10. What does the 'volta' in a sonnet typically signify?
A) A turn or shift in thought or mood
B) The beginning of the poem
C) A repetition of ideas
D) The end 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) Much Ado About Nothing
D) Love's Labour's Lost
  • 12. What is the significance of the dedication to 'Mr. W.H.' in Shakespeare's Sonnets?
A) It reveals him to be the Dark Lady
B) It confirms Mr. W.H. as the author
C) It identifies him as the Fair Youth
D) It is a subject of speculation regarding his identity
  • 13. Which sonnet form does Shakespeare's Sonnets follow?
A) Spenserian sonnet
B) Petrarchan sonnet
C) English or Shakespearean sonnet
D) Free verse
  • 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) Much Ado About Nothing
B) Love's Labour's Lost
C) Henry V
D) Romeo and Juliet
  • 16. What is a notable feature of the sonnets in 'A Lover's Complaint'?
A) They are free verse
B) They follow the Shakespearean sonnet form
C) They are written in rhyme royal
D) They consist of three quatrains and a couplet
  • 17. Which historical figure is often speculated to be the Fair Youth?
A) William Hughes
B) Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
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) Admiration for her intelligence
C) Praise for her beauty
D) Rejection of her advances
  • 19. What is the primary meter used in Shakespeare's sonnets?
A) Dactylic hexameter
B) Anapestic trimeter
C) Trochaic tetrameter
D) Iambic pentameter
  • 20. Which play features a partial sonnet read aloud?
A) Romeo and Juliet
B) All’s Well that Ends Well
C) Much Ado About Nothing
D) Henry V
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