- 1. "The politician looked powerful, yet corruption was his Achilles' heel."
What does Achilles' heel mean?
A) His noble strength B) His guiding mentor C) His fatal frailty D) His treasured virtue
- 2. "Crossing the desert without water was a Herculean task."
What does Herculean task suggest?
A) A playful diversion B) A trivial errand C) An undertaking of colossal difficulty D) A pleasant excursion
- 3. "Her project became a Penelope's web-always started, never completed."
What does Penelope's web imply?
A) A hopeful promise B) A timeless masterpiece C) A perpetual, unfinished endeavor D) A ceremonial garment
- 4. "The inheritance became an apple of discord among the heirs."
What does apple of discord stand for?
A) A generous blessing B) A harmonious union C) A sweet temptation D) A seed of strife
- 5. "The offer was too generous-surely a case of Greeks bearing gifts."
What lesson does this allusion teach?
A) Refuse all tokens of kindness B) Trust even sworn rivals C) Accept all present gratefully D) Beware of benevolence masking deceit
- 6. "The revelers indulged in a Bacchanalian feast, wine spilling like rivers."
What does Bacchanalian feast denote?
A) A solemn ritual B) A sacred fast C) A chaotic celebration marked by excess D) A modest banquet
- 7. "With every venture succeeding, she was said to possess the Midas touch."
What does Midas touch indicate?
A) The curse of eternal greed B) The gift of turning failure into triumph C) The burden of golden treasures D) The habit of hoarding riches
- 8. "The free download was a Trojan Horse, carrying hidden malware."
What does Trojan Horse symbolize?
A) A harmless token B) A mighty warrior's prize C) A symbol of victory D) A concealed threat under the guise of generosity
- 9. "The king sat on his throne with the Sword of Damocles over him."
What does Sword of Damocles signify?
A) An imminent peril overshadowing privilege B) An everlasting peace C) A warrior's honor D) A legacy of wisdom
- 10. "She opened the letter, unaware she was unlocking a Pandora's box."
What does Pandora's box represent?
A) A doorway to knowledge B) A stream of unforeseen troubles C) A container of prosperity D) A cache of precious relies
- 11. "The silence screamed louder than thunder."
What figure of speech is used?
A) Personification B) Alliteration C) Metonymy D) Litotes
- 12. "She sells seashells by the seashore."
What figure is at play?
A) Assonance B) Hyperbole C) Apostrophe D) Alliteration
- 13. "The world's a theater, and we are merely actors."
A) Euphemism B) Oxymoron C) Metaphor D) Chiasmus
- 14. "His words cut deeper than a blade."
A) Metaphor B) Irony C) Hyperbole D) Simile
- 15. "The child was as brave as a lion."
A) Simile B) Metonymy C) Synecdoche D) Apostrophe
- 16. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
A) Pun B) Paradox C) Litotes D) Hyperbole
- 17. "His explanation was crystal clear."
A) Oxymoron B) Metaphor C) Cliché D) Apostrophe
- 18. "She drowned in a sea of paperwork."
A) Euphemism B) Personification C) Hyperbole D) Apostrophe
- 19. "Do not go gentle into that good night."
A) Pun B) Allusion C) Irony D) Apostrophe
- 20. "The buzzing bees bothered the baby."
A) Pun B) Chiasmus C) Onomatopoeia D) Synecdoche
- 21. Line: "The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,/ The furrow followed free."
(Coleridge) Which sound device dominates this line?
A) Onomatopoeia B) Alliteration C) Consonance D) Assonance
- 22. Line: "Hear the loud alarum bells—/ Brazen bells!" (Edgar Allan Poe)
What device is present in the word "bells" repeated with variations in sound?
A) Consonance B) Rhyme C) Onomatopoeia D) Alliteration
- 23. Line: " So long lives this, and this gives life to thee," (Shakespeare, Sonnet 18)
Which device is operating in the recurring "I" sound?
A) Onomatopoeia B) Anaphora C) Consonance D) Assonance
- 24. Line: "The silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain." (Poe)
What device is dominant here?
A) Rhyme B) Assonance C) Consonance D) Alliteration
- 25. Line: "Because I could not stop for Death—/ He kindly stopped for me—" (Emily Dickinson)
Which device emphasizes the parallel structure at the line beginnings?
A) Anaphora B) Alliteration C) Consonance D) Rhyme
- 26. Line: "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary." (Poe)
Identify the device in the repeated -ea- vowel sound.
A) Rhyme B) Assonance C) Onomatopoeia D) Alliteration
- 27. Line: "Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." (Shakespeare, Macbeth)
What sound device drives the musical effect here?
A) Consonance B) Assonance C) Onomatopoeia D) Rhyme
- 28. Line: "And the silken sad uncertain rustling..."
Aside from consonance, which other device may subtly be present in "silken sad uncertain"?
A) Alliteration B) Assonance C) Rhyme D) Onomatopoeia
- 29. Line: " I have a dream that one day... / I have a dream that my children..." (MLK Jr.)
Which sound device creates momentum here?
A) Consonance B) Anaphora C) Assonance D) Onomatopoeia
- 30. Line: "The moan of doves in immemorial elms, / And murmuring of innumerable bees," (Tennyson)
Which device best explains the -m and -n echoing sounds?
A) Alliteration B) Assonance C) Onomatopoeia D) Consonance
- 31. Lines:
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate."
What is the rhyme scheme?
A) ab B) abc C) ba D) aa
- 32. Which best describes iambic pentameter?
A) 5 get of trochees per line B) 6 feet of dactyls per line C) 10 feet of spondees per line D) 5 feet of iambs per line
- 33. Lines:
"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary." What is the dominant meter?
A) Anapestic tetrameter B) Dactylic trimeter C) Iambic pentameter D) Trochaic octameter
- 34. If a poem has the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg, what type of sonnet is it?
A) Italian (Petrarchan) B) Spenserian C) Modernist free verse D) Shakespearean
- 35. Which best defines rhythm in poetry?
A) The repetition of words at the beginning of clauses B) The patterned flow of stressed and unstressed syllables C) The rhyme at the end of each line D) The repetition of initial consonants
- 36. Lines:
"Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul." (Dickinson) Identify the rhyme scheme:
A) aa B) abc C) ab D) ba
- 37. Which meter pattern is found in this line?
"The curfew tolls the knell of parting day." (Gray)
A) Trochaic tetrameter B) Dactylic hexameter C) Anapestic dimeter D) Iambic pentameter
- 38. Line:
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star." What is the meter?
A) Dactylic dimeter B) Iambic tetrameter C) Trochaic tetrameter
A) Jsjsj B) Nn C) Nsj D) Nsn
|