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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which is the best definition of "stillitory" in line 443, "For from the stillitory of thy face excelling"?
(a) Perfumed breath.
(b) A vessel used in distillation.
(c) A place where statues are displayed.
(d) A lecture instilling religious belief.

2. When Venus and Adonis are on the ground kissing in lines 547-558, what is Venus being compared to?
(a) A greedy child at the table.
(b) A destructive storm at sea.
(c) A predatory wild animal.
(d) A soldier on the field of battle.

3. What does Adonis do just before he turns his head away from Venus's kiss?
(a) Moans.
(b) Shudders.
(c) Winks.
(d) Smiles.

4. Which is the best definition of "even" in Venus's question "What hour is this? or morn or weary even" (line 495)?
(a) Evening.
(b) Equal.
(c) At the same time.
(d) Level.

5. What is Adonis being compared to when the speaker says he is "Like a dive-dapper" (86)?
(a) A duck.
(b) A fish.
(c) A swimmer.
(d) An osprey.

6. Toward the end of the passage, what does Venus say Adonis must do in order for her to release his hand?
(a) Promise not to leave.
(b) Admit that he desires her.
(c) Give back her heart.
(d) Kiss her willingly.

7. What "circuit" is Venus referring to when she tells Adonis "I have hemm’d thee here/ Within the circuit of this ivory pale" (lines 229-230)?
(a) Her heart.
(b) A ring of flowers.
(c) Her arms.
(d) The field.

8. How does Adonis view romantic love?
(a) He thinks it is frightening and dangerous.
(b) He thinks it is chaotic and burdensome,
(c) He thinks it should be reserved for marriage.
(d) He thinks it elevates a person spiritually.

9. What metaphorical comparison is introduced when the horse crushes the bit?
(a) The horse is compared to an escaped slave.
(b) The bit is compared to an unjust law.
(c) The bit is compared to logic and reason.
(d) The horse is compared to an unruly child.

10. Who or what is being described when the word "fetlocks" is used in line 295?
(a) Adonis.
(b) Venus.
(c) The mare.
(d) The stallion.

11. What technique is used when, in line 108, Venus says that Mars made "my arms his field, his tent my bed"?
(a) Personification.
(b) Metonymy.
(c) Metaphor.
(d) Euphemism.

12. Which technique is used in line 218, "And swelling passion doth provoke a pause"?
(a) Antistrophe.
(b) Alliteration.
(c) Parallelism.
(d) Inversion.

13. Which is the best interpretation of line 600, in which Venus is said "To clip Elysium and to lack her joy"?
(a) She has taken a big risk and it has not paid off for her.
(b) She is unable to be truly happy about a conquest brought about through deception.
(c) She has come very close to paradise without being allowed to fully enjoy it.
(d) She is aware that she has dishonored her own status as a goddess and regrets her actions.

14. Who is the author of the poem's epigraph?
(a) Shakespeare.
(b) Henry Wriothesley.
(c) Ovid.
(d) Euripides.

15. Which is the best definition of "bootless" in the context of line 422?
(a) Irresponsible, careless.
(b) Unmannerly, rude.
(c) Informal, casual.
(d) Useless, pointless.

Short Answer Questions

1. What colors are most prominent in the first 36 stanzas of the poem?

2. How does Adonis feel after Venus falls unconscious?

3. What does Venus mean when she says that the stallion stood "like a jade" when he was tied to the tree (line 391)?

4. What technique is used in line 111, "Strong-temper’d steel his stronger strength obey’d"?

5. What technique is used in line 431, "Melodious discord, heavenly tune, harsh-sounding"?

(see the answer keys)

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