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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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 arms.
(b) The field.
(c) A ring of flowers.
(d) Her heart.

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

3. In lines 79-84, what bargain does Venus try to strike with Adonis?
(a) She will get off of him if he gives her one voluntary kiss.
(b) She will not tell anyone about it if he will have sex with her.
(c) She will ask the gods to make him immortal if he will be her partner.
(d) She will let him explain his feelings if he speaks nicely to her.

4. What colors are most prominent in the first 36 stanzas of the poem?
(a) White and purple.
(b) Purple and blue.
(c) Red and white.
(d) Blue and red.

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

6. What does Venus tell Adonis is his "duty" (line 168)?
(a) To accept the admiration his great beauty causes.
(b) To have sex and beget children.
(c) To enjoy youth while it lasts.
(d) To obey the will of a goddess.

7. What event causes the speaker to say that "The night of sorrow now is turn’d to day" (line 481)?
(a) The stallion returns to Adonis.
(b) Venus agrees to let Adonis leave.
(c) Adonis kisses Venus.
(d) Helios feels jealous of Adonis.

8. When Venus shakes her head and then Adonis's hand, looks at him and then at the ground, what is it most reasonable to infer about her motivation?
(a) She is attempting to distract Adonis from her real intentions.
(b) She is too distraught to know how to proceed.
(c) She is having second thoughts about her confession of love.
(d) She is too shy to explain to Adonis exactly what she wants from him.

9. Which technique is used in line 219, "Red cheeks and fiery eyes blaze forth her wrong"?
(a) Apostrophe.
(b) Imagery.
(c) Conceit.
(d) Metaphor.

10. To whom is the poem dedicated?
(a) James I.
(b) The Earl of Southampton.
(c) Anne Hathaway.
(d) Elizabeth I.

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

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

13. What does Venus call "heavenly moisture" in line 64?
(a) Adonis's breath.
(b) The dew on the flowers.
(c) Adonis's tears.
(d) Her own kisses.

14. What does Adonis tell Venus is the only thing he could love?
(a) His religious faith.
(b) His horse.
(c) His own purity.
(d) A boar.

15. What technique is used in line 111, "Strong-temper’d steel his stronger strength obey’d"?
(a) Polyptoton.
(b) Epimone.
(c) Anaphora.
(d) Epizeuxis.

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is used in lines 254 and 255, "Her words are done, her woes the more increasing;/ The time is spent, her object will away"?

2. How does Adonis feel after Venus falls unconscious?

3. Who or what is being described when the word "fetlocks" is used in line 295?

4. What color is most prominent in the description of Venus kneeling before Adonis and putting her hand on his cheek?

5. What metaphorical comparison is introduced when the horse crushes the bit?

(see the answer keys)

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