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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 characterization of the connotations of Venus's description of "fountains" (line 234) and "rising hillocks" in her description of the park (line 237)?
(a) Boastful.
(b) Sarcastic.
(c) Comforting.
(d) Sexual.

2. Which techniques are used in lines 267-268, "The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wounds/ Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven’s thunder"?
(a) Onomatopoeia and metaphor.
(b) Diacope and onomatopoeia.
(c) Alliteration and diacope.
(d) Metaphor and alliteration.

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

4. What does the speaker compare to caves?
(a) Adonis's heart and mind.
(b) Venus's eyes.
(c) Venus's arguments.
(d) Adonis's dimples.

5. What technique is used in line 431, "Melodious discord, heavenly tune, harsh-sounding"?
(a) Chiasmus.
(b) Onomatopoeia.
(c) Paradox.
(d) Anaphora.

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

7. To what does the speaker compare Venus finally opening her eyes after her faint?
(a) Lightning.
(b) The sunrise.
(c) A leaf unfurling.
(d) A flower blooming.

8. What technique is used in line 432, "Ear’s deep sweet music, and heart’s deep sore wounding"?
(a) Antithesis.
(b) Juxtaposition.
(c) Oxymoron.
(d) Antimetabole.

9. Which is the most reasonable interpretation of Venus's characterization of Adonis as having a "mermaid's voice" (line 429)?
(a) She is dismissing his perspective as too feminine.
(b) She is alluding to the mythological sirens.
(c) She is comparing his voice to the sound of the ocean.
(d) She is warning him that his voice can be snatched away.

10. According to the speaker, what is the one thing that the horse lacks?
(a) Independence.
(b) Humility.
(c) A proud rider.
(d) Rich trappings.

11. Which is the best interpretation of line 600, in which Venus is said "To clip Elysium and to lack her joy"?
(a) She is unable to be truly happy about a conquest brought about through deception.
(b) She has taken a big risk and it has not paid off for her.
(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.

12. What does Adonis accuse Venus of in line 53?
(a) Impulsiveness.
(b) Callousness.
(c) Violence.
(d) Immodesty.

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

14. Which is the best definition for "Fondling" as used in line 229?
(a) Lost one.
(b) Beloved.
(c) Savior.
(d) Stubborn one.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is used in line 75, "Still is he sullen, still he lours and frets"?

2. What does Adonis do just before he turns his head away from Venus's kiss?

3. What is the "copse" mentioned in line 259?

4. What technique is used in line 59, " Even so she kiss’d his brow, his cheek, his chin"?

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

(see the answer keys)

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