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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. 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 warning him that his voice can be snatched away.
(c) She is alluding to the mythological sirens.
(d) She is comparing his voice to the sound of the ocean.

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

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

5. To whom is Venus referring when she brags about being courted by the god of war?
(a) Apollo.
(b) Mercury.
(c) Jupiter.
(d) Mars.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Adonis tells Venus "Remove your siege from my unyielding heart," what metaphor used earlier in the poem does this recall (line 423)?

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"?

3. Which is the best definition of "stillitory" in line 443, "For from the stillitory of thy face excelling"?

4. What does the speaker compare to a grinning wolf and a bullet?

5. To what does the speaker compare Venus finally opening her eyes after her faint?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Venus tell Adonis will "buy" her heart (line 514), and how does she propose that he "seal" the bargain (line 516)?

2. What does Venus tell Adonis he can learn from his horse?

3. Explain the epic simile about an eagle in lines 55-60.

4. Explain the comparison made between Adonis's mouth and a "red morn" (line 453).

5. Explain the conceit that Venus uses when she compares herself to a park.

6. Throughout the passage, which participants in a trial is Venus compared to?

7. How does the mare react to the stallion at first, and how does her reaction change?

8. Explain the comparison the speaker makes between Adonis's horse and one created by an artist.

9. Describe the stanza form in Venus and Adonis.

10. How does Adonis eventually end up kissing Venus?

(see the answer keys)

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