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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. 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.

2. What technique is used in lines 19 and 20, "not cloy thy lips with loath’d satiety,/ But rather famish them amid their plenty"?
(a) Polysyndeton.
(b) Paradox.
(c) Malapropism.
(d) Inversion.

3. 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 logic and reason.
(c) The bit is compared to an unjust law.
(d) The horse is compared to an unruly child.

4. To what does Venus compare her own lips when she says that Adonis's lips are "sweet seals in my soft lips imprinted" (line 511)?
(a) The ocean.
(b) A stamp.
(c) Wax.
(d) Sand.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. 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"?

2. What does Venus tell Adonis is his "duty" (line 168)?

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

4. Which is the best definition of "bootless" in the context of line 422?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the speaker compare Venus's eyes to "the moon in water seen by night" (line 492)?

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

3. In lines 131 and 132, what does Venus mean when she tells Adonis that "Fair flowers that are not gather’d in their prime/ Rot, and consume themselves in little time"?

4. What is Venus's purpose in talking about her relationship with the god of war?

5. What point is Adonis making with the metaphor "Who plucks the bud before one leaf put forth?" (line 416)?

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

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

8. What happens when Adonis tries to get back on his horse and leave?

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

10. How do Venus and Adonis end up on the ground together?

(see the answer keys)

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