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

2. What does Adonis mean when he tells Venus that she can stop her tears and flattery, because in his heart, "they make no batt’ry" (line 426).
(a) Her tears and flattery cannot break down the walls around his heart.
(b) Her tears and flattery do not spark a fire in his heart.
(c) Her tears and flattery are incapable of sustaining love in any lasting way.
(d) Her tears and flattery are like an assault and can cause him physical harm.

3. 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) Euphemism.
(d) Metaphor.

4. 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 aware that she has dishonored her own status as a goddess and regrets her actions.
(c) She is unable to be truly happy about a conquest brought about through deception.
(d) She has come very close to paradise without being allowed to fully enjoy it.

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

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. In lines 79-84, what bargain does Venus try to strike with Adonis?

3. When Venus asks Adonis "Is thine own heart to thine own face affected?" whose story is she alluding to (157)?

4. Which of the poem's motifs is most clearly illustrated by line 41, "Backward she push’d him, as she would be thrust"?

5. What techniques are used in lines 25 and 26, "With this she seizeth on his sweating palm,/ The precedent of pith and livelihood"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. As Adonis vacillates "’Twixt crimson shame and anger ashy pale" (line 76), what is the speaker saying Venus feels in lines 77 and 78, "Being red she loves him best, and being white, / Her best is better’d with a more delight"?

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

4. What does Venus convey in the speech about her senses that begins in line 433, "Had I no eyes but ears"?

5. What does Venus tell Adonis would happen if their positions were reversed?

6. Describe the stanza form in Venus and Adonis.

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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