View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Toward the end of the passage, what does Venus say Adonis must do in order for her to release his hand?

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

3. When Venus and Adonis are on the ground kissing in lines 547-558, what is Venus being compared to?

4. What is the definition of "recketh" in the line "What recketh he his rider’s angry stir" (line 283)?

5. What technique is used in line 431, "Melodious discord, heavenly tune, harsh-sounding"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Does the portrait of Venus in Venus and Adonis tend more to support or undercut traditional Elizabethan gender norms? Write an essay in which you consider both the characterization of Venus and the outcomes of her choices as you make an argument about what this poem is saying about the proper behavior of women. Support your argument with evidence drawn from the poem's language and plot details, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format. If you choose to support your argument with information drawn from outside sources, be sure to cite these in MLA format as well.

Essay Topic 2

How does the stanzaic structure of Venus and Adonis support the poem's tone and meaning? What is the relationship between the couplets and the quatrains within each stanza? How does this relationship impact the poem's tone? When the couplets become aphorisms or epigrams, what contribution does this make to tone? How does this packaging of ideas contribute to the poem's wit and the speaker's authority? Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the contribution that the stanzaic form of Venus and Adonis makes to the poem's tone and overall impact. Show how this helps the poem convey one or more ideas. Support your assertions with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the poem; cite quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Venus's apostrophes to death are not the only apostrophes in the poem. Where else is this technique used in the poem? What impact do the apostrophes have on tone? How is the use of apostrophe related to the way that Helios, Mars, Diana, and other figures are referred to, as if they are nearby but not directly interacting with Venus or Adonis? Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the larger purpose of the poem's apostrophes. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the poem, and be sure to cite any quoted language in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,200 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample