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| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What causes Venus to fall to the ground, unconscious?
2. Which technique is used in line 219, "Red cheeks and fiery eyes blaze forth her wrong"?
3. What technique is used in lines 432 and 433, "my ears would love/ That inward beauty and invisible"?
4. Who or what is being described when the word "fetlocks" is used in line 295?
5. What does Adonis tell Venus is the only thing he could love?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Venus tell Adonis he can learn from his horse?
2. Why does the speaker compare Venus's eyes to "the moon in water seen by night" (line 492)?
3. Explain the conceit that Venus uses when she compares herself to a park.
4. Explain the comparison made between Adonis's mouth and a "red morn" (line 453).
5. What plan does Adonis share with Venus just as she is finally about to let him leave her, and how does Venus react?
6. How does Adonis eventually end up kissing Venus?
7. Explain the comparison the speaker makes between Adonis's horse and one created by an artist.
8. Describe the stanza form in Venus and Adonis.
9. How do Venus and Adonis end up on the ground together?
10. What does Venus tell Adonis will "buy" her heart (line 514), and how does she propose that he "seal" the bargain (line 516)?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Choose one element of the poem that seems to you to be particularly aimed at creating a broad appeal and might therefore have factored into the poem's commercial success. You might focus on the poem's humor, its relatability, its eroticism, or some other factor not yet discussed in this context--such as the Elizabethan interest in Ancient Greece and Rome, for instance. Write an essay that focuses on your chosen element: offer evidence from throughout Venus and Adonis to support your claim that this element is a notable feature of the poem, and then offer historical and literary evidence that demonstrates why this element was likely to have appealed to a wide audience. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the poem, making sure to cite any quoted language and outside sources in MLA format.
Essay Topic 2
Shakespeare, like many Elizabethans, was very interested in the issue of the "natural" versus the "unnatural." How does his use of hunting symbolism in Venus and Adonis explore this issue? Is hunting presented as a natural or unnatural activity? For whom? How do his treatment of Artemis and his use of the stallion as a foil for Adonis support his perspective on who should engage in hunting? Why does Shakespeare omit the role of Cupid in Venus's desire for Adonis? Where are Cupid and his arrows actually mentioned in the poem, and how does Cupid's role as "hunter" figure into the poem's meaning? What does Adonis's manner of death communicate about hunting? Write an essay in which you analyze the messages about natural and unnatural behavior conveyed by the poem's hunting symbolism. Support your analysis with evidence from the poem, citing any quoted material in MLA format.
Essay Topic 3
Venus certainly believes that Adonis should act on his feelings exactly as his horse does. But does the poem itself convey this message? Consider some of the hidden premises in Venus's argument: she is assuming that Adonis feels the same kind of lust for her that the stallion feels for the jennet, and that the situation between herself and Adonis is no more complex than the situation between the stallion and the jennet. What evidence in the poem tells you that Venus may be deliberately misunderstanding the parallel between her and Adonis and the jennet and the stallion? On the other hand, if this is the case, why do you think the speaker spends so many stanzas extolling the stallion and its behavior? Is the poem sending mixed messages about acting on lustful thoughts, or is there a way to logically reconcile the flaws in Venus's argument with the idealization of the horse's behavior? Write an essay in which you analyze this question, supporting your analysis with evidence from the poem. Cite any quoted material in MLA format.
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This section contains 1,190 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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