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

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is used in lines 432 and 433, "my ears would love/ That inward beauty and invisible"?

2. Who is the author of the poem's epigraph?

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

4. What metaphorical comparison is introduced when the horse crushes the bit?

5. What does Adonis tell Venus is the only thing he could love?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe the stanza form in Venus and Adonis.

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

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

6. What plan does Adonis share with Venus just as she is finally about to let him leave her, and how does Venus react?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

How does Adonis shift the power dynamic between himself and Venus in his favor? Does he do this deliberately, or is it an unconscious byproduct of his assertion of his own values? Is the poem portraying his chastity--and thus his power--as natural or unnatural? How do your answers to these questions shed light on the manner of his death? Why would Adonis refuse to heed the prophecy of a goddess--is it arrogance, mistrust of her motives, or an uncontrollable desire to hunt? What is conveyed about Adonis and his power when he is killed by the boar? Write an essay in which you consider the source of Adonis's power over Venus and the messages the poem conveys about this power. Support your analysis with evidence from the poem, citing any quoted material in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Venus and Adonis ironically dismisses many of the religious values of Ancient Greece and Rome. But does it express the Christian worldview of Renaissance England in other ways, as well? What values and beliefs does the poem seem to endorse--either explicitly or implicitly? Does the poem contain any religious symbolism, allusions, metaphors, or similes? Write an essay in which you analyze the extent to which Venus and Adonis actively promotes the Christian worldview, as opposed to simply denying the Classical worldview. Support your arguments with evidence from throughout the poem, making sure to cite any quoted language and outside sources in MLA format.

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