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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 is the most reasonable interpretation of what Venus means when she asks "Where did I leave?” and Adonis replies “No matter where" (line 715)?

2. What technique is used in line 640, "They that thrive well, take counsel of their friends"?

3. What technique is used in lines 819 and 820, "Till the wild waves will have him seen no more,/ Whose ridges with the meeting clouds contend"?

4. What does Venus compare to an informer and a spy?

5. What does line 972 compare to "many clouds consulting for foul weather"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Venus tell Adonis about the relationship between jealousy and her foreboding?

2. What happens to Adonis's body at the end of the poem, and how does Venus respond?

3. What conclusion does Venus reach about why the boar killed Adonis, and what does this cause her to reflect about her own behavior?

4. After Adonis's death, what does Venus predict about love?

5. How does Venus portray Adonis having sex as a kind of selfless action and his choosing chastity as selfishness?

6. How does Venus contrast the behavior of fish and birds with the behavior of the boar?

7. What trick do Venus's eyes play on her after she has been looking at Adonis's body for a few minutes?

8. What does Venus say about death when she thinks that Adonis has died?

9. What is conveyed by the personification and the simile in the passage where Venus runs through the brush toward the sounds of Adonis's hunting party?

10. Describe the details of Venus's vision of Adonis and the boar.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Of the several forms of figurative language Shakespeare employs in Venus and Adonis, metaphors and similes are by far the most frequent. What about this is typical of an epic? Why do epics use so many figures of comparison? Are Shakespeare's metaphors and similes employed in similar ways to those typically found in classical epics, or does he seem to have other purposes in mind? Write an essay that establishes how and why similes and metaphors are commonly used in epic poetry and then compares and contrasts the ways that these figures of comparison are used in Venus and Adonis. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the poem, making sure to cite any quoted language in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Did Shakespeare's gambit with Venus and Adonis work? Do some research into his career and the impact that the publication of Venus and Adonis had on it. Consider how the work was received and evidence of changes in Shakespeare's relationship with Henry Wriothesley following its publication. Then, write an essay in which you provide evidence from both the poem and its historical context to support the idea that one of Shakespeare's primary intentions in publishing Venus and Adonis was to court a more sophisticated audience. Offer a research-supported conclusion about whether this plan succeeded. Be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

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