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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 do Venus's descriptions of the rabbit, fox, and deer have in common?

3. To what does Venus compare the fear of a person in love?

4. What is Venus's motive for flattering death?

5. What does Venus say will die with Adonis?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Venus say that nature should be convicted of treason, and what is Cynthia's plan to thwart what nature has done?

2. What criticism does the speaker make of lovers' stories?

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

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

6. How does Adonis contrast love and lust?

7. Explain the pun in lines 827 and 828, when after Adonis leaves, the speaker says of Venus, "Even so confounded in the dark she lay,/ Having lost the fair discovery of her way."

8. How does the construction of line 832, "Passion on passion deeply is redoubled," mimic the sense of what is happening in this passage?

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

10. How does Venus's attitude toward death change when she believes that Adonis is alive?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

You have already considered how eroticism and humor make Venus and Adonis relatable to a wide audience. There is a more subtle element of this poem that also increases its relatability: anachronisms. What was the Elizabethan attitude toward historical accuracy in poetry and plays? Which was considered more important--accuracy or relatability? Write an essay in which you identify the anachronisms in this poem and then use historical and literary evidence to demonstrate that, far from being distractions, these elements of the poem would have actually increased its commercial appeal to an Elizabethan 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 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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