Shakespearean Sonnets Quiz

What is a Shakespearean sonnet?

• A 12-line poem

• A 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter

• A poem that tells a story

• A poem with no specific structure

Who is credited with inventing the sonnet?

• Shakespeare

• Petrarch

• Homer

• Milton

How many sonnets did Shakespeare write that are known today?

• Over 200

• 154

• 100

• 250

What is the structure of a Petrarchan sonnet?

• Three quatrains and a couplet

• An octave followed by a sestet

• A single stanza

• Two equal parts of 7 lines each

What is the term used to describe the emotional turn in a sonnet?

• Quatrain

• Couplet

• Volta

• Sestet

In Sonnet 18, what is the beloved compared to?

• A winter's night

• A summer's day

• A beautiful flower

• A starry sky

How does the first quatrain of Sonnet 18 describe summer?

• It is everlasting

• It is perfect and unchanging

• It fades and withers

• It is always too cold

Who are the two figures typically referenced in Shakespeare's sonnets?

• The Fair Youth and the Dark Lady

• Romeo and Juliet

• Hamlet and Ophelia

• Othello and Desdemona

What year were Shakespeare's sonnets published?

• 1509

• 1609

• 1709

• 1809

What does the last couplet of Sonnet 18 imply about beauty?

• It fades with time

• It is eternal through poetry

• It is dependent on nature

• It is only temporary