Epithalamion Worksheet

Who wrote Epithalamion?

• Christopher Marlowe

• Edmund Spenser

• Ben Jonson

• Philip Sidney

Epithalamion was composed to celebrate:

• Spenser’s knighthood

• Spenser’s wedding with Elizabeth Boyle

• Queen Elizabeth’s coronation

• Birth of Spenser’s son

The word Epithalamion literally means:

• Funeral song

• Wedding song

• Love sonnet

• Religious hymn

How many stanzas does Epithalamion have (excluding envoi)?

• 22

• 23

• 24

• 25

The structure of Epithalamion symbolizes:

• 24 hours of the wedding day

• 24 stages of life

• 24 sonnets of love

• 24 chapters of the Bible

In Epithalamion, Spenser prays for:

• Long life and many children

• Political victory

• Fame as a poet

• Wealth and estates

The tone of Epithalamion is:

• Melancholic

• Celebratory and devotional

• Satirical

The goddess most frequently invoked in Epithalamion is:

• Venus

• Diana

• Juno

• Athena

In A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, Donne compares true love to:

• A rose

• A compass

• A candle

• A book

The poem was written when Donne was:

• Bidding farewell to his wife before travel

• Facing exile

• Mourning a friend

• Preparing for death