AP Practice Exam #2

Read the excerpt from Joseph S. Cotter’s poem “Prologue to a Supposed Play.”

The speaker indicates that the play will include

• discussions of subjects unfamiliar to the audience

• mockery of characters similar to the audience

• ridicule of outdated literary fashions

• celebration of the audience’s desire to be reassured

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Read the excerpt from Joseph S. Cotter’s poem “Prologue to a Supposed Play.”

The speaker anticipates the objection that “preaching” (line 11) is

• a scandalous feature in a drama

• an inappropriate element in a comedy

• an unexpected and annoying interruption

• a deplorable practice in any social context

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In both lines 11 and 21 of Cotter’s poem, the speaker begins sentences with “But” primarily to

• indicate a personal comment

• concede an exception

• signal a shift in the discourse

• reflect the confusion inherent in the poem’s argument

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Read the excerpt from Joseph S. Cotter’s poem “Prologue to a Supposed Play.”

The speaker suggests that the “naked facts” (line 22) will

• shock naïve audiences with a cynical picture of human nature

• enable those attending the play to indulge in wishful fantasies

• challenge playgoers to tolerate the playwright’s bias against hypocrites

• encourage members of the audience to address their own weaknesses

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In context, the phrase “richly freighted” (line 28) implies that

• characters’ flaws help make them human

• riches always carry imperfections with them

• being human involves unavoidable responsibilities

• all people carry the burden of personal anxieties

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In the final stanza (lines 33–42) of Joseph S. Cotter’s poem, the figurative language draws most heavily on which activity?

• Musical performance

• Religious ritual

• Public celebration

• Armed confrontation

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Based on Joseph S. Cotter’s poem “Prologue to a Supposed Play,” the speaker expects the audience to have felt all of the following by the end of the performance EXCEPT:

• high spirits

• relief

• indignation

• impatience

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CCSS.RL.9-10.10

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Read the excerpt from Joseph S. Cotter’s poem “Prologue to a Supposed Play.”

Overall, how does the speaker view the audience?

• overly hostile to the play’s villainous characters

• ultimately agreeable to reforms of social institutions

• potentially receptive to humorous satire

• fundamentally decent despite its tendency to preach

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CCSS.RL.9-10.10

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Read the excerpt from Joseph S. Cotter’s poem “Prologue to a Supposed Play.”

Which of the following best describes the effect of the poem’s rhyming couplets?

• They playfully make the poem’s unpleasant points more palatable.

• They create a light tone to emphasize the frivolous themes of the play.

• They explicitly mock the audience’s expectations.

• They mirror the rapid shifts in the speaker’s thoughts.

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Read the excerpt from Joseph S. Cotter’s poem “Prologue to a Supposed Play.”

The poem is best described as

• an extended reflection on the nature of comedy

• a passionate monologue about the nobility of human nature

• a comical complaint about the shortcomings of playwrights

• an idiosyncratic description of a canonical play

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CCSS.RL.9-10.10

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