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"Orpheus and Eurydice"

Total questions: 21

Worksheet time: 24mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is the genre of the story "Orpheus and Eurydice"?

a)

fable

b)

fairy tale

c)

poem

d)

myth

e)

tall tale

2.

What do we know about the setting at the beginning of the story?

a)

It's ancient Rome.

b)

It's ancient Egypt.

c)

It's Salem in 1692.

d)

It's Philadelphia in 1776.

e)

It's somewhere in nature.

3.

Who is the narrator of the myth?

a)

Orpheus

b)

Eurydice

c)

Hades

d)

Persephone

e)

an unnamed third person

4.

What was a special talent of Orpheus?

a)

his super strength

b)

his speed

c)

his cunning

d)

his ability to sing and play music

e)

all of the answers

5.

What happened to Eurydice on their wedding day?

a)

She eloped with another man.

b)

She was bitten by a snake.

c)

She had the best day of her life.

d)

She called off the wedding.

e)

Orpheus did not arrive.

6.

What happened to Eurydice immediately after she was bitten by a snake?

a)

She eventually recovered.

b)

People tried to save her, but in vain.

c)

Orpheus called out for her.

d)

Her father came to her rescue.

7.

What happened to the soul of the dead Eurydice?

a)

It descended to Tartarus, the underworld.

b)

It haunted the forest.

c)

It haunted the banks of the river.

d)

It ascended to Heaven.

8.

The "yawning cave" of the underworld is an example of what literary device?

a)

personification

b)

onomatopoeia

c)

hyperbole

d)

repetition

e)

rhyme

9.

Who did Orpheus encounter first when he tried to retrieve the soul of the dead Eurydice?

a)

Hades, the god of the underworld

b)

Zeus, the king of the gods

c)

Persephone, the queen of the underworld

d)

Charon, the ferryman of the river Styx

e)

Cerberus, the guardian of the gates of the underworld

10.

Why did the ferryman permit Orpheus, a living soul, to cross the river Styx?

a)

He was enchanted by his music.

b)

He felt sorry for him.

c)

He was under strict orders from Hades.

d)

all of the answers

11.

Who did Orpheus encounter second when he tried to retrieve the soul of the dead Eurydice?

a)

Eurydice herself

b)

Hades, the god of the underworld

c)

Persephone, the queen of the underworld

d)

Cerberus, the guardian of the gates of the underworld

12.

Why did Cerberus permit Orpheus, a living soul, to enter the gates of Hades?

a)

Orpheus brought him some meat.

b)

He was under strict orders from Hades.

c)

He was enchanted by his music.

d)

He was busy barking at a pussycat.

13.

"The pale ghosts came after him like great, uncounted flocks of silent birds" is an example of literary device?

a)

hyperbole

b)

simile

c)

metaphor

d)

onomatopoeia

e)

foreshadow

14.

"...across the mud and the marshes" is an example of what literary device?

a)

hyperbole (an exaggeration)

b)

flashback (a jump back in the timeline)

c)

flash-forward (a jump forward in the timeline)

d)

consonance (a repeated consonant sound)

e)

alliteration (a repeated sound at the beginning of words)

15.

"...the hissing flames stood still" is an example of what literary device?

a)

hyperbole (an exaggeration)

b)

flashback (a jump back in the timeline)

c)

flash-forward (a jump ahead in the timeline)

d)

consonance (repeated consonant sounds)

e)

alliteration (a repeated sound at the beginning of words)

16.

"Accursed Sisyphus, who toils eternally to push a mighty rock uphill" is an example of what literary device?

a)

hyperbole (an exaggeration)

b)

flashback (a jump back in the timeline)

c)

flash-forward (a jump ahead in the timeline)

d)

consonance (a repeated consonant sound)

e)

alliteration (a repeated sound at the beginning of words)

17.

What did Sisyphus do when he heard the enchanting music of Orpheus?

a)

He continued to push a rock uphill.

b)

He unconsciously sat down and rested.

c)

He consciously sat down and rested.

d)

none of the answers

18.

"Tantalus, who strains forever after visions of cool water" is an example of what literary device?

a)

alliteration (a repeated sound at the beginning of words)

b)

consonance (a repeated consonant sound)

c)

assonance (a repeated vowel sound)

d)

onomatopoeia (a word that imitates the sound it describes)

e)

rhyme (a repeated sound at the end of words)

19.

What did Tantalus do when he heard the enchanting music of Orpheus?

a)

He sat down and rested.

b)

He stopped reaching for the empty air.

c)

He forgot he was thirsty.

d)

He finally quenched his thirst.

e)

He was thirsty.

20.

What is the natural phenomenon explained by the myth "Orpheus and Eurydice"?

a)

fire

b)

snakes

c)

death

d)

rivers

e)

none of the answers

21.

What is the moral lesson of the myth?

a)

People cannot escape death.

b)

Some opportunities come only once.

c)

Waste not, want not.

d)

Slow and steady wins the race.