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Worksheets

Sonnets

Total questions: 36

Worksheet time: 18mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

How many lines are in a sonnet?

a)

10

b)

4

c)

16

d)

14

2.

Which of the following were the two poets we read in class?

a)

Henry Howard and William Seymour

b)

Shakespeare and Petrarch

c)

Shakespeare and Henry Howard

d)

Shakespeare and Thomas Mallory

3.

What is a lyric poem?

a)

a poem that tells a story

b)

a poem that includes a regular rhyme scheme

c)

a poem that is a response to another poem

d)

a poem that tells a speaker's thoughts

4.

What is the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean Sonnet?

a)

ABCD CDBD EFCD GG

b)

ABAB CCAB EEAB GG

c)

AABB CCDD EEFF GG

d)

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

5.

In which country did sonnets originate from?

a)

Italy

b)

Germany

c)

England

d)

Norway

6.

What is unusual about the woman Petrarch wrote his sonnets about?

a)

She didn't actually exist.

b)

She hated having poems written about her.

c)

He never actually got to know her.

d)

She was nothing like what the sonnets said about her.

7.

What is the rhythm of sonnets?

a)

dactylic hexameter

b)

iambic pentameter

c)

blank verse

d)

iambic tetrameter

8.

What is the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet?

a)

quatrain, quatrain, quatrain, couplet

b)

quatrain, quatrain, couplet, couplet

c)

octave, sestet

d)

octave, octave, sestet

9.

How many lines are in a quatrain?

a)

6

b)

4

c)

2

d)

5

10.

What is iambic pentameter?

a)

14 syllables per line with 7 sets of two

b)

12 syllables per line with 6 sets of two

c)

10 syllables per line with 5 sets of two

d)

16 syllables per line with 8 sets of two

11.

What is the turn in a sonnet?

a)

a new speaker is introduced

b)

The rhythm and/or rhyme scheme changes

c)

shift in thought - something changes

d)

It is a shift from one stanza to the next

12.

Where does the turn occur in a Shakespearean sonnet?

a)

either the third quatrain or couplet

b)

always the third quatrain

c)

any quatrain or couplet

d)

either the second or third quatrain

13.

What is the structure of an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet?

a)

quatrain, quatrain, quatrain, couplet

b)

quatrain, quatrain, couplet, couplet

c)

octave, quatrain, sestet

d)

octave, sestet

14.

What type of poem is a sonnet?

a)

epic

b)

lyric

c)

narrative

d)

pastoral

15.

When the speaker in Sonnet 29 says “Haply I think on thee, and then my state, /Like to the lark at break of day arising/ From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate” he is comparing thinking about his love to

a)

the death of a loved one

b)

birds singing at daybreak

c)

being worried in the nighttime

d)

singing along with the birds

16.

What does the speaker mean in Sonnet 116 when he says “Love’s not Times’ fool, though rosy lips and cheeks/ Within his bending sickle’s compass come”?

a)

Love doesn't always last a long time.

b)

Getting closer to death puts a strain on love.

c)

Love doesn't change with time even if beauty fades.

d)

Love causes cheeks to get rosy and lips to be red.

17.

Which of the following phrases from Sonnet 116 best supports Shakespeare’s message in the sonnet that love will never change?

a)

"It is an ever fixed mark"

b)

"the edge of doom"

c)

"his bending sickle's compass"

d)

'whose worth's unknown"

18.

Which Italian poet is credited with establishing the sonnet as a major poetic form?

a)

Ronsard

b)

Petrarch

c)

Boccacio

d)

Shakespeare

19.

What is sensory language?

a)

language that deviates from the established rythym

b)

language that is abstract

c)

figurative language

d)

language that appeals to the five senses

20.

Which of the following is an example of sensory language?

a)

If this be error and upon me proved,

b)

To seek the very one that I should flee;

c)

That took me from myself for such a space

d)

Coral is far more red than her lips' red;

21.

What does the speaker mean by “the vein of my accustomed art is dry”?

a)

He has lost interest in writing poetry.

b)

His poetry is meaningless to the world.

c)

He can't write poetry without the inspiration of his love.

d)

He wants to learn a new art form.

22.

Which of the following includes an example of sensory language?

a)

   “In some perfumes there is more delight/Than in the breathe that from my mistress reeks”

b)

“Love alters not with his brief hours and week, but bears it out even to the edge of doom”

c)

C.      “Rapt in the one fond thought that makes me stray from other men and walk this world along”

d)

  “Here let my loving song come to a close.”

23.

Which sonnet consists entirely of contrasting images?

a)

Sonnet 29

b)

Sonnet 130

c)

Sonnet 116

d)

Sonnet 18

24.

1.       In which sonnet does the speaker state that true love is unchanged by time?

a)

Sonnet 29

b)

Sonnet 116

c)

Sonnet 130

d)

Sonnet 292

25.

1.       What did Shakespeare write about in his sonnets?

a)

only love

b)

love, war, loss, nature

c)

love, time, change, death

d)

love, family, death, nature

26.

How many syllables are in each line in iambic pentameter?

a)

10

b)

4

c)

15

d)

14

27.

How does the speaker feel in the beginning of sonnet 29?

a)

lucky to be in love

b)

jealous of others in love

c)

depressed about himself and his life

d)

unhappy with his love life

28.

How does the speaker of Sonnet 116 feel about love?

a)

Love is fleeting and people should enjoy it while it lasts

b)

Love is the most important part of life

c)

Love is never ending and nothing can change it

d)

True love is difficult to come by

29.

Which of the following phrases from Sonnet 116 best supports Shakespeare's purpose in writing the sonnet?

a)

"It is an ever fixed mark"

b)

"the edge of doom"

c)

"his bending sickle's compass"

d)

"whose worth's unknown"

30.

Which of the following best describes the type of love admired by the speaker of Sonnet 116?

a)

Gentle

b)

Enduring

c)

Passionate

d)

New

31.

Which saying best describes the theme of Sonnet 130?

a)

Love conquers all

b)

Friendship is more important than love

c)

Love is necessary to happiness

d)

Beauty is skin deep

32.

How can the speaker's attitude toward his love best be described?

a)

disdainful

b)

realistic

c)

admiring

d)

annoyed

33.

The speaker of Sonnet 169 interprets his beloved's look of pity as

a)

a hopeful sign

b)

a sign of her undying love

c)

a sign of her cold indifference

d)

nothing more or less than pity

34.

What effect does love have on the speaker of Sonnet 169?

a)

It empowers him

b)

It fills him with delight

c)

If fills him with rage and terror

d)

It fills him with confusion and self doubt

35.

Which of the following is the best restatement of the sestet in Sonnet 169?

a)

Since she will not offer me any hope, I will not speak to her about my feelings.

b)

If she would offer some hope to me, I would have the courage to reveal my feelings.

c)

Even when she seems to offer some hope to me, I cannot tell her what I feel.

d)

Even if she were to offer some hope to me, I would be too proud to reveal my feelings.

36.

The figurative language used in lines 10-11 of Sonnet 292 mainly conveys a sense of

a)

bitter rage

b)

peaceful solitude

c)

grudging acceptance

d)

vulnerability or powerlessness