Shakespeare, Introduction and Sonnets

1. William Shakespeare was probably born where and born on what date?
   London; 1464
   Stratford-on-Avon; 1464
   London; 1564
   Stratford-on-Avon; 1564
   London; 1664
   Stratford-on-Avon; 1664
   
2. Shakespeare was writing his tragedies and comedies mostly in these years:
   1390s through 1410
   1490s through 1510
   1590s through 1610
   1690s through 1710
   
3. Is it true that Shakespeare was highly educated, having gone to Oxford and/or Cambridge?
   Yes
   No
   
4. There are basic four great periods of Shakespeare's drama:
   Tragedies, comedies, histories, romances (tragicomedies)
   Comedies, tragedies, histories, romances (tragicomedies)
   Histories, comedies, tragedies, romances (tragicomedies)
   Histories, tragedies, comedies, romances (tragicomedies)
   
5. Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest are, respectively, examples of:
   Tragedy, comedy, romance (tragicomedy)
   Comedy, tragedy, romance (tragicomedy)
   Comedy, romance (tragicomedy), tragedy
   Romance (tragicomedy), tragedy, comedy
   
6. Shakespeare's sonnets were first published in:
   1409
   1509
   1609
   
7. The basic format of the Shakespeare sonnet is:
   Two quatrains and a sestet
   Two sestets and a quatrain
   Three quatrains and couplet
   Two sestets and a couplet
   
8. In sonnet 3, Shakespeare asks "who is he so fond [foolish] will be the tomb/Of his self-love, to stop posterity?" These lines suggest that posterity is "stopped" because:
   The person the poet addresses never escaped his self-love, never married, and thus never had children (posterity).
   The person that the poet addresses will not be remembered by Posterity because he wrote no great poetry.
   The person that the poet addresses will be remembered by Posterity because he did write great poetry.
   
9. In sonnet 12, when the poet states that "thou amongst the wastes of time must go," he means that:
   Whoever he is addressing must eventually grow old and die.
   Whoever he is addressing must a take a journey that will take a long time.
   Whoever he is addressing is wasting her or his time.
   
10. In sonnet 12, Shakespeare states that "nothing .gainst Time's scythe can make defense." This line suggests that:
    Nothing can defend Time against the scythe.
    There is no way to justify the horrible things Time does in this world.
    Nothing can defend things of this world against the ravages of Time.
    
11. Sonnet 15 states that "everything that grows/Holds [Remains] in perfection but a little moment" suggests that:
    Perfection is rarely achieved in this world.
    Everything that grows reaches perfection at some moment of its existence.
    Perfection only lasts a short while.
    
12. In sonnet 18, when Shakespeare writes "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,/So long lives this, and this gives life to thee," the "this" refers to:
    A child, offspring from their marriage
    The poem in which he celebrates his lover
    An excellent wine that refreshes him
    
13. In sonnet 19, the line "O carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow," which is addressed to Time, means that:
    The poet is calling on the warrior not to stab his beloved.
    The poet is calling on Time not to put wrinkles in his beloved's face.
    The poet is calling upon Time to keep his beloved from worrying so much.
    
14. In sonnet 19, Shakespeare states that "Devouring Time" seems to "make the earth devour her own sweet brood." This line suggests that:
    Natural disasters such as tornadoes and earthquakes, and floods seem to "devour" life on earth.
    When a person is buried in the earth, it is as if the earth has "devoured" that person (one of earth's "brood").
    Earth seems to "devour" Time because every spring new growth reappears.
    
15. In sonnet 29, when Shakespeare writes that he "trouble[s] deaf heaven with my bootless cries," he means that:
    Heaven will not listen to his prayers ("cries").
    Heaven is listening to his prayers ("cries").
    His lady will not listen to his prayers ("cries").
    His lady will listen to his prayers ("cries").
    
16. In sonnet 55, the line "The living record of your memory" is in reference to:
    The poem in which Shakespeare has immortalized his lover or friend
    The biography of his lover or friend
    The actual mental memory he has of his lover or friend
    
17. In sonnet 60, Shakespeare writes that "And Time that gave doth now his gifts confound," he means that:
    Time gives us greater gifts as we get older.
    Time destroys the gifts that it gave earlier in life.
    Time improves the gifts we initially receive in life.
    
18. In sonnet 73, Shakespeare writes "In me thou seest the twilight of such a day/As after sunset fadeth in the west." These lines suggest that:
    The sun is setting, and his lover can no longer see his face.
    He is growing older, like the setting sun.
    His lover is growing older, like the setting sun.
    The sun is setting, and he can no longer see his lover's face.
    
19. In sonnet 73, the poet urges the person to whom the sonnet is addressed "To love that well, which thou must leave ere long." This line suggests that:
    We should not love too fondly the things of this world, which after all can only decay and die.
    We should love all the more strongly the things that we will have to leave once we die.
    We should not love over-fondly the things that we will have to leave once we die.
    
20. In sonnet 130, when Shakespeare writes that "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" and later "And in some perfumes is there more delight/Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks," he means that:
    His lady is beautiful but not in these old cliched ways of expressing it.
    His lady is comically old and ugly and has bad breath.
    His lady has beautiful sparkling eyes and wears lovely perfumes.
    

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