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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What color is most prominent in the description of Venus kneeling before Adonis and putting her hand on his cheek?
(a) Red.
(b) Blue.
(c) Purple.
(d) White.

2. How does Adonis feel after Venus falls unconscious?
(a) Guilty.
(b) Amused.
(c) Skeptical.
(d) Satisfied.

3. Which techniques are used in lines 267-268, "The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wounds/ Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven’s thunder"?
(a) Diacope and onomatopoeia.
(b) Metaphor and alliteration.
(c) Onomatopoeia and metaphor.
(d) Alliteration and diacope.

4. Which is the most reasonable interpretation of Venus's characterization of Adonis as having a "mermaid's voice" (line 429)?
(a) She is dismissing his perspective as too feminine.
(b) She is alluding to the mythological sirens.
(c) She is comparing his voice to the sound of the ocean.
(d) She is warning him that his voice can be snatched away.

5. What causes Venus to fall to the ground, unconscious?
(a) She has a premonition of the words Adonis is about to speak.
(b) Adonis tells her that he will never love her or even desire her.
(c) Adonis pushes her roughly away from him.
(d) She is overcome by the heat from the sun.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Adonis react to Venus's comparison of herself to a park?

2. What metaphorical comparison is introduced when the horse crushes the bit?

3. When Venus and Adonis are on the ground kissing in lines 547-558, what is Venus being compared to?

4. Which is the best interpretation of "sick-thoughted Venus" in line 5?

5. What is the "jennet" that appears in line 260?

Short Essay Questions

1. What point is Adonis making with the metaphor "Who plucks the bud before one leaf put forth?" (line 416)?

2. Explain the comparison made between Adonis's mouth and a "red morn" (line 453).

3. What does Venus tell Adonis will "buy" her heart (line 514), and how does she propose that he "seal" the bargain (line 516)?

4. How do Venus and Adonis end up on the ground together?

5. How does the mare react to the stallion at first, and how does her reaction change?

6. Throughout the passage, which participants in a trial is Venus compared to?

7. What does Venus tell Adonis would happen if their positions were reversed?

8. Describe the stanza form in Venus and Adonis.

9. What does Venus tell Adonis he can learn from his horse?

10. What plan does Adonis share with Venus just as she is finally about to let him leave her, and how does Venus react?

(see the answer keys)

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