Renaissance Poetry Test

Match the term to its definition

• Apostrophe

• A statement that seems contradictory yet is true

• Oxymoron

• Work with two levels of meaning, literal and symbolic

• Paradox

• Word pairing contradictory ideas like “heavy grace”

• Couplet

• Address of absent person or personified object

• Allegory

• Pair of rhyming lines in the same meter

Spenser's Sonnet 30 (Fire and Ice) and Sonnet 75 (the beach sonnet) both –

• A. describe the pitfalls of love

• B. describe the complexities of love

• C. warn the reader to avoid love

• D. describe the physical world

The last two lines of Spenser's “Sonnet 30” (fire and ice) reveal that

• Nature is more powerful than love

• The woman loves the speaker

• The speaker fears his love

• Love is a powerful force

In Spenser's “Sonnet 75” (the beach sonnet), the beloved’s initial reaction is that –

• her virtues are not worthy

• seeking immortality is vain

• only the best poets should seek immortality

• only the best poets can be vain

According to the speaker, what effect does fire have on ice in Spenser's “Sonnet 30”?

• The ice melts

• The ice boils

• The ice hardens

• The ice grows thin

What does the speaker seek to do in Spenser's “Sonnet 75” (the beach sonnet)?

• To keep the woman he loves alive with his words

• To capture his beloved’s virtues and his love in his verse

• To become immortal

• To write his verse in the sand

Which answer best describes what the lines “And ice which is congealed with senseless cold, / Should kindle fire by wonderful device” mean?

• A. A person who acts cold could actually make another fall more deeply in love.

• B. Love that is cold can actually put out fires.

• C. A person who is full of fire can cause the person they love to be cold.

• D. Love can be hot and cold.

Why does the speaker in Spenser's “Sonnet 75” (the beach sonnet) most likely write the woman’s name twice?

• A. She asked him to do it

• B. She called him a vain man

• C. He wants to show his love for her

• D. He thinks that sand outlasts the ocean

The Speaker in Spenser's “Sonnet 30” (fire and ice) is –

• A man who is courting a woman whose heart is aflame.

• A man who is courting a woman whose heart seems ice cold

• An inanimate object

• A woman being courted by a man whose heart is aflame

Who are the two speakers in Spenser's “Sonnet 75” (the beach sonnet)?

• Two friends

• Spenser and Wyatt

• A man and a woman

• Two enemies