How Lycidas die in John Milton's eponymous poem "Lycidas

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Question 2 options: a) the news of a coronation b) the news of the arrival of a beloved c) the news of someone's death d) none of the above

Answer: c) the news of someone's death (Specifically, the death of Edward King, Lycidas)

Question 3 (Mandatory) (4 points)

Donne used striking images and the metaphysical conceit, which is an extravagant metaphor which points out an unusual parallel between what are usually highly dissimilar elements. From the poem you read in this class, "Holy Sonnet 10," identify a metaphysical conceit and provide the lines as textual evidence. Question 3 options:

Answer: One prominent metaphysical conceit in John Donne's "Holy Sonnet 10" is the comparison of Death to a proud, boastful tyrant who is actually powerless and merely a servant to other forces.

Textual Evidence: "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die."

Explanation of the conceit: Donne strips Death of its intimidating power by portraying it not as a fearsome sovereign, but as a "slave" to various earthly phenomena ("fate, chance, kings, and desperate men") and illnesses ("poison, war, and sickness"). He further diminishes Death by claiming that even sleep, a mere "picture" of death, offers more pleasure, and that drugs like "poppy or charms" can induce a similar, or even better, state of oblivion. The ultimate conceit is the paradox that Death itself will die when humanity achieves eternal life after the "one short sleep" of physical death.

Question 4 (Mandatory) (4 points)

The Seventeenth century or the Age of revolution was characterized by conflict between which two factions? Question 4 options:

Answer: The Seventeenth Century in England was primarily characterized by conflict between the Monarchy (Crown/Royalists) and Parliament (Parliamentarians/Roundheads). This conflict culminated in the English Civil War.

Question 5 (Mandatory) (3 points)

What was the Plot Plot of 1605? The importance and power of Parliament. The plot was to assassinate James I, Question 5 options:

Answer: The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of English Catholic conspirators led by Robert Catesby. The plot intended to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening on 5 November 1605, thereby killing the King, his family, and most of the Protestant aristocracy.

Question 6 (Mandatory) (4 points)

In Shakespeare's play, King Lear, who said the following lines: "Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave/ My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty According to my bond; no more nor less." Question 6 options:

Answer: These lines were spoken by Cordelia.

Question 7 (Mandatory) (2 points)

A pastoral elegy, is a poem of mourning, which represents both the poet and the one he mourns—who is usually also a poet—as shepherds (the Latin word for shepherd is "pastor"). Question 7 options: True False

Answer: True

Question 8 (Mandatory) (2 points) (No question provided, so no answer can be given for Q8).

Sample Answer

Let's go through these questions related to English literature, focusing on the 17th century.

Question 1 (Mandatory) (2 points)

How did Lycidas die in John Milton's eponymous poem "Lycidas?" Question 1 options: a) He died in his sleep b) He drowned in the sea c) He died by suicide d) He was killed by the Muse

Answer: b) He drowned in the sea

Question 2 (Mandatory) (2 points)

In John Milton's poem, "Lycidas," what occasion forces the speaker of the poem to state the following words: I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude, And with forc'd fingers rude Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year. Bitter constraint and sad occasion dear Compels me to disturb your season due:(3-7)