Sonnet 71 MCQs | Sonnet 71 by William Shakespeare MCQs | The Triumph of Death MCQs | Free PDF Download | Easy Literary Lessons
1. Who is the author of Sonnet 71?
A) John Keats
B) William Wordsworth
C) William Shakespeare
D) Robert Frost
Answer: C) William Shakespeare.
Explanation: This sonnet is part of his famous collection of 154 sonnets.
2. The rhyme scheme of Sonnet 71 is:
A) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
B) ABBA CDDC EFFE GG
C) ABAB CDCD ABAB CD
D) None of the above
Answer: A) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
Explanation: This is the typical rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet. It consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final rhymed couplet. The rhyme scheme allows for flexibility and variety within the sonnet’s form.
3. What is the structure of Sonnet 71?
A. Three quatrains and a couplet
B. Two quatrains and a sestet
C. An octave and a sestet
D. Two tercets and a quatrain
Answer: A. Three quatrains and a couplet.
Explanation: This is a characteristic feature of Shakespearean sonnets. Each quatrain typically introduces a distinct idea or theme, and the couplet usually presents a conclusion or a summary of the preceding quatrains.
4. Who is the speaker addressing in Sonnet 71?
A. The dark lady
B. The fair youth
C. Himself
D. The reader
Answer: B. The fair youth.
Explanation: This is part of the “Fair Youth” sequence in Shakespeare’s sonnets (sonnets 1-126), where the speaker expresses his deep affection for a young man. The speaker in this sonnet is contemplating his own mortality and expressing concern for how his death might affect this beloved young man.
5. What does the speaker in Sonnet 71 ask their loved one not to do?
A) To forget them
B) To mourn for them
C) To remember them
D) To celebrate their life
Answer: B) To mourn for them when they are dead.
Explanation: The speaker expresses the desire that their loved one should not remember them if it causes sorrow, and even suggests that their love should decay with the speaker’s life. This is to protect the loved one from the pain of loss and the potential mockery of the world.
6. What does the speaker in Sonnet 71 compare their death to?
A) A surly sullen bell
B) A rising sun
C) A flowing river
D) A blooming flower
Answer: A) A surly sullen bell.
Explanation: The bell is a metaphor for the announcement of the speaker’s death to the world. The use of the words “surly” and “sullen” to describe the bell emphasizes the speaker’s view of death as a grim and mournful event.
7. What does the speaker in Sonnet 71 want to protect their loved one from?
A) Their own death
B) The sorrow of their memory
C) The cruel world
D) The inevitability of death
Answer: B) The sorrow of their memory.
Explanation: The speaker expresses a wish to be forgotten after death if their memory brings sorrow to their loved one. They also suggest that their love should decay with their life, to spare their loved one from the pain of mourning and the potential mockery of the world.
8. In the first line, “No longer mourn for me when I am dead,” what is the speaker’s primary emotion?
A) Anger
B) Acceptance
C) Regret
D) Fear
Answer: B) Acceptance.
Explanation: The speaker seems to have accepted their mortality and is expressing their wishes for how they want to be remembered (or not remembered) after their death. This acceptance is also reflected in their concern for the well-being of their loved one after they are gone.
9. What does the “surly sullen bell” in line 2 symbolize?
A) Wedding bell
B) Church bell
C) Funeral bell
D) Alarm bell
Answer: C) Funeral bell.
Explanation: In the context of the sonnet, the bell is a metaphor for the announcement of the speaker’s death, which is typically signified by the tolling of a funeral bell. The adjectives “surly” and “sullen” further emphasize the mournful and solemn nature of this symbol.
10. What does “compounded am with clay” in line 10 suggest?
A) The speaker turning into a sculpture
B) The speaker becoming part of the earth
C) The speaker crafting with clay
D) The speaker’s identity being confused with clay
Answer: B) The speaker becoming part of the earth.
Explanation: In the context of the sonnet, this phrase is a metaphor for death and the subsequent return of the body to the earth. It reflects the speaker’s acceptance of mortality and the natural cycle of life and death.
11. What does the speaker fear the wise world might do?
A) Celebrate their life
B) Ignore their existence
C) Mock the reader for mourning
D) Forget about them entirely
Answer: C) Mock the reader for mourning.
Explanation: The speaker expresses concern that if their loved one mourns for them or keeps their memory alive, the world might mock their sorrow. This is why the speaker wishes to be forgotten after death to protect their loved one from potential ridicule.
12. What does the speaker want to happen to their love after death?
A) Grow stronger
B) Decay along with their life
C) Transform into poetry
D) Be celebrated by the world
Answer: B) Decay along with their life after death.
Explanation: The speaker suggests that their love should end with their life to protect their loved one from the sorrow of their memory and potential mockery from the world.
13. What is the emotional tone of the sonnet?
A) Joyful
B) Melancholic
C) Angry
D) Optimistic
Answer: B) Melancholic.
Explanation: The sonnet deals with themes of death, mourning, and the transience of life, which contribute to a melancholic or sorrowful tone. The speaker’s contemplation of their own mortality and their concern for their loved one’s well-being after their death further enhance this tone.
14. What emotion does the speaker suggest the reader might feel if they think on them?
A) Joy
B) Sorrow
C) Indifference
D) Anger
Answer: B) Sorrow if they think on them.
Explanation: The speaker expresses a desire to be forgotten after death to protect their loved one from the pain of their memory.
15. How does the speaker describe the world in Sonnet 71?
A) Beautiful and enchanting
B) Vile and troublesome
C) Indifferent and neutral
D) Uplifting and inspiring
Answer: B) Vile and troublesome.
Explanation: This is evident in the line “From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell,” where the speaker expresses a negative view of the world, associating it with death and decay.
16. What is the central idea behind the speaker’s request to be forgotten?
A) Fear of mockery
B) Desire for eternal fame
C) Deep love for the reader
D) Regret for past actions
Answer: C) Deep love for the reader.
Explanation: The speaker expresses a desire to be forgotten after death to protect their loved one from the pain of their memory and potential mockery from the world. This suggests a deep and selfless love for the reader, where the speaker’s primary concern is for the reader’s well-being rather than their own legacy.
17. What emotion does the speaker want the reader to experience in response to their death?
A) Joy
B) Sorrow
C) Indifference
D) Anger
Answer: C) Indifference in response to their death.
Explanation: The speaker asks the reader not to mourn for them when they are dead, suggesting that they would prefer the reader to remain indifferent rather than experience sorrow.
18. In Sonnet 71, what poetic device is employed in the phrase “Give warning to the world that I am fled”?
A) Personification
B) Simile
C) Metaphor
D) None
Answer: C) Metaphor.
Explanation: The speaker is not literally fleeing, but this phrase is a metaphorical way of saying that the speaker has passed away or is no longer present. The use of the word “fled” is a metaphor for death or departure. So, the correct answer is Metaphor.
19. What type of figurative language is present in the line “From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell”?
A) Simile
B) Metaphor
C) Personification
D) Hyperbole
Answer: B) Metaphor.
Explanation: The speaker uses the metaphor of “vilest worms” to represent death and decay, and “this vile world” to express his negative view of the world.
20. In the line “Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell,” what poetic device is employed?
A) Personification
B) Onomatopoeia
C) Simile
D) Anaphora
Answer: A) Personification.
Explanation: This is because the bell is given human characteristics, described as being ‘surly’ and ‘sullen’. These are emotions typically attributed to humans, not inanimate objects like bells. This use of personification helps to create a more vivid image or feeling in the reader’s mind.
21. What is the poetic device used in the phrase “compounded am with clay”?
A) Simile
B) Metaphor
C) Enjambment
D) Personification
Answer: B) Metaphor.
Explanation: The speaker uses this metaphor to express the idea of death and becoming one with the earth. It’s a figurative way of saying that after death, our physical bodies return to the earth or ‘clay’.
22. In the line “And mock you with me after I am gone,” what poetic device is present?
A) metaphor
B) Consonance
C) Irony
D) Onomatopoeia
Answer: C) Irony.
Explanation: The speaker, who has expressed a desire to be forgotten to spare their loved one from sorrow, acknowledges the ironic possibility that the world could still cause pain to their loved one by mocking their memory after death.
23. In which line of Sonnet 71 does the volta, or turn in thought, occur?
A) Line 1
B) Line 5
C) Line 9
D) Line 13
Answer: C) Line 9.
Explanation: In a Shakespearean sonnet, the volta typically occurs at the start of the third quatrain (line 9), marking a shift in theme or mood. In Sonnet 71, the first two quatrains focus on the speaker’s death and the reader’s potential reaction, while the third quatrain and the couplet express the speaker’s wish to be forgotten to protect the reader from sorrow and mockery.
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