John Donne Practice Questions
20 free John Donne practice questions for the English Literature. Tap an option to answer — you get instant feedback, the correct answer, and a detailed explanation for every question.
In 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning', Donne famously compares the souls of the two lovers to which mathematical instrument?
- A A navigation astrolabe
- B Twin compasses
- C A balance and scale
- D A carpenter's slide rule
Correct answer: Twin compasses
Donne uses the compass conceit to show that while one soul moves, the other (the fixed foot) leans and hearkens after it, signifying that despite physical distance, their spiritual connection remains firm and centered.
Which specific term did Samuel Johnson use to describe the school of poetry associated with Donne, characterized by 'wit' and unusual metaphors?
- A The Cavalier Poets of the Court
- B The Romantic Lake Poets
- C The Metaphysical Poets
- D The Spenserian School of Poets
Correct answer: The Metaphysical Poets
Samuel Johnson coined the term in his 'Life of Cowley' to describe a group of 17th-century poets. He critiqued them for yoking 'heterogeneous ideas... by violence together' through the use of complex conceits.
In 'The Flea', how does the speaker attempt to persuade his mistress to yield to his romantic advances?
- A By comparing the flea's bite to a wedding ring pledge
- B By arguing that their blood has already mingled in the flea
- C By suggesting the flea is a reincarnation of the god Cupid
- D By claiming the flea represents the brevity of mortal life
Correct answer: By arguing that their blood has already mingled in the flea
The speaker uses the flea as a microcosm of a marriage temple, arguing that since their blood is already mixed in the insect, a physical union would be neither a sin nor a loss of honor — a classic Metaphysical conceit used for seduction.
What is the primary theme of Donne's 'Holy Sonnet X' (Death, be not proud)?
- A The physical decomposition of the human body after death
- B The inevitability of divine judgment on the Last Day
- C The powerlessness of Death in the face of eternal life
- D The grief felt by mourners left behind after a funeral
Correct answer: The powerlessness of Death in the face of eternal life
Donne personifies Death as a slave to chance and kings, arguing that it is merely a 'short sleep' between life and eternity. The poem concludes with the paradox 'Death, thou shalt die,' signifying Christ's victory over mortality.
In 'The Good-Morrow', Donne suggests that for the lovers, their small bedroom has become what?
- A A shared prison of longing
- B The entire world — an everywhere
- C A harbor after a long voyage
- D A new map of distant lands
Correct answer: The entire world — an everywhere
The poem explores the transition from childish pleasures to mature, all-consuming love. Donne uses the conceit that the lovers' room contains the whole world, rendering the discoveries of explorers irrelevant to their private universe.
The lines 'No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent' appear in which work by Donne?
- A The Sun Rising
- B Holy Sonnets
- C The Canonization
- D Meditation XVII
Correct answer: Meditation XVII
These lines are part of Donne's prose work 'Devotions upon Emergent Occasions'. He reflects on the interconnectedness of humanity, famously noting that when a church bell tolls for one person's death, it tolls for all.
In 'The Sun Rising', why does the speaker scold the sun?
- A For causing a long drought that ruined the countryside harvest
- B For interrupting the lovers and being a 'busy old fool'
- C For setting far too early on a cold winter morning
- D For being less brilliant than his mistress's shining eyes
Correct answer: For interrupting the lovers and being a 'busy old fool'
Donne uses an apostrophe to challenge the sun's authority, claiming that love is not subject to time or seasons. He eventually commands the sun to shine only on the lovers' bed, as that would be equivalent to shining on the whole world.
Which phrase best describes the characteristic 'Metaphysical conceit'?
- A A simple, direct comparison using 'like' or 'as' between two things
- B An elaborate metaphor linking two highly dissimilar things through extended logic
- C A repetitive rhyme scheme found in traditional pastoral elegies
- D A literal, first-person description of a religious or mystical experience
Correct answer: An elaborate metaphor linking two highly dissimilar things through extended logic
The conceit is an intellectual metaphor that requires the reader to look past the surface disparity of the objects compared. It serves to explore complex philosophical or emotional states through logic and ingenuity.
In 'The Canonization', the speaker argues that if the lovers cannot live by love, they will do what?
- A Die as martyrs and be immortalized in verse
- B Withdraw to a monastery and seek God's grace
- C Travel to the Americas to begin a new life together
- D Curse the cold, indifferent world that rejected them
Correct answer: Die as martyrs and be immortalized in verse
Donne uses religious terminology to describe secular love, suggesting that the lovers will become 'saints' of love. Their story will be captured in 'sonnets' and 'hymns,' prompting future generations to pray to them.
What is the 'Batter my heart' request in Holy Sonnet XIV addressed to?
- A The beloved mistress of the poet
- B The Three-Personed God
- C The embodied spirit of Death
- D The wandering soul of the poet
Correct answer: The Three-Personed God
In this sonnet, Donne uses violent, paradoxical imagery to ask God to forcefully renew his faith. He employs metaphors of a besieged town and a marriage to express his desire to be 'enthralled' and 'ravished' by the divine.
Donne's early life and poetry are often categorized as 'Jack Donne', while his later religious life is 'Dr. Donne'. What was his final professional role?
- A Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral
- B Bishop of London
- C Lord Chancellor of England
- D Headmaster of Westminster School
Correct answer: Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral
After converting from Catholicism to Anglicanism and taking holy orders, Donne became a celebrated preacher. His sermons at St. Paul's remain among the most influential works of 17th-century prose.
In 'The Apparition', what does the speaker threaten to do after he is dead?
- A Watch over her from above to shield her from other men
- B Haunt his mistress while she lies in bed with a new lover
- C Plead on her behalf before God in the afterlife
- D Erase her entirely from his memory once he is gone
Correct answer: Haunt his mistress while she lies in bed with a new lover
This is one of Donne's more bitter and vengeful poems. It uses the gothic trope of a ghost to attack a mistress who rejected him, imagining her terror as he visits her by 'candle-light' while she lies with another man.
Which scientific advancement of the early 17th century influenced Donne's line 'And new philosophy calls all in doubt'?
- A The invention of the steam engine
- B The Copernican heliocentric model
- C The discovery of the circulatory system
- D The discovery of gravity
Correct answer: The Copernican heliocentric model
In 'An Anatomy of the World', Donne laments the breakdown of the old, geocentric Aristotelian universe. The 'new philosophy' (science) disrupted traditional hierarchies and certainties about man's place in the cosmos.
In 'A Valediction: Of Weeping', the speaker compares his tears to what objects?
- A Diamonds and pearls
- B Coins and globes
- C Grains of sand
- D Falling stars
Correct answer: Coins and globes
Donne uses the conceit of tears as coins because they bear the mistress's 'stamp' (reflection), and as globes because they contain her world. It illustrates the overwhelming grief of separation where each tear is a 'nothing' that becomes 'all' because of her.
What is the 'Extasie' in Donne's poem of the same name referring to?
- A A state of overwhelming physical pleasure and bodily sensation
- B The souls of two lovers departing their bodies to commune in the air
- C The poet's divine vision of heaven and the afterlife
- D A trance induced by a powerful medicinal herb
Correct answer: The souls of two lovers departing their bodies to commune in the air
The poem 'The Extasie' describes the union of souls as a spiritual dialogue that occurs outside the body. Donne eventually argues that the souls must return to the 'book' of the body to manifest their love in the physical world.
Which major 20th-century poet is credited with reviving interest in John Donne and the Metaphysicals?
- A T.S. Eliot
- B Ezra Pound
- C Robert Frost
- D W.B. Yeats
Correct answer: T.S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot's 1921 essay 'The Metaphysical Poets' argued that Donne possessed a 'sensibility' that could fuse thought and feeling. This helped end the 18th and 19th-century view that Metaphysical poetry was merely clever or 'unnatural'.
In the poem 'The Relic', what does the speaker imagine will happen when his grave is dug up?
- A His body will be discovered perfectly and miraculously preserved
- B The grave will be found completely empty, a sign of ascension
- C A 'bracelet of bright hair about the bone' will be found
- D He will be discovered holding a worn and tattered Bible
Correct answer: A 'bracelet of bright hair about the bone' will be found
Donne uses this image to suggest a love that transcends death and time. He satirizes the religious obsession with relics by suggesting that he and his mistress will be mistaken for saints and worshiped.
The poem 'Twicknam Garden' uses which of the following to express the speaker's sorrow?
- A The presence of a lurking serpent coiled in the summer grass
- B The mocking song of a nightingale perched overhead
- C His grief blighting the garden, turning its spring into winter
- D A dry fountain that has suddenly and inexplicably run out
Correct answer: His grief blighting the garden, turning its spring into winter
The speaker brings his 'self-traitor' mind into the garden, effectively 'benighting' the spring. He wishes to become a 'senseless piece of architecture' or a 'stone fountain' to escape the pain of unrequited love.
In 'A Hymn to God the Father', Donne repeatedly puns on which two words?
- A Sun and Son
- B Will and Well
- C Grace and Glass
- D Done and Donne
Correct answer: Done and Donne
Donne uses his own name as a pun ('When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done / For I have more') to express his anxiety about sin and the need for God's continuous forgiveness. It is one of his most personal and fearful religious lyrics.
Which of these is a typical characteristic of Donne's poetic meter and tone?
- A Smooth, melodic iambic pentameter with gentle imagery
- B Abrupt, colloquial openings and rugged, irregular rhythms
- C Strict adherence to the Petrarchan sonnet structure without variation
- D Lengthy, descriptive passages focusing on the beauties of nature
Correct answer: Abrupt, colloquial openings and rugged, irregular rhythms
Donne's poetry often begins with a dramatic outburst (e.g., 'For God's sake hold your tongue') and uses rhythms that mimic natural speech. This 'roughness' was deliberate — he prioritized intellectual argument and colloquial energy over smooth lyrical sweetness.