Exam Based Questions, The Canonization by John Donne

Exam Based Questions, The Canonization by John Donne

The Canonization by John Donne

1. Which poetic form does John Donne use in “The Canonization”? (UGC NET 2018, TN PGTRB 2021)

A) Petrarchan sonnet

B) Sestina

C) Dramatic monologue

D) Five-stanza lyric

Ans: D) Five-stanza lyric

2. What is the tone of the speaker in “The Canonization”? (UGC NET 2019)

A) Solemn and philosophical

B) Bitter and ironic

C) Playful and argumentative

D) Satirical and moralistic

Ans: C) Playful and argumentative

3. The phrase “Call us what you will, we are made such by love” reflects what key idea? (PGTRB 2020, UGC NET 2020)

A) Love as corruption

B) Love as a social duty

C) Love as divine transformation

D) Love as disillusionment

Ans: C) Love as divine transformation

4. In “The Canonization,” the speaker compares himself and his lover to which of the following? (KVS PGT 2018, DSSSB 2020)

A) Saints and pilgrims

B) Moths and tapers

C) Rivers and oceans

D) Books and poems

Ans: B) Moths and tapers

5. What does the speaker in “The Canonization” request others to do in the opening stanza? (UGC NET 2022)

A) Preach about his love

B) Let him love in peace

C) Canonize him as a martyr

D) Write about his sins

Ans: B) Let him love in peace

6. “We’ll build in sonnets pretty rooms” suggests that the speaker’s love will be preserved in: (PGTRB 2019)

A) Buildings

B) Memory

C) Poetry

D) Religion

Ans: C) Poetry

7. The title “The Canonization” refers to the process of declaring someone a: (UPSC 2021, UGC NET 2016)

A) Philosopher

B) Martyr

C) Saint

D) Scholar

Ans: C) Saint

8. John Donne’s “The Canonization” belongs to which literary tradition? (UGC NET 2017, WB SET 2020)

A) Classical poetry

B) Romanticism

C) Metaphysical poetry

D) Pre-Raphaelite poetry

Ans: C) Metaphysical poetry

9. Which figure of speech is not prominent in “The Canonization”? (NET 2017)

A) Hyperbole

B) Metaphor

C) Synecdoche

D) Metaphysical conceit

Ans: C) Synecdoche

10. The lover in “The Canonization” seeks sainthood for: (UP TGT 2020)

A) His spiritual sacrifice

B) His divine suffering

C) His passionate love

D) His knowledge

Ans: C) His passionate love

11. Which bird is used as an image in “The Canonization”? (DSSSB 2021)

A) Dove

B) Eagle

C) Phoenix

D) Nightingale

Ans: C) Phoenix

12. The poem contains paradoxes to suggest: (UGC NET 2022)

A) The impossibility of love

B) The spiritual nature of love

C) The sinfulness of love

D) The immortality of love

Ans: B) The spiritual nature of love

13. In “The Canonization,” the speaker mocks society’s: (PGTRB 2022, NET 2019)

A) Moral standards

B) Concern with materialism

C) Religious hypocrisy

D) Lack of poetic skill

Ans: B) Concern with materialism

14. “For God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love”—this line exemplifies: (NET 2016, DSSSB 2020)

A) Pastoral tone

B) Invocative mood

C) Dramatic abruptness

D) Didactic command

Ans: C) Dramatic abruptness

15. Which of the following is a central conceit in “The Canonization”? (UGC NET 2018)

A) Love as a disease

B) Lovers as religious martyrs

C) Love as political rebellion

D) Lovers as court jesters

Ans: B) Lovers as religious martyrs

16. “The Canonization” ends with the image of the lovers being: (NET 2017)

A) Forgotten and buried

B) Canonized in poetry

C) Judged by society

D) Reunited after death

Ans: B) Canonized in poetry

17. Donne’s metaphysical poetry is often characterized by: (GATE Humanities 2023)

A) Classical form and harmony

B) Emotional excess

C) Argument and intellect

D) Social realism

Ans: C) Argument and intellect

18. Which stanza in “The Canonization” introduces the phoenix image? (PGTRB 2023)

A) Second

B) Third

C) Fourth

D) Fifth

Ans: B) Third

19. In “The Canonization,” the phrase “holy sonnets” refers to: (NET 2019)

A) Donne’s own poetic work

B) A form of love poem

C) A religious text

D) An imagined shrine

Ans: A) Donne’s own poetic work

20. What is the purpose of the speaker's self-comparison to saints? (UGC NET 2021)

A) To justify spiritual superiority

B) To elevate his love as pure

C) To critique religion

D) To mock religious devotion

Ans: B) To elevate his love as pure

21. The expression “Let me love” reflects which typical theme in metaphysical poetry? (UP TGT 2019)

A) Love as an illusion

B) The primacy of reason

C) The authority of the self

D) Rebellion against fate

Ans: C) The authority of the self

22. How does Donne defend his love against societal criticism in the poem? (UGC NET 2022)

A) By quoting classical authors

B) By appealing to God

C) By constructing poetic arguments

D) By accusing his critics

Ans: C) By constructing poetic arguments

23. Which of the following is NOT a pair used in Donne’s imagery? (PGTRB 2021)

A) Moths and tapers

B) Well-wrought urn

C) Phoenix

D) Soldiers

Ans: D) Soldiers

24. The line “What merchant’s ships have my sighs drowned?” uses which literary device? (UGC NET 2020)

A) Simile

B) Irony

C) Hyperbole

D) Synecdoche

Ans: C) Hyperbole

25. The poem “The Canonization” was first published in: (KVS 2019)

A) Songs and Sonnets

B) Holy Sonnets

C) Poems of John Donne (1633)

D) Elegies

Ans: C) Poems of John Donne (1633)

26. What poetic device is dominant in the speaker’s reasoning style? (NET 2018)

A) Deduction

B) Symbolism

C) Conceit

D) Narrative

Ans: C) Conceit

27. Which theme is not explored in “The Canonization”? (DSSSB 2021)

A) Secular love

B) Political ambition

C) Spiritual elevation through love

D) Immortality through verse

Ans: B) Political ambition

28. Donne’s speaker equates poetic fame with: (PGTRB 2019)

A) Worldly wealth

B) Immortality

C) Glory

D) Self-deception

Ans: B) Immortality

29. Who are referred to as "hermit’s cells" in the poem? (UGC NET 2017)

A) The lovers

B) The saints

C) The poets

D) The clergy

Ans: A) The lovers

30. The final stanza suggests the lovers’ story will be: (UP TGT 2022)

A) Forgotten with time

B) Stored in heaven

C) Told in poems

D) Dismissed as heresy

Ans: C) Told in poems

31. Donne’s metaphysical style often blends: (UGC NET 2023)

A) Romanticism and realism

B) Wit and argument

C) Irony and sentiment

D) Satire and parody

Ans: B) Wit and argument

32. In “The Canonization,” Donne challenges traditional views of: (PGTRB 2021)

A) Government

B) Marriage

C) Sacred and secular love

D) Science

Ans: C) Sacred and secular love

33. Why does Donne use religious imagery in a love poem? (NET 2018)

A) To mock religion

B) To blend the sacred with the sensual

C) To highlight corruption

D) To appeal to religious authorities

Ans: B) To blend the sacred with the sensual

34. Which poetic strategy does Donne use to argue for sainthood of lovers? (UGC NET 2021)

A) Mythological allusion

B) Formal prayer

C) Logical persuasion

D) Narrative storytelling

Ans: C) Logical persuasion

35. The speaker in “The Canonization” views his love as: (TGT English 2020)

A) Temporary

B) Sinful

C) Transcendent

D) Controversial

Ans: C) Transcendent

36. What is the significance of the “tapers” in the poem? (UGC NET 2019)

A) They light the lovers’ way

B) They symbolize wisdom

C) They represent burning passion

D) They represent political corruption

Ans: C) They represent burning passion

37. In which literary era was “The Canonization” written? (UPSC 2021)

A) Elizabethan

B) Romantic

C) Metaphysical

D) Jacobean

Ans: D) Jacobean

38. What does the lover offer as proof of the value of love? (NET 2020)

A) Wealth and fame

B) Poems and shrines

C) Family ties

D) Gifts and jewels

Ans: B) Poems and shrines

39. The speaker’s love is described as a: (PGTRB 2022)

A) Sinful passion

B) Comic exaggeration

C) Holy enterprise

D) Melancholic fate

Ans: C) Holy enterprise

40. Who is the imagined audience of the speaker’s plea? (UGC NET 2022)

A) His beloved

B) Society and critics

C) God

D) A friend

Ans: B) Society and critics

41. The use of argument in the poem serves to: (NET 2018)

A) Convince the beloved

B) Establish poetic rhythm

C) Defend the speaker’s love

D) Promote religious ideas

Ans: C) Defend the speaker’s love

42. Donne’s use of paradox in “The Canonization” shows: (PGTRB 2021)

A) Conflict of science and love

B) Unity of opposites

C) Rejection of love

D) Fear of judgment

Ans: B) Unity of opposites

43. The shrine in the poem symbolizes: (UGC NET 2020)

A) Religious hypocrisy

B) Eternal memory through poetry

C) A temple in Rome

D) Social recognition

Ans: B) Eternal memory through poetry

44. Donne’s language in “The Canonization” is characterized by: (NET 2022)

A) Simplicity and clarity

B) Dramatic exaggeration and wit

C) Obscure syntax

D) Repetitive devices

Ans: B) Dramatic exaggeration and wit

45. Which term best describes the poem’s structure? (UP TGT 2021)

A) Free verse

B) Heroic couplets

C) Iambic pentameter stanzas

D) Blank verse

Ans: C) Iambic pentameter stanzas

46. What does “die and rise the same” refer to in the phoenix image? (PGTRB 2023)

A) Spiritual reincarnation

B) Cyclical nature of love

C) Resurrection of the lovers

D) Religious rebirth

Ans: C) Resurrection of the lovers