Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh

Study question Walter Alexander Raleigh

Style

Style MCQs

Milton

Milton MCQs

Facts about Walter Alexander Raleigh

➾ Walter Alexander Raleigh died from typhoid, which he contracted during a visit to the Near East.

➾ He started his academic career teaching English Literature at Aligarh’s Anglo-Orìental College.

➾ Raleigh extensively wrote about prominent English authors until 1914, when his writing shifted focus to war.

➾ His first volume of “The War in the Air” (1922), a military history, may be deemed his finest book.

➾ His son, Hilary, published his father’s light prose, verse, and plays in “Laughter from a Cloud”.

➾ Raleigh held the respected Chair of English Literature at Oxford University for eighteen years.

➾ Raleigh taught literature at four distinct academic institutions: Aligarh, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Oxford.

➾ He authored “The War in the Air”, a story of the Royal Air Force, spanning six published volumes.

➾ His sketch of the English novel’s history intentionally concluded before the notable appearance of “Waverley”.

➾ Raleigh helped write “Shakespeare’s England”, a two-volume work describing the life, culture, and manners of the Elizabethan age.

➾ Lady Raleigh, his wife, Lucie Gertrude, edited his collected letters, spanning from 1879 until his death, published as The Letters (1928).

Walter Alexander Raleigh MCQs

1. When was Walter Alexander Raleigh born?

A. May 13, 1922
B. September 5, 1861
C. October 20, 1911
D. March 13, 1890

B. September 5, 1861.
Walter Alexander Raleigh was born on September 5, 1861, marking the beginning of his life in the late nineteenth century.

2. What was Walter Alexander Raleigh’s nationality?

A. Scottish
B. British
C. English
D. Indian

C. English.
The biographical source explicitly lists Walter Alexander Raleigh’s nationality as English, connecting him to the national literature he studied.

3. When did Walter Alexander Raleigh die?

A. September 5, 1861
B. May 13, 1922
C. December 12, 1916
D. October 20, 1911

B. May 13, 1922.
Raleigh died on May 13, 1922, concluding his academic tenure at Oxford University.

4. What caused Walter Alexander Raleigh’s death?

A. Near East injury
B. Consumption
C. Typhoid
D. Old age

C. Typhoid.
He contracted typhoid during a visit to the Near East, which resulted in his death in 1922.

5. Which London institution did Raleigh attend?

A. Glasgow University
B. City of London School
C. Edinburgh Academy
D. King’s College, Cambridge

B. City of London School.
Raleigh’s education included both the City of London School and the Edinburgh Academy.

6. Which university did Raleigh attend in London?

A. Oxford
B. University College, London
C. Cambridge
D. Glasgow

B. University College, London.
His higher education included studies at both University College, London, and King’s College, Cambridge.

7. Where was Raleigh’s first academic appointment (1885-87)?

A. Glasgow, Scotland
B. Oxford, England
C. Aligarh, India
D. Liverpool, England

C. Aligarh, India.
His initial role was Professor of English Literature at Aligarh, India, starting in 1885.

8. What was his role at Aligarh (1885-87)?

A. Professor of Style
B. Professor of English Literature
C. Chair of Modern Literature
D. Royal Colonial Institute

B. Professor of English Literature.
He served as the Professor of English Literature at the Mohammedan Anglo-Orìental College in Aligarh.

9. Where was he, Professor of Modern Literature (1890-1900)?

A. Glasgow, Scotland
B. Oxford, England
C. Liverpool, England
D. Cambridge, England

C. Liverpool, England.
For a decade (1890-1900), he held the Professor of Modern Literature position at University College Liverpool.

10. Which chair did he hold at Glasgow University (1900-1904)?

A. English Literature
B. English Language and Literature
C. Modern Literature
D. Royal Air Force

B. English Language and Literature.
At Glasgow, he was appointed to the Chair of English Language and Literature for the years 1900 to 1904.

11. Which institution hosted his final academic post (1904-1922)?

A. Glasgow University
B. Cambridge University
C. Oxford University
D. Liverpool College

C. Oxford University.
His final and most distinguished post was the Chair of English Literature at Oxford, which he held until his death.

12. What genre did Raleigh primarily focus on before 1914?

A. Military History
B. Literary Criticism
C. Fiction and Verse
D. Social Addresses

B. Literary Criticism.
Until 1914, Raleigh mainly published critical works focused on many major English authors.

13. What subject became Raleigh’s focus after 1914?

A. English Novel
B. The Near East
C. The War
D. Shakespeare

C. The War.
In 1914, Raleigh shifted his focus, turning to the Great War as his subject.

14. Which of his works is cited as possibly his “finest book”?

A. Style
B. Robert Louis Stevenson
C. The War in the Air (Volume 1)
D. Six essays on Johnson

C. The War in the Air (Volume 1).
The first volume of The War in the Air (1922) is specifically mentioned as potentially being his finest book.

15. How many volumes ultimately comprised The War in the Air?

A. Two volumes
B. Six volumes
C. Four volumes
D. One volume

B. Six volumes.
The War in the Air, the history of the Royal Air Force, was published across six volumes between 1922 and 1937.

16. The War in the Air details the part played by which force?

A. German Air Force
B. Royal Air Force
C. Allied Powers
D. Near East Forces

B. Royal Air Force.
The work is the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force.

17. What was the title of Raleigh’s 1895 publication?

A. Style
B. Robert Louis Stevenson
C. The English novel
D. Milton

B. Robert Louis Stevenson.
Raleigh’s early critical work, published in 1895, was a monograph on Robert Louis Stevenson.

18. Raleigh published his famous essay on Style in which year?

A. 1900
B. 1890
C. 1898
D. 1919

C. 1898.
His significant essay Style reached its 3rd edition in 1898, demonstrating its importance.

19. Raleigh published a monograph on which Romantic poet in 1903?

A. Lord Byron
B. Samuel Johnson
C. Wordsworth
D. Milton

C. Wordsworth.
He published a dedicated critical study focusing on the poet Wordsworth in 1903.

20. Which playwright was the subject of Raleigh’s 1909 book?

A. Ben Jonson
B. Shakespeare
C. Christopher Marlowe
D. Dryden

B. Shakespeare.
Raleigh published a specific critical work titled Shakespeare in 1909, focused on the Elizabethan dramatist.

21. Raleigh published six essays on which 18th-century figure in 1910?

A. Wordsworth
B. Samuel Johnson
C. Milton
D. Shakespeare

B. Samuel Johnson.
The collection Six Essays on Johnson (1910) demonstrates his scholarly commitment to Samuel Johnson.

22. His sketch of the English novel runs until the appearance of what?

A. Restoration drama
B. Waverley
C. Victorian age
D. Modernism

B. Waverley.
The English novel covers history from the earliest times up to the publication of Waverley.

23. What kind of works are collected in On Writing and Writers (1926)?

A. War essays
B. Notebooks extracts
C. Early poems
D. Private letters

B. Notebook extracts.
This posthumous work comprises extracts from his notebooks, which cover his thoughts on literature and writing.

24. What was the title of his 1918 collection of addresses?

A. The war of ideas
B. Some gains of the war
C. England and the war
D. Romance

C. England and the war.
England and the war (1918) compiled various sundry addresses delivered during the war.

25. What was the topic of his 1911 address at Aberystwyth?

A. Poetry and fact
B. The war of ideas
C. The meaning of a University
D. Study of literature

C. The meaning of a University.
His inaugural address at Aberystwyth in 1911 discussed the meaning of a University.

26. What was the topic of his 1890 inaugural lecture at Liverpool?

A. Romance
B. Poetry and fact
C. English novel
D. Style

B. Poetry and fact.
Marking his 1890 arrival at Liverpool, his inaugural lecture was titled Poetry and Fact.

27. What literary concept did he lecture on at Princeton (1915)?

A. Realism
B. Romance
C. Classicism
D. Lyricism

B. Romance.
Raleigh delivered two lectures at Princeton University in 1915, specifically addressing the concept of Romance.

28. What were Raleigh’s primary listed occupations?

A. Author, Soldier
B. Historian, Critic
C. Professor
D. Editor, Lecturer

C. Professor.
Raleigh’s extensive career involved multiple academic chairs, listed professionally as Professor.

29. What kind of work is Laughter from a Cloud (1923)?

A. Critical essays
B. Light prose, verse, and plays
C. Serious history
D. War addresses

B. Light prose, verse, and plays.
This 1923 posthumous work consists of Raleigh’s more informal light prose, verse, and plays.

30. Who edited the posthumous volume Laughter from a Cloud?

A. Lady Raleigh
B. Henry Jones
C. D. Nichol Smith
D. Hilary Raleigh

D. Hilary Raleigh.
The collection Laughter from a Cloud was edited with a preface by his son, Hilary Raleigh.

31. What date range do Raleigh’s collected Letters cover?

A. 1861-1922
B. 1879-1922
C. 1900-1918
D. 1914-1922

B. 1879-1922.
The collected correspondence, the letters, spans the period from 1879 to 1922, covering his adult life.

32. Who edited the second edition of Raleigh’s collected Letters (1928)?

A. Hilary Raleigh
B. Lady Raleigh
C. H. Young
D. Clarendon Press

B. Lady Raleigh.
The second edition of his letters was edited by his wife, listed in the source as Lady Raleigh.

33. Raleigh contributed to Shakespeare’s England about what?

A. Theatre history
B. Life and manners of his age
C. Play analyses
D. Critical essays

B. Life and manners of his age.
Shakespeare’s England provides an account of the life and manners of his age (Elizabethan) in two volumes.

34. Which address discussed “Some gains of the war” (1918)?

A. University College
B. Princeton University
C. Royal Colonial Institute
D. Clarendon Press

C. Royal Colonial Institute.
This address was delivered to the Royal Colonial Institute on February 13, 1918.

35. What topic was Raleigh’s address to the Royal Colonial Institute in 1916?

A. The war of ideas
B. War in the air
C. English voyages
D. Study of literature

A. The war of ideas.
In December 1916, he delivered an address on The War of Ideas to the Royal Colonial Institute.

36. What kind of writing is collected in Some authors (1923)?

A. Personal letters
B. Literary essays (1896-1916)
C. Light verse
D. Historical notes

B. Literary essays (1896-1916).
Some Authors is a collection of various literary essays written between 1896 and 1916.

37. In 1900, he published a work on the methodology of which academic field?

A. War history
B. English literature
C. Modern language
D. Literary essays

B. English literature.
He published a short work titled The Study of English Literature in 1900, outlining methods for the discipline.

38. Raleigh wrote a history concerning which 16th-century activity?

A. Elizabethan Theatre
B. English voyages
C. Tudor governance
D. Naval battles

B. English voyages.
He published The English Voyages of the Sixteenth Century, demonstrating his scope in historical subjects.

39. What is Raleigh’s specified literary period classification?

A. Victorian
B. Romantic
C. Georgian
D. Elizabethan

C. Georgian.
The source categorizes Walter Alexander Raleigh as belonging to the Georgian literary period.

40. What type of authors did Raleigh write about before 1914?

A. Unknown authors
B. Major English authors
C. War poets
D. Romantic writers

B. Major English authors.
Until 1914, his work focused on many major English authors across different literary eras.

41. What title, often used before his name, indicates he received an honour?

A. Professor
B. Sir
C. Lord
D. Colonel

B. Sir.
The Dictionary of National Biography entry refers to him as Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh, indicating a knighthood.

42. Who wrote a “personal recollection” about Raleigh and air history in 1922?

A. Hilary Raleigh
B. Lady Raleigh
C. Henry Albert Jones
D. D. Nichol Smith

C. Henry Albert Jones.
Henry Albert Jones published a 1922 personal recollection concerning Sir Walter Raleigh and air history.

43. Raleigh’s academic career spanned how many years (1885-1922)?

A. 25 years
B. 37 years
C. 30 years
D. 41 years

B. 37 years.
His career, spanning approximately 37 years from 1885 to 1922, began in 1885 and ended in 1922.

44. Which literary collection title gathers extracts from his notebooks?

A. Some authors
B. Poetry and fact
C. On writing and writers
D. The letters

C. On writing and writers.
The 1926 publication of On Writing and Writers consists solely of excerpts from his notebooks.

45. Which two literary figures did Raleigh publish monographs about in 1900 and 1903?

A. Shakespeare, Johnson
B. Stevenson, Johnson
C. Milton, Wordsworth
D. Romance, Novel

C. Milton, Wordsworth.
Raleigh published dedicated works on Milton (1900) and Wordsworth (1903).

46. What subject was his book published on in 1900?

A. Shakespeare
B. Milton
C. Romance
D. English novel

B. Milton.
Raleigh published a complete critical work focusing solely on the life and poetry of Milton in 1900.

47. What kind of works are primarily contained in Laughter from a Cloud?

A. Critical works
B. Light works (verse/prose)
C. Serious history
D. Academic addresses

B. Light works (verse/prose).
The material in Laughter from a cloud is specifically categorized as light prose, verse, and plays.

48. What is the reason for Raleigh’s fame/achievement after 1914?

A. His essay on Style
B. Official history of the RAF
C. His novel sketch
D. His collected letters

B. Official history of the RAF.
His fame after 1914 largely rests on his work on The War in the Air, the official history of the Royal Air Force.

49. His 1918 collection, England and the War, contained what type of writing?

A. Short fiction
B. Sundry addresses
C. Personal letters
D. Critical reviews

B. Sundry addresses.
The work England and the war gathered several addresses that Raleigh had delivered during the war period.

50. What was the general focus of the essays in “Some authors”?

A. Political theory
B. Literary criticism
C. Religious belief
D. Scientific progress

B. Literary criticism.
This collection primarily contains literary essays previously written, confirming his main genre focus.

Milton MCQs

1. When was John Milton born?
A. 1608 December 9th
B. 1609 January 8th
C. 1600 March 1st
D. 1618 July 4th

A. 1608 December 9th.
Milton was born on Friday, December 9th, 1608, in his father’s house in Bread Street, London.

2. What was Milton’s father’s profession?
A. A shopkeeper
B. A scrivener
C. A Puritan pastor
D. A wealthy merchant

B. A scrivener.
Milton’s father was identified as a middle-aged scrivener living in Bread Street, London.

3. What liberal taste did Milton inherit?
A. Love of reading
B. Love of poetry
C. Love of travel
D. Love of music

D. A love of music.
His father, a man of culture and intelligence, loved music, and this taste was passed down to the poet.

4. Who was Milton’s Presbyterian tutor?
A. Sir Walter Raleigh
B. Thomas Young
C. Fynes Moryson
D. Richard Baxter

B. Thomas Young.
Thomas Young was the Presbyterian tutor who educated Milton partly at home during his first sixteen years.

5. From what age was Milton a reader?

A. His tenth year
B. His twelfth year
C. His fifteenth year
D. His eighteenth year

B. His twelfth year.
Starting from the age of twelve, Milton became an omnivorous reader while still attending school.

6. Where did Milton spend fourteen years after school?
A. Foreign travel only
B. London continuously
C. Cambridge and Horton
D. Scotland and Ireland

C. Cambridge and Horton.
These years were spent studying at Cambridge, residing in Buckinghamshire (Horton), and travelling abroad.

7. Where did Milton possibly see ships frequently?
A. Cheapside market
B. London port area
C. Paul’s Walk
D. Near Bread Street

B. London port area.
London was a major traffic centre, suggesting Milton often visited the river below London Bridge.

8. Who is compared to a ‘stately ship of Tarsus’?
A. The Adversary
B. Satan himself
C. Dalila
D. A pilot of a skiff

C. Dalila.
The Chorus observes Dalila approaching and compares her appearance to a stately ship of Tarsus.

9. Satan’s bulk is compared to which sea creature?
A. A great whale
B. A sea beast, Leviathan
C. A night-founder’d skiff
D. A ship of Tarsus

B. A sea beast, Leviathan.
Satan’s massive size is likened to the great sea-beast Leviathan, seen near the coast of Norway.

10. What did Fynes Moryson compare the number of sands to?

A. Foreign fabrics
B. London Bridge ships
C. Elizabethan theatres
D. Puritan pamphlets

A. Foreign fabrics.
Fynes Moryson compared the variety of foreign stuffs and fashions to the number of the stars and sands.

11. Who went apparelled like gentlemen in Old London?
A. Puritan ministers
B. Bankrupts and players
C. Scriveners and traders
D. Old English farmers

B. Bankrupts and players.
Fynes Moryson noted that bankrupts, players, and cutpurses often dressed like gentlemen.

12. Milton’s visits to the ‘well-trod stage’ were likely what?
A. Daily events
B. College routine
C. Excursions of fancy
D. Denied completely

C. Excursions of fancy.
Milton likely saw plays only in his imagination, or during later, short stops in London.

13. How did Milton reply to charges of haunting playhouses?
A. Denied it flatly
B. Confirmed the habit
C. Retorted to the charge
D. Gave long excuses

C. Retorted the charge.
In The Apology for Smectymnuus, Milton retorted the accusation rather than denying it outright.

14. What were Milton’s first verses to appear in print?
A. Sonnet to Nightingale
B. On Christ’s Nativity
C. Epitaph on Shakespeare
D. On the Passion poem

C. Epitaph on Shakespeare.
His first published verses were An Epitaph on the Admirable Dramatick Poet, W. Shakespeare.

15. Whom did Dryden say was Milton’s “original” poet?

A. Shakespeare
B. Du Bartas
C. Ben Jonson
D. Spenser

D. Spenser.
Dryden claimed Spenser was Milton’s “original,” meaning his earliest poetic admiration or influence.

16. How did Milton regard “sage and serious Spenser”?
A. His true mentor
B. His literary idol
C. A better teacher
D. A mere fancy writer

C. A better teacher.
Milton thought Spenser a better teacher than the scholastic philosophers Scotus or Aquinas.

17. What profession was Milton intended for early on?
A. Political service
B. Legal profession
C. The Church service
D. Scrivener profession

C. The Church service.
Milton was planned by his family and his own early goals for service in the Church.

18. What allowed Church differences to ‘break out afresh’?
A. Defeat of the Armada
B. Puritan victory
C. Hampton Court Conference
D. Synod of Dort failure

A. Defeat of the Armada.
Once the defeat of the Armada calmed the fear of Rome, internal Church divisions worsened.

19. What name was used to deride those who sought preachers?
A. A Separatist
B. A Heretic
C. A Puritan
D. A Calvinist

C. A Puritan.
According to Baxter, anyone attending preaching ministers was mocked as a Puritan by the populace.

20. Whose political indifference was impossible for Milton?

A. Shakespeare’s
B. Herrick’s
C. Sir Andrew Aguecheek’s
D. Laud’s

A. Shakespeare’s.
Milton found the large indifference to current politics displayed by Shakespeare impossible in his age.

21. What did Dr. Johnson note about Milton’s early poems?
A. Too joyous
B. Characters kept apart
C. Melancholy in mirth
D. Too much fancy

C. Melancholy in mirth.
Dr. Johnson observed that there seemed to be some melancholy present even in Milton’s descriptions of cheerfulness.

22. What dictated the subjects of Milton’s later poems?
A. Theological beliefs
B. Classical studies
C. Personal sorrow
D. Political passion

D. Political passion.
Political passion dominated and structured all of Milton’s later poems, even influencing their themes.

23. What heroic subject did Milton abandon for his epic?
A. King Charles’s fight
B. King Arthur’s story
C. The story of Lycidas
D. Greek and Roman tales

B. King Arthur’s story.
Milton abandoned his youthful idea of writing an epic about King Arthur and his Round Table.

24. What policy kept Milton out of the Church and at Horton?
A. Puritan reform
B. Cromwell’s decrees
C. Laud and Stratford’s
D. Theological dispute

C. Laud and Stratford’s.
The policies enforced by Laud and Stratford are plausibly linked to Milton’s decision to avoid the Church ministry.

25. What sound accompanies dancing in L’Allegro’s hamlets?

A. Trumpets blowing
B. Loud organ music
C. Jocund Rebecks
D. The church bells only

C. Jocund rebecks.
The merriment of L’Allegro includes youths and maids dancing to the sound of jocund rebecks.

26. What institution did the Leeds bard hope would be raised again?
A. The Mermaid tavern
B. The Summer Bower
C. The Maypole
D. The village feast

C. The Maypole.
The bard lamented the downfall of the Maypole and hoped for its reinstatement in Merry England.

27. Where do the ‘sons of Belial’ wander forth?
A. Bunhill Fields
B. London streets
C. The courts and palaces
D. Bread Street, Cheapside

B. London streets.
The sons of Belial roam through luxurious cities and courts and wander the streets at night.

28. When is Eve described as ‘blithe’ and ‘jocund’?
A. Before the Fall
B. After reconciliation
C. Intoxicated by fruit
D. When tending roses

C. Intoxicated by fruit.
Eve is called ‘jocund’ and ‘blithe’ only after she has consumed the forbidden mortal fruit.

29. Where are flowers depicted more richly than in Eden?
A. Hesperian wildernesses
B. Laureate hearse
C. Rose-thicket near Eve
D. Adam’s happy garden

B. Laureate hearse.
The flowers mentioned at Lycidas’s hearse are described as brighter and homelier than those in Eden.

30. Comus is described as a ‘delicate monster’ despite representing what?

A. Pure beauty
B. Ugly vices
C. Pagan loveliness
D. Puritan severity

B. Ugly vices.
Comus represents ugly vices such as gluttony and intemperance, yet he is depicted delicately.

31. What was Milton’s guiding star, replacing Christianity’s fascination?
A. Classical Stoicism
B. Christian grace
C. Puritanism
D. Pagan loveliness

C. Puritanism.
Milton’s primary guiding star was the severe and self-centred life ideal called Puritanism.

32. What topic is Milton notably absent from singing about?
A. Marriage utility
B. Political battles
C. Love
D. Heroic virtue

C. Love.
Milton is one of the few great English poets who did not sing about the subject of Love.

33. What did Johnson say Paradise Lost lacked due to its theme?
A. Grand descriptions
B. Good theology
C. Human manners
D. Strong characters

C. Human manners.
Johnson complained that Paradise Lost lacked human actions or manners that readers could relate to.

34. Adam’s appearance before the angel is likened to what?
A. A Roman soldier
B. Ambassadorial dignity
C. A great Taskmaster
D. A simple farmer

B. Ambassadorial dignity.
Adam meets the angel with ambassadorial dignity, representing the entire human race in his state.

35. Milton felt himself to be what, lending dignity to his life?

A. A great poet
B. A simple citizen
C. A mighty agent
D. A lonely wanderer

C. A mighty agent.
Milton believed himself to be a “cause,” or an agent for mighty purposes, glorifying his actions.

36. What is the famous singular ending phrase of Lycidas?
A. Calm of mind
B. To pastures new
C. All passion spent
D. The cause remains

B. To pastures new.
The poem ends with the poet turning “To-morrow to fresh woods and pastures new” to pursue his ambitions.

37. What sacrifice did Milton make “In Liberty’s defence”?
A. His political career
B. His worldly wealth
C. His eyesight
D. His early poems

C. His eyesight.
Milton notes that he lost the use of his eyes from overworking them in defence of Liberty.

38. The story of Orpheus represents Milton’s fear of whom?
A. Thracian bard’s fate
B. Restoration brawlers
C. The envious Muse
D. The Dionysia orgy

B. Restoration brawlers.
Milton uses the Orpheus story to represent his fear of the cup-shotten brawlers of Restoration London.

39. To what mythical bird is Samson/Milton compared in the semi-chorus?
A. An evening dragon
B. A soaring eagle
C. The phoenix
D. A villatic fowl

C. The phoenix.
Milton compares Samson, rising triumphant from defeat, to the self-begotten Phoenix reviving from ashes.

40. What common English prejudice exists regarding poets?

A. Against blank verse
B. Against sacred themes
C. Against poets in politics
D. Against lengthy epics

C. Against poets in politics.
There is a strong prejudice among the English people against a poet involving himself intimately with politics.

41. In what year did Milton first intervene in politics with a treatise?
A. 1639
B. 1641
C. 1645
D. 1649

B. 1641.
Milton first intervened in political matters in 1641, writing Of Reformation in England.

42. What specific reform did Milton advocate in Areopagitica?
A. Abolition of tithes
B. Legalization of polygamy
C. Free publication thoughts
D. Oligarchy establishment

C. Free publication thoughts.
He advocated for the repeal of laws compelling all books to be licensed, promoting free publication.

43. Why did a biographer call Areopagitica’s topic ‘obsolete’?
A. The topic is too old
B. Nobody reads it
C. Thesis commands assent
D. Licensing Acts repealed

C. Thesis commands assent.
The topic is considered obsolete because its core thesis now enjoys general approval among modern readers.

44. Which species of liberty did the Divorce pamphlets address?
A. Civil liberty
B. Religious liberty
C. Domestic liberty
D. Intellectual liberty

C. Domestic liberty.
Milton classified the Divorce pamphlets, along with Areopagitica and Of Education, under domestic liberty.

45. The Divorce pamphlets were primarily written because Milton was what?

A. Seeking legal fame
B. Unhappily married
C. Testing press freedom
D. Interested in theology

B. Unhappily married.
Milton wrote the Divorce pamphlets primarily due to the intense personal motive of his unhappy marriage.

46. In The Reason of Church Government, Samson’s locks symbolize what?
A. His noble strength
B. His god-like shoulders
C. The laws
D. Scrivener’s prosperity

C. The laws.
In this treatise, Samson’s illustrious, sunny locks are allegorically represented as the laws.

47. Milton suggested chaos contained atoms of what?
A. Earth, fire, water, air
B. Hot, cold, moist, dry
C. Good, evil, sin, law
D. Wind, stars, moon, sun

B. Hot, cold, moist, dry.
According to Milton’s physics, the universe began with the simple atoms of Hot, Cold, Moist, and Dry.

48. What did Milton say a free commonwealth must be built upon?
A. Economic power
B. Public virtue
C. Strong monarchy
D. Perfect liberty

B. Public virtue.
Milton believed that democracy, in its ideal form, required a wide base of public virtue and true wisdom.

49. What talent did Milton claim fate extorted from him?
A. Eloquent preaching
B. A talent for sport
C. Powerful invective
D. Political persuasion

B. A talent for sport.
Milton claimed that fate forced him to use “a talent of sport” (wit), which he usually kept hidden.

50. The plot of Paradise Lost concerns the fortunes of whom?

A. A single nation
B. John Milton’s life
C. The whole human race
D. Classical heroes

C. The whole human race.
The theme of Paradise Lost is vast in scope, encompassing the destinies of the entire human race.

Brief Overview

Milton is a critical study by Walter Raleigh, Professor of English Literature at Oxford, first published in 1900. The work offers a biographical sketch of the poet John Milton, along with an analysis of his literary style and influence.

John Milton was born in London in 1608. His Puritan father, a scrivener, supported his extensive education, which included studies at home, at St. Paul’s School, and at the University of Cambridge. He focused intensely on Greek and Latin classics.

Milton initially intended to join the Church but left his studies to join the heated political debates of the English Civil War era. He dedicated his work to advancing liberty—religious, domestic, and civil—and wrote influential prose pamphlets, including the Areopagitica, which famously defended a free press. He lost his eyesight while working for the public cause.

His most significant work is the epic poem Paradise Lost. This poem addresses the destiny of the entire human race, setting the story in Heaven, Earth, and Hell. Milton stated his purpose was to “justify the ways of God to men.”

Milton wrote the epic in blank verse, rejecting rhyme as a “modern bondage.” His poetic style is recognized for its unflagging majesty and profound dignity. Critics often point to the rebel leader Satan as possessing remarkable nobility and greatness in the work. Milton died in 1674.