Analyzing Literature CLEP Practice Test - Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ozymandias - Sir Philip Sidney, An Apology for Poetry - Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Sep 22, 2026

Practice questions for the CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature exam, built around close reading of three excerpts and poem analysis. Students answer multiple-choice questions on the rhyme scheme and central imagery of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” and on Sir Philip Sidney’s critiques of philosophers and historians in “An Apology for Poetry.” Additional items draw meaning from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” including interpreting the passage’s final sentence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

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CLEP Analyzing Interpreting Literature Exam Practice Questions

Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias”

Sir Philip Sidney, “An Apology for Poetry”

Joseph Conrad, “Heart of Darkness”

CLEP Analyzing Interpreting Literature Exam Practice Questions Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ozymandias" I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: `My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away." 1. What is the rhyme scheme of the first eight lines? A. ABACADAC B. ABABACDC C. ABABABCB D. ABADACDC E. ABABCBCB 2. What is the central image of the poem? A. A collapsed statue in the desert B. A wounded king C. A face and inscription on a coin D. A plaque near a WWII battle site E. The Sphinx Excerpt from Sir Philip Sidney,“An Apology for Poetry” Therefore compare we the poet with the historian and with the moral philosopher. . . . . The philosopher therefore and the historian are they which would win the goal, the one by precept, the other by example; but both not having both, do both halt. For the philosopher, setting down with thorny arguments the bare rule, is so hard of utterance and so misty to be conceived, that one that hath no other guide but him shall wade in him till he be old, before he shall find sufficient cause to be honest. For his knowledge standeth so upon the abstract and general that happy is that man who may understand him, and more happy that can apply what he doth understand. On the other side, the historian, wanting the precept, is so tied, not to what should be but to what is, to the particular truth of things, and not to the general reason of things, that his example draweth no necessary consequence, and therefore a less fruitful doctrine. Now doth the peerless poet perform both; for whatsoever the philosopher saith should be done, he giveth a perfect picture ofit in some one by whom he presupposeth it was done, so as he coupleth the general notion with the particular example. A perfect picture, I say; for he yieldeth to the powers of the mind an image of that whereof the philosopher bestoweth but a wordish description, which doth neither strike, pierce, nor possess the sight of the soul so much as that other doth. For as, in outward things, to a man that had never seen an elephant or a rhinoceros, who should tell him most exquisitely all their shapes, color, bigness, and particular marks; or of a gorgeous palace, an architector, with declaring the full beauties, might well make the hearer able to repeat, as it were by rote, all he had heard, yet should never satisfy his inward conceit with being witness to itself of a true lively knowledge; but the same man, as soon as he might see those beasts well painted, or that house well in model, should straightways grow, without need of any description, to a judicial comprehending of them; so no doubt the philosopher, with his learned definitions, be it of virtues or vices, matters of public policy or private government, replenisheth the memory with many infallible grounds of wisdom, which notwithstanding lie dark before the imaginative and judging power, if they be not illuminated or figured forth by the speaking picture of poesy. 3. What is the author’s primary criticism of the philosopher? A. The philosopher communicates only general, abstract ideas. B. The philosopher can make an untrue argument seem true. C. The philosopher cannot know truth beyond the five senses. D. The philosopher is difficult to understand. E. The philosopher cannot attain true wisdom. 4. What is the author’s primary criticism of the historian? A. The historian considers only abstract precepts. B

FAQs

How are the practice questions structured in this material?

The document uses multiple-choice questions that test comprehension and interpretation of literary texts, including poem features and argumentative points from prose excerpts.

What topics do the questions cover for “Ozymandias”?

They focus on identifying the poem’s rhyme scheme and determining its central image.

What do the questions assess in Sidney’s “An Apology for Poetry”?

They assess Sidney’s primary criticisms of the philosopher and the historian and what he praises about poets, including interpretive meaning of key sentences.

How do the “Heart of Darkness” questions function in the practice set?

They test understanding by asking students to choose the best meaning for a concluding sentence from the provided excerpt.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Ethan Miller