Nineteenth Century Poets Trivia Quiz

Answer: William Blake

'Jerusalem' is the name of a hymn written in 1916 by Sir Hubert Parry, using the words of William Blake's poem that starts 'And did those feet in ancient times'. That poem, which many think of when they hear the name 'Jerusalem', however, is not the poem in the question. Between 1804 and 1820 Blake wrote a poem called 'Jerusalem', subtitled 'The Emanation of the Giant Albion', a prophetic work published as 100 separate etched plates, hand-drawn and printed by the poet. He made changes between printings, so no two of the original copies are identical.

William Blake (1757-1827) was not well known during his lifetime, but has retrospectively come to be seen as one of the major figures of English Romanticism. This movement in music, art and literature dominated the first half of the 19th century, with its emphasis on the individual and idealization of nature. The philosophical mysticism in much of his work can be summarized by stating that he was a devout Christian, but disdainful of formal churches.

Answer: William Wordsworth

This poem is also known by its first line, "I wandered lonely as a cloud', somewhat ironic since the incident that inspired the poem involved the poet walking through the woods with his sister Dorothy. First published in 1807, and revised in 1815, this is seen as a classic of Romantic poetry - and the example of that movement that is most often included in poetry anthologies for school use.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is considered to be a joint pioneer in English Romanticism due to his publication, in partnership with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, of the 1798 volume 'Lyrical Ballads'. He was Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death, when he was succeeded in that position by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Answer: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Along with 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' (published in 1798 as one of the 'Lyrical Ballads'), 'Kubla Khan' is generally considered to be one of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's greatest works. The opening lines ("In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree") are widely recalled, as is the fact that the poet claimed to have written it in 1797, as part of a longer poem which was only partially recalled, in a dream while under the influence of opium. When it was published in 1816, he included the subtitle 'A Vision in a Dream, A Fragment'.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was, with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the Lake Poets and a founder of the English Romantic Movement. He collaborated in producing volumes of poetry with a number of others, including Charles Lamb and Robert Southey, and his writing on Shakespeare was highly respected. He was a major influence on the development of Transcendentalism in the United States.

Answer: Lord Byron

In an interesting take on the legend, Byron portrays Don Juan as more seduced than seducer. the poem, which was incomplete at the time of his death, was considered scandalous, because it was too freely critical of his contemporary society, and members thereof. The dedication to his rival Robert Southey, at the time Poet Laureate, is a clear example of this. The poem was written in the form of 'ottava rima' - eight line stanzas using a rhyming scheme of ab ab ab cc, with the final couplet often providing a twist to the stanza. Given the rhyme scheme, it is clear that the name of the title character does not use the traditional Spanish pronunciation, as Don Juan rhymes with "true one".

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788-1824) was more than a bit of a rake - stories of his sexual escapades abound, as do accounts of his spendthrift ways. He was forced to leave England in 1816, and famously spent time in Switzerland where he shared accommodation for some time with Percy Bysshe Shelley and his future wife Mary (who started writing 'Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus' at this time). He moved on to Italy, whence he departed in 1823 to join the fight for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire, during the course of which he died from an unidentified fever.

Answer: Percy Bysshe Shelley

Technically a play, this is an example of a closet drama - one which was intended to be read, and not to be performed. As such, it is often considered a long poem, and Shelley's masterpiece. Published in 1820, it deals with the Greek myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans, for which he was slated for eternal punishment. Shelley was inspired by Aeschylus' trilogy of plays on the subject, but added his own moral spin to the 'Prometheia' (as it was then understood by scholars), making it an ode to free will and optimism in the face of oppression.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was a controversial figure in his poetry, and also in his views on politics and society. He found little success during his life (in fact, much of it was not published, due to possible legal consequences), but has come to be seen as highly influential on following generations of poets. In 1814 he fell in love with sixteen year old Mary Godwin (later to be known as Mary Wollestonecraft Shelley), deserting his pregnant wife. Following Harriet's suicide in 1916, the couple began a tempestuous marriage, with the tragic loss of several children, which was ended by his death in a boating accident.

Answer: John Keats

This is one of the six odes Keats wrote in 1819: 'Ode on a Grecian Urn', 'Ode on Indolence', 'Ode on Melancholy', 'Ode to a Nightingale', and 'Ode to Psyche' were written (in uncertain order) during the spring, and 'To Autumn' in September. 'Ode to a Nightingale' is the longest of them, with eight ten-line stanzas, a reflection on mortality and the transient nature of life. F. Scott Fitzgerald took a line from this poem as the title of his final book, 'Tender is the Night'.

John Keats (1795 - 1821) has become a familiar name in English poetry, but few of his poems were published before his early death from tuberculosis. His death in Rome prompted Shelley to write 'Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, Author of Endymion, Hyperion, etc.', often considered one of Shelley's best works. Over time, Keats has come to be considered part of the second wave of English Romanticism, as well as an inspiration for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is associated with the macabre in his stories and poems, and 'The Raven' fits in well, with its ominous setting and pervasive sense of a looming threat. Since it was first published in 1845, it has been one of Poe's most popular pieces. The choice of a raven is said to have been inspired by the raven in Charles Dickens's 'Barnaby Rudge', in a review of which Poe had indicated that the raven should have been used more symbolically.

As well as his poems, Poe is known as one of the prime figures in the development of the short story in North America, as the writer of some of the earliest, if not the first, works of detective fiction, and as a contributor to the field of science fiction. As one of the first American authors to make their living completely from writing, he lived on the edge of financial ruin for most of the time before his death under mysterious circumstances. The Mystery Writers of America chose to use his name for their annual prize, The Edgar.

Answer: Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Written barely a month after the disastrous Crimean War battle that inspired it (The Battle of Balaclava, 25 October 1854), this poem by the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom at that time focuses on the bravery of the participants in their unquestioning obedience of commands, even if those orders were clearly going to lead them to death. This lack of interrogation is seen as essential for the functioning of an army.
"Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs but to do and die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred."

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (1809 - 1892) was Poet Laureate from 1850 until 1892. He won the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his early poems in 1829, but a lot of his critics considered him to be overly sentimental. Nevertheless, he produced popular work, and achieved critical success with his two-volume 'Poems', published in 1842.

Answer: Walt Whitman

'Song of Myself' was originally published as the first of the twelve untitled poems in the 1855 edition of 'Leaves of Grass', and is considered to exemplify Whitman's vision for his poetry. In the 1856 edition, it had a title: 'Poem of Walt Whitman, an American'. The 1860 edition saw this shortened to 'Walt Whitman', and the final title came with the 1891-2 edition. The poem was critically acclaimed from its first appearance, especially by fellow poets such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, , but public acceptance was slower - the celebration of sexuality was seen as immoral.

Walter Whitman (1819-1892) was an important figure in the transition from Transcendentalism to Realism during the 19th century, and has been dubbed the 'Father of Free Verse'. His 1865 tribute to the assassinated Abraham Lincoln, 'O Captain! My Captain!', was a more conventional poem in form, and the only one that was regularly included in anthologies during his lifetime.

Answer: Christina Rossetti

Written in 1859, but not published until 1862, 'Goblin Market' describes the involvement of two sisters with the goblin merchants they meet one evening. The first edition was illustrated by her brother, Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Analysts have found many intriguing aspects on which to comment, including sexuality, feminism, the capitalist economy, and temptation and redemption. This latter fits in with her religious devotion and involvement in the Anglo-Catholic movement of the time.

Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830- 1894) was not only a poet, she also wrote the words to several Christmas carols, including 'In the Bleak Midwinter', which was set to music by Gustav Holst. She featured as a model for several works by her brother, and spent time in voluntary work with ex-prostitutes. Although many have found feminist themes in her work, she was publicly ambivalent about women's suffrage.