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Quiz about Quotes from T S Eliot
Quiz about Quotes from T S Eliot

Quotes from T. S. Eliot Trivia Quiz


I love T. S. Eliot, and this quiz is based on some of my favorite quotes from his poems. I have tried to limit the selection to the interesting and/or well-known.

A multiple-choice quiz by NormanW5. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
NormanW5
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
219,028
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
862
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Probably my favorite Eliot quote of all is "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." Which poem is this from? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. You have almost certainly heard this quote, and maybe even used it, without necessarily knowing that it was from Eliot:

"This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper"
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. You might be able to figure out which poem this is without ever having read the poem before, just from the content given here.

"Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself--as it will seem to do--
With 'I have saved this afternoon for you';
And four wax candles in the darkened room,
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet's tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid."
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. What Eliot poem contains the popular song quote below, and shows he listened to the pop music of his day?

"O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag--
It's so elegant
So intelligent"
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which Eliot piece tells a story and includes this passage?

"'A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey;
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'"

Hint: this is the opening of the poem.
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. You may not know the entire quote given here, but I hope you recognize lines three and four well enough to name the poem it comes from.

"I am moved by fancies that are curled
Around these images, and cling;
The notion of some infinitely gentle
Infinitely suffering thing."

"Wipe your hand across your mouth and laugh;
The worlds revolve like ancient women
Gathering fuel in vacant lots."
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. If you had Eliot in school, you know about his conversion to Christianity. You may not know about his fascination with eastern religions, which influenced these famous lines:

"Dry the pool, dry concrete, brown edged,
And the pool was filled with water out of sunlight,
And the lotos rose, quietly, quietly,
The surface glittered out of heart of light,
And they were behind us, reflected in the pool.
Then a cloud passed, and the pool was empty.
Go, said the bird, for the leaves were full of children,
Hidden excitedly, containing laughter.
Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind
Cannot bear very much reality."
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. You don't have to tell us how to answer the question in the poem. Just tell us where to find the question.

"Who turned in the hall, one hand on the door. Vacant shuttles
Weave the wind. I have no ghosts,
An old man in a draughty house
Under a windy knob."

"After such knowledge, what forgiveness?"
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. You know the last line of this quatrain. Giving it in context should help you recognize the source.

"Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain:
Temptation shall not come in this kind again.
The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason."
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Ah. You wondered where these lines came from. It was from T. S. Eliot:

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Probably my favorite Eliot quote of all is "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." Which poem is this from?

Answer: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Prufrock is complaining that his life is a round of empty social occasions, not that he's tired of Starbucks. The quote in Question three is another example of this complaint. It appears that, for a while, the real life Eliot felt the same way.
2. You have almost certainly heard this quote, and maybe even used it, without necessarily knowing that it was from Eliot: "This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper"

Answer: The Hollow Men

"The Hollow Men" was part of "The Waste Land" in an earlier version. It was removed at the advice of Eliot's wife Vivian and his friend Ezra Pound, but Eliot just turned it into a separate poem.
3. You might be able to figure out which poem this is without ever having read the poem before, just from the content given here. "Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon You have the scene arrange itself--as it will seem to do-- With 'I have saved this afternoon for you'; And four wax candles in the darkened room, Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead, An atmosphere of Juliet's tomb Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid."

Answer: Portrait of a Lady

This is a poem apparently written while Eliot was a college student, forced to pay social calls on his family's friends and relatives.
4. What Eliot poem contains the popular song quote below, and shows he listened to the pop music of his day? "O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag-- It's so elegant So intelligent"

Answer: A Game of Chess (in "The Waste Land")

I believe that the popular song passage is a real song and not one that Eliot made up for the poem. However, I can't confirm that. Let me know if you can. Eliot was a good enough mimic so that I could well be wrong.
5. Which Eliot piece tells a story and includes this passage? "'A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey; The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.'" Hint: this is the opening of the poem.

Answer: Journey of the Magi

The historical Christmas birth was almost certainly in the spring and not in the winter, but Eliot told the story from within the popular understanding. This poem is a fascinating brief story told from the point of view of one of the magi who visited the Holy Child and brought gifts.
6. You may not know the entire quote given here, but I hope you recognize lines three and four well enough to name the poem it comes from. "I am moved by fancies that are curled Around these images, and cling; The notion of some infinitely gentle Infinitely suffering thing." "Wipe your hand across your mouth and laugh; The worlds revolve like ancient women Gathering fuel in vacant lots."

Answer: Preludes

I included all the lines to give you a little better sense of the quote in context. Reciting those two lines out of context, as most people do, obviously creates sweetness out of Eliot's intended bitterness.
7. If you had Eliot in school, you know about his conversion to Christianity. You may not know about his fascination with eastern religions, which influenced these famous lines: "Dry the pool, dry concrete, brown edged, And the pool was filled with water out of sunlight, And the lotos rose, quietly, quietly, The surface glittered out of heart of light, And they were behind us, reflected in the pool. Then a cloud passed, and the pool was empty. Go, said the bird, for the leaves were full of children, Hidden excitedly, containing laughter. Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind Cannot bear very much reality."

Answer: Burnt Norton (from "Four Quartets")

I had to memorize these lines in college. They are among the two or three most famous passages from "Four Quartets."
8. You don't have to tell us how to answer the question in the poem. Just tell us where to find the question. "Who turned in the hall, one hand on the door. Vacant shuttles Weave the wind. I have no ghosts, An old man in a draughty house Under a windy knob." "After such knowledge, what forgiveness?"

Answer: Gerontion

"Gerontion," which was published shortly before "The Waste Land," has always sounded to me so much like another piece of that more famous poem that I didn't use "The Waste Land" for an incorrect answer because it would have been be too hard.
9. You know the last line of this quatrain. Giving it in context should help you recognize the source. "Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain: Temptation shall not come in this kind again. The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason."

Answer: Murder in the Cathedral

You probably recognized that all of the options were plays. "Murder in the Cathedral" is probably the most critically recognized, but "The Cocktail Party" was the most popular one in the theaters. I've always regretted that Eliot never finished his jazz play, "Sweeney Agonistes," although he did publish some fragments from the unfinished script.
10. Ah. You wondered where these lines came from. It was from T. S. Eliot: "We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time."

Answer: Little Gidding (from "Four Quartets")

Like the quote in Question Seven, this is one of the two or three most famous quotes from the "Four Quartets." I can't prove it, but I believe this is the best known of them all. Despite containing so well known a quote, however, "Little Gidding" remains one of the least known of Eliot's great works.
Source: Author NormanW5

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