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Quiz about French Poetry 19001950
Quiz about French Poetry 19001950

French Poetry : 1900-1950 Trivia Quiz

A few highlights about poets and poetry in France in the first half of the 20th century, about people and art struggling to survive two World Wars.

A multiple-choice quiz by alpinesquill. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
alpinesquill
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
368,556
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
353
Question 1 of 10
1. He published the poetry collection "Facile" inspired by his second wife, Nusch. Like his friend Picasso, he was impressed by the destruction of the city Guernica during the Spanish Civil War and wrote a poem about this event. Another famous poem, "Freedom" ("Liberté"), published in 1942, was parachuted by Royal Air Force on the occupied territories. Who was he? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. André Breton published two Surrealist Manifestos, the first in 1924 and the second in 1929. Surrealist poets used all of the following, except one. Which one? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. Born in Rome in 1880, he obtained French citizenship two years before his death. He is the author of the poem "Le pont Mirabeau" ("The Mirabeau Bridge"), present in his book "Alcools" published in 1913, and he wrote many poems inspired by the World War I. Who was he? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. Being known as the author of the poem "The Graveyard by the Sea", Paul Valéry wrote different literary or philosophical essays and he illustrated his writings with his own drawings. Which one of the following statements about him is NOT true? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. He studied medicine, he fought in both world wars and received military honors in both of them. His was influenced by his powerful attachment to his wife Elsa Triolet, whose name appears in titles such as "Les yeux d'Elsa", "Le fou d'Elsa". He was a poet, a novelist and a journalist. Who was he? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. The author of the prose poem "Jacquemard and Julia" is a poet of revolt and refusal: he disengages from surrealist principles, becomes a member of the Résistance, refuses public honors. Due to his choleric temperament, he destroys in 1986, two years before his death, the museum dedicated to him. Who is he? Hint


NEXT>

Question 7 of 10
7. He developed automatic writing under hypnosis. Like many other poets from the first half of the 20th century, he was involved in military fighting during the wars. He adhered to the French Résistance movement, but he was captured and died in a camp of deportation in Czechoslovakia in 1945. Who was he? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. Born in 1900, he published his book of poems "Paroles" in 1946. These poems had a tremendous public success, unusual for a poetry book. They were written in a simple and familiar style, sometimes combined with black humor. Who was he? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. He was the author of the poem "The Young Fate" ("La Jeune Parque"), using over 500 alexandrine lines. Who was he? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. Embracing a diplomatic career, this poet exiled himself in the USA during the occupation of France in WWII. His poems became more appreciated after publishing "Amers" in 1957. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960. Who was he? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. He published the poetry collection "Facile" inspired by his second wife, Nusch. Like his friend Picasso, he was impressed by the destruction of the city Guernica during the Spanish Civil War and wrote a poem about this event. Another famous poem, "Freedom" ("Liberté"), published in 1942, was parachuted by Royal Air Force on the occupied territories. Who was he?

Answer: Paul Éluard

 Paul Éluard's first wife, Gala, left him for another artist, Salvador Dali. His second wife, Nusch, brought him feelings of joy and renewal. When Nusch died, the poet became very depressed and suicidal; then he met Dominique, his last source of calm and happiness until his death.
2. André Breton published two Surrealist Manifestos, the first in 1924 and the second in 1929. Surrealist poets used all of the following, except one. Which one?

Answer: voluntary control of their thoughts

 Surrealism was born from the ashes of disgust and protest left after World War I. The first surrealists were influenced by psychoanalytic theories and practices of that age and by Dadaism, a nihilist art movement.
3. Born in Rome in 1880, he obtained French citizenship two years before his death. He is the author of the poem "Le pont Mirabeau" ("The Mirabeau Bridge"), present in his book "Alcools" published in 1913, and he wrote many poems inspired by the World War I. Who was he?

Answer: Guillaume Apollinaire

 Guillaume Apollinaire was born Wilhelm Apollinaris de Kostrowitzky. His mother was Polish, his father was Italian. Like many other poets in the beginning of the 20th century, he was a part of a larger community, including poets and painters and journalists. They tried to create a bridge between poetry and painting, to write a poem using some of the principles of cubism.
"Le Pont Mirabeau" is a poem written in a more traditional form compared to others.
4. Being known as the author of the poem "The Graveyard by the Sea", Paul Valéry wrote different literary or philosophical essays and he illustrated his writings with his own drawings. Which one of the following statements about him is NOT true?

Answer: he agreed with the psychoanalytic theory

 Paul Valéry was striving to control his thoughts and creativity consciously. Therefore he rejected surrealism and psychoanalytic methods. His work is dominated by intellectualism and inspired by models from antiquity .
5. He studied medicine, he fought in both world wars and received military honors in both of them. His was influenced by his powerful attachment to his wife Elsa Triolet, whose name appears in titles such as "Les yeux d'Elsa", "Le fou d'Elsa". He was a poet, a novelist and a journalist. Who was he?

Answer: Louis Aragon

 Louis Aragon became a militant member of the Communist Party. Elsa Triolet was of Russian origin. He even wrote a long novel "Les Communistes" (1949-1951). The Russian intervention in Hungary in 1956 disappointed him and in 1968 he publicly defended Czechoslovakia.
6. The author of the prose poem "Jacquemard and Julia" is a poet of revolt and refusal: he disengages from surrealist principles, becomes a member of the Résistance, refuses public honors. Due to his choleric temperament, he destroys in 1986, two years before his death, the museum dedicated to him. Who is he?

Answer: René Char

 "Jacquemard et Julia" was published in 1947 in the poetry collection "Le Poème pulvérisé"("The Pulverised Poem"). This title is very close to the structural qualities of René Char's poems, where we can find many disparate fragments that seem to compose a single and unique poem, a single idea.

The "jacquemart" is a sculpted figure striking a bell every hour, a kind of horologe, and Julia is the elderly sister of the poet. The poem is a nostalgic depiction of childhood, punctuated with meditation about the passage of time.
7. He developed automatic writing under hypnosis. Like many other poets from the first half of the 20th century, he was involved in military fighting during the wars. He adhered to the French Résistance movement, but he was captured and died in a camp of deportation in Czechoslovakia in 1945. Who was he?

Answer: Robert Desnos

 Robert Desnos made use of anagrams and other word plays in his writings. Usually his love poems have an elegiac feeling, recounting the story of an unfortunate and hopeless love.
8. Born in 1900, he published his book of poems "Paroles" in 1946. These poems had a tremendous public success, unusual for a poetry book. They were written in a simple and familiar style, sometimes combined with black humor. Who was he?

Answer: Jacques Prévert

 Jacques Prévert's poems were very popular. He wrote poems for music hall and cabaret artists, many pamphlets and anarchist poems, defending freedom and criticizing public institutions. Serge Reggiani was an artist who brought to the public many of his well known poems.
9. He was the author of the poem "The Young Fate" ("La Jeune Parque"), using over 500 alexandrine lines. Who was he?

Answer: Paul Valéry

 Parque means Parca or Fate, one of the three personifications of destiny, named Moirai in Greek mythology. In this long poem Paul Valéry revealed the struggle of a young woman who discovers her sensual desires and in the same time remembers her lost innocence.
10. Embracing a diplomatic career, this poet exiled himself in the USA during the occupation of France in WWII. His poems became more appreciated after publishing "Amers" in 1957. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960. Who was he?

Answer: Saint-John Perse

 His real name was Alexis Saint-Léger Léger. He followed his diplomatic career for 30 years. Losing his French citizenship in 1940 because he was hostile to Nazism, he was accepted in the USA.
Source: Author alpinesquill

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