More WWI Poetry Trivia Quiz

Answer: 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae

There are many ideas about the meaning of this poem. On one hand, it can be seen as pro-war. As opposed to the other poems, 'In Flanders Fields' seems to be for the continuation of the war, wanting the reader to "take up our quarrel with the foe". The narrators of the poem are "the Dead", who died during the war and want their deaths to be worthwhile, so they didn't die in vain.

On the other hand, the image of holding "the torch" high can also mean winning the battle and creating peace, and preventing future wars by remembering the horrors of WWI to ensure it does not happen again. In this way, it is not viewed as pro-war, but as a preventative.

John McCrae lived from 1872 to 1918, ten months before the end of the war.

Answer: 'The Seed-Merchant's Son' by Agnes Grozier Herbertson

The last line is ambiguous, as it refers to the boy's father thanking God for his death. This could be because he is glad that he knows at last and he won't have to keep worrying about him any more, that he is glad that his son is not suffering any more, and that at least his son had a chance at life.

Answer: Young

Wilfred Owen's poem is an allegory (a story using symbols to represent ideas, etc.) about the governments' refusal to halt the war. It is an adapted re-telling of Abraham and Isaac from the Bible, but here, Abraham kills his son rather than the Ram of Pride.

Here, the governments of both countries are represented by 'Abram', who would not sacrifice his pride, and so "slew his son" Isaac "and half the seed of Europe, one by one."

Answer: Edith Nesbit

Edith Nesbit explores the world of nature in this poem and how she will not appreciate it, as her love is dead. For example, she writes "Just like last year's violets, too, || But they have no scent this year." The fact that she cannot appreciate the scent is because she cannot feel any joy after his death.

Answer: False

Vera Brittain analyses her loss for all seasons in her poem. This is because her pain of losing her love (R. A. L., for whom the poem was dedicated) is everlasting. However, she mentions that for her, Christmas is doubly painful, as not only is it a time of family and happiness, it was also the time of her love's death.

Answer: 'Reported Missing' by Anna Gordon Keown

'Reported Missing' was a love poet for her son. Anna Gordon Keown insisted that her son was not dead, for she would know it if he were. Written in the form of ABBAACCADEEDAA (for rhyming words), the poem has a regular rhyme scheme and a regular rhythm with five beats to a line.

Answer: False

Wilfred Owen wrote the poem in 1917, about a gas attack. The last lines of the poem are Latin: "Dulce et decorum est || Pro patria mori" means "It is sweet and honourable to die for your country". Owen describes this phrase as "The old Lie", after seeing the death of many men. Owen himself died in 1918, exactly one week before the end of the war.

Answer: Siegfried Sassoon

Sassoon wrote the poem in 1917. It is about a young soldier who suffered in the trenches in winter, putting up with lice and other horrors, before putting "a bullet through his brain."

It is an incredibly sad poem, as "no one spoke of him again". I personally feel that if a person attempted to fight for his or her country, they deserve the recognition of trying to do so.

Answer: Back

Gibson writes that when asked what he has done and seen in the war, he doesn't know what to say, as "it wasn't I, || But someone just like me" who travelled across the sea to kill the enemy. He writes: "Though I must bear the blame, || Because he bore my name."

The poet seems schizophrenic, but most likely Gibson is writing about how the war changes people and how the situation doesn't seem real for many who returned after the end.

Answer: 'The Soldier' by Rupert Brooke

In World War One, the bodies of soldiers were not always able to be taken back to their home country, and so were buried in France or Belgium. The poem 'The Soldier' explains that if an Englishman were buried in a foreign field, part of that field will be English.

This poem is very patriotic about the wonders of England and how the country has positively shaped all who live and have lived there.