Poems and Their Poets Trivia Quiz

Answer: John McCrae

The poem was written during World War I by John McCrae, a Canadian officer serving in the war. It was written after a friend was killed during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915.

Answer: Wilfred Owen

The poem was written in 1917, and describes the effects of a chlorine gas attack. The title is part of a Latin phrase that makes up the final two lines of the poem: "The old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori", which is usually translated as "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country".

Answer: Dylan Thomas

This poem is Dylan Thomas's best-known work. It was supposedly written for his father, who was dying, urging him to "Rage, rage against the coming of the night" instead of resigning himself to inevitable death.

Answer: William Blake

"The Tyger" was published in 1794 in William Blake's collection of poems titled "Songs of Experience". The first lines, "Tyger! Tyger! burning bright/In the forests of the night", are still one of the most recognizable lines of poetry today.

Answer: T. S. Eliot

"The Waste Land", published in 1922, is loosely based on the legends of the Holy Grail and the Fisher King, but in a modern context. The poem is divided into five parts, and is widely considered as one of the best examples of modernist poetry, as well as one of the most recognized of T. S. Eliot's works.

Answer: Percy Shelley

"Ozymandias", published in 1818, tells of time's continued passing, eventually erasing achievements, no matter how impressive, from human memory. The title is the Ancient Greek name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. Perhaps not as familiar to people today, the lines "'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains." are still recognizable.

Answer: Theodore O'Hara

"Bivouac of the Dead" was written by Theodore O'Hara to commemorate Kentucky soldiers killed during the Mexican-American War. It gained popularity during, and just after, the Civil War. Today, the poem can be found on plaques placed throughout national cemeteries such as Arlington.

Answer: Samuel Coleridge

"Kubla Khan", written in 1797, is a poem written by Coleridge while he was under the effects of opium. The poem begins by describing Xanadu, Kublai Khan's palace, and all the pleasures within. Mid-way through however, the poem turns to threats and warnings of war. The poem is unfinished, hence the word "fragment" in the title.

Answer: Emily Dickinson

The poem was left untitled, but is referred to as "I heard a Fly buzz-when I died", which is the poem's first line. The poem is written from the point of view of a person dying in bed, narrating the emotions of those around her and her preparations for her impending death, when she notices a fly. The fly's buzzing then becomes the last thing the narrator hears.

Answer: Emily Dickinson

This poem was published posthumously in 1890, under the title "Chariot". In contrast to many poems about death, Dickenson described death as a fiancé arriving to escort her to their "wedding", the narrator's death. Throughout the poem, the narrator is calm and content, viewing scenes from her life as they pass by on the way to her grave.