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Poet: Ethel Lynn Beers Trivia Quiz

Ethel Lynn Beers was a well known poet during the American Civil War. Today she is relatively unknown. This quiz will be questions geared toward learning more about her.

A multiple-choice quiz by nammage. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
nammage

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
306,734

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
145

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. When and where was Ethel Lynn Beers born? Hint

January 13, 1827, Goshen, New York.

January 03, 1861, Suwannee, Florida

January 23, 1857, Atlanta, Georgia

March 07, 1888, Boston, Massachusetts

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Question 2 of 10

2. "All Quiet Along the Potomac" is Beers' most famous poem. What is the original name of the poem? Hint

The Picket Guard

All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight

All Quiet Along the Potomac

The Guard's Post

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Question 3 of 10

3. Many people claimed to have written "All Quiet Along the Potomac" when it was first published in 1861. Which one of these authors was said to have actually written the poem? Hint

Edgar Allan Poe

John Keats

Walt Whitman

Fitz-James O'Brien

4. The name of the poem "All Quiet Along the Potomac" may have inspired the title of the English translation of a novel written by a German writer about World War I. What is the name of the novel? Hint

All Quiet On The Eastern Front

The Republic

War and Peace

All Quiet On The Western Front

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Question 5 of 10

5. Another Civil War poem that Beers wrote was a narration. It was a story of the narrator telling about his/her time during the conflict in the state of Tennessee. Who's the narrator? Hint

Soldier

Slave

Child

Widow

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Question 6 of 10

6. "Off Barnegat" is a poem written by Beers about a schooner named David N. Tolck that crashed into rocks on shore. Only one person survived: a little girl, whose parents both died from injuries sustained after the crash. This is based on a true story as indicated in the notes section of Beers' book, "All Quiet Along the Potomac, and Other Poems" (1879). Where is Barnegat? Hint

New Jersey

Maine

Massachusetts

New York

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which one of these poems is NOT a poem written by Ethel Lynn Beers? Hint

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Gold and Crimson

The Golden Nugget

Better Than Diamonds

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Question 8 of 10

8. Another popular poem by Beers is "Weighing the Baby". How does this poem begin? Hint

How many pounds does baby weigh--

Don't wake the baby sleeper, friend.

Grandfather ties the kerchief's knot.

Baby Is King

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Question 9 of 10

9. Ethel Lynn Beers also wrote short stories. Which one of these short stories did she write? Hint

General Grant: a Story for Little Folks

Oolie

Opie's Big Day

War Between the States: A Telling of the Civil War

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Question 10 of 10

10. Ethel Lynn Beers was afraid of one thing in connection with her poetry, what was that? Hint

That her husband would be jealous of her success as a poet.

She feared since she wrote poems mainly on the Civil War, and since she was a woman, that she wouldn't be taken serious as a writer.

Her fear was that she would die after she published her collected works.

That if she published her complete works, that no one would buy it.

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. When and where was Ethel Lynn Beers born?

Answer: January 13, 1827, Goshen, New York.

She was born Ethelinda Eliot on January 13, 1827, in Goshen, New York, and was a descendant of the Puritan missionary John Eliot. She married William H. Beers at age 19. Subsequently she appended her married name to her poetry.

2. "All Quiet Along the Potomac" is Beers' most famous poem. What is the original name of the poem?

Answer: The Picket Guard

"The Picket Guard" was first published in "Harper's Weekly" on November 30, 1861 under her initials E B.

3. Many people claimed to have written "All Quiet Along the Potomac" when it was first published in 1861. Which one of these authors was said to have actually written the poem?

Answer: Fitz-James O'Brien

"Harper's Weekly" wrote that the author of "All Quiet Along the Potomac" was a "lady contributor", in an editorial paragraph in their magazine on July 4th, 1863. Rumors had it that a soldier during the war wrote it, and he sent it home to his wife, and she then published it in his place after he was mortally wounded in the war.

It was quite a popular poem during the Civil War, sometimes one would find a copy of the poem in the pocket of a dead soldier.

Answer: All Quiet On The Western Front

"All Quiet On The Western Front" is the English translation of the novel "Im Westen nichts Neues" written by Erich Maria Remarque. There are many explanations as to why it's titled the way it is, and this is one of the many possibilities.

5. Another Civil War poem that Beers wrote was a narration. It was a story of the narrator telling about his/her time during the conflict in the state of Tennessee. Who's the narrator?

Answer: Slave

Beers published almost 200 poems in periodicals and magazines over her lifetime. Her main publishers were "Harper's Weekly", and the "New York Ledger". Many of her poems were published without attribution.

Answer: New Jersey

Some of what Beers wrote was based on her own life experience but a lot of it was based on the news that she heard people talk about, or what was in the newspaper, or specifically dealing with the Civil War. Her poetry is set in fiction with a lot of truth instilled.

7. Which one of these poems is NOT a poem written by Ethel Lynn Beers?

Answer: Nothing Gold Can Stay

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" is a poem written by Robert Frost.

8. Another popular poem by Beers is "Weighing the Baby". How does this poem begin?

Answer: How many pounds does baby weigh--

"Grandfather ties the kerchief's knot" is the first line of the second verse of "Weighing the Baby". "Don't wake the baby sleeper, friend." is the second to last line of the last verse of the poem "Don't Wake the Baby". "Baby Is King" is a title of a poem written by Beers.

9. Ethel Lynn Beers also wrote short stories. Which one of these short stories did she write?

Answer: Oolie

At this time, there is only two of her short stories known: "General Frankie: a Story for Little Folks" published in 1862, and "Oolie" published in 1865.

10. Ethel Lynn Beers was afraid of one thing in connection with her poetry, what was that?

Answer: Her fear was that she would die after she published her collected works.

This premonition of hers, sadly, actually came true when she died on October 11, 1879 in Orange, New Jersey, the day after her book was published.

Source: Author nammage

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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