Poet Rebus and Match Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henry

Laws + Son


Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson was born in 1867 in the New South Wales Goldfields of Australia. He developed an ear infection at age 9 and was completely deaf by 14. This led to much difficulty in his school education but a great love of the written word.

He had his first poem, "A Song of the Republic", published in the newspaper at age 20. Five years later the paper paid for him to visit the interior of the state where he wrote about the realities of life in the harsh drought stricken country which was very different from the romanticism of the other bush poets of the day.

Apart from poetry he gained much fame for his short story collections which also focused on rural life in Colonial Australia.

Lawson died from a cerebral haemorrhage in 1922 at age 55. He was given a state funeral for being a 'distinguished citizen' - the first in New South Wales history.

Answer: William

Words + Worth


William Wordsworth was born in 1770 in Cumberland, England. He had his first poem, a sonnet, published in a magazine when he was only 17. After obtaining his degree at Cambridge he had his first collection published and two years later he received a legacy which enabled him to write fulltime.

He also met Samuel Taylor Coleridge in the same year and they became close friends. In 1978 they published a joint collection entitled "Lyrical Ballads". This book is widely acknowledged as the launch of the Romantic Age in British Literature. The pair, with a third poet, Robert Southey, who lived nearby, became known as the 'Lake Poets', a term still used today.

His masterpiece was an autobiographical poem that he called 'the poem to Coleridge' which he continued to revise during his lifetime. He intended to name it "The Recluse" but it was published posthumously by his wife under the title "The Prelude".

Wordsworth became Poet Laureate in 1843 and held this honour until his death from pleurisy in 1850.

Answer: Samuel

Coal + Ridge


Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772 in Devon, England and developed a love of literature from as young as six. He suffered from many childhood ailments and these were treated with laudanum, which led to his lifelong opium addiction. He also had many bouts of anxiety and depression throughout his life, which now suggests the he may have suffered from a bipolar disorder.

Coleridge met William Wordsworth while living in Somerset in 1795. Besides their joint works over the next few years (see previous question) he also wrote two of his most famous poems, "The Rime of The Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan", at this time.

He travelled a great deal and wrote prolifically over the years, but by the turn of the century his opium addiction was affecting all areas of his life and within the next ten years he argued with Wordsworth, lost money, his newspaper failed and his marriage fell apart.

He spent the last 18 years of his life living in the home of a physician who had some success in curbing his opium use. During this time he wrote his masterpiece of prose, "Biographia Literaria", which included dissertations and literary criticism, and expounded on his literary theories.

He died there in 1834 at 62 of heart failure.

Answer: John

Dry + Den


John Dryden was born in 1631 in Northamptonshire, England to Puritan gentry. His first job was with John Thurloe, Oliver Cromwell's Secretary of State. After Cromwell's death in 1658 he wrote and published his first important poem - a eulogy called "Heroic Stanzas". His next most influential work was two years later with "Astraea Redux" - a work ironically dedicated to King Charles II and the return of the monarchy. He wrote so many poems about the Restoration that it was known as the 'Age of Dryden' in literary circles.

Between the reopening of theatres in 1660 and the Great Plague in 1665 which closed them again, Dryden became a playwright and produced three plays a year. In 1667 he also wrote an epic historical poem about England called "Annus Mirabilis" which lead to him becoming the first Poet Laureate in 1668. He also began new careers as a literary critic and a translator of ancient epic poems.

He died in 1700 at age 68 and is buried in poet's corner in Westminster Abbey.

Answer: Aleister

Crow + Lea


Aleister was born Edward Alexander Crowley in Warwickshire, England in 1875 to a wealthy family. His father was a very devout fundamentalist Christian who travelled widely preaching about God. His father died when Aleister was eleven, and he inherited the estate, which enabled him to live a very unusual life.

After attending Cambridge, where he studied English Literature, he became fascinated by the occult and spent a number of years investigating various sects and mystic religions. In 1904 he believed he had been visited by a supernatural being and given a sacred text from which he created a religion called Thelema. Its main philosophy is to "Do what thou wilt" and seek alignment with one's 'True Will' through practicing magic. This religion is still practiced today.

It also allowed Crowley to live his life as scandalously as he chose - he was a known bisexual, a prolific user of prostitutes and experimented widely with drugs.

He was also a prolific author throughout his lifetime, being renowned for his occult literature, but he also published novels and nineteen anthologies of poetry. He died of bronchitis in 1947 at the age of 72.

Answer: Boris

Past + Err + Knack


Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was born in Moscow, Russia in 1890 into a wealthy Jewish family. His father was a famous painter and his mother a concert pianist. Through their artistic circles he met many people who would influence his beliefs and future writings.

A failed love affair at 27 led to the publication of his most famous poetry collection, "My Sister, Life", which remains one of Russia's most influential anthologies to this day. He wrote another eight poetry books throughout his lifetime.

Outside of Russia he is best known as the author of 'Doctor Zhivago', which was published in 1957 - the last of his nine novels. He is also famous within Russia for his translations of other works, particularly the works of Shakespeare.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 but was forced to refuse the honour by the Communist Party - his descendants were able to accept it for him in 1988.

Pasternak died of lung cancer in Peredelkino in 1960 at age 70.

Answer: Joel

Bar + Low


Joel Barlow was born in Connecticut, USA in 1754. He attended both Dartmouth and Yale and obtained a law degree. In 1778 he wrote the controversial "The Prospect of Peace", which was an anti-slavery poem. He served as a chaplain during the American Revolution and then established the 'American Mercury', a weekly newspaper.

In 1787 he published "The Vision of Columbus" for which he gained great literary acclaim but he is best known for his 1793 work "The Hasty-Pudding".

He spent most of his life as a politician and diplomat, dying in 1812 in Poland from a cold at the age of 58.

Answer: Walt

Wit + Man


Walter "Walt" Whitman was born on Long Island, USA in 1819 to Quaker parents. The family was not wealthy and he left school at eleven to help the family finances. He worked as an office boy and then as an apprentice at a newspaper, which gave him the skills to work as a journalist and produce his own paper later in life. He also worked as a teacher for many years.

He had both fiction and poetry published in the newspapers throughout the 1840s. In 1850 he started writing his most famous work, "Leaves of Grass", and published the anthology with his own money in 1885. He continued to revise this book throughout his lifetime and had seven editions published. The work was considered overtly sexual for its time and considered obscene by some, but was held in very high esteem by others.

He died from severe lung disease in 1892 at the age of 72.

Answer: Giacomo

Leo + Par + Di


Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was born in Marche, Italy in 1798 to a noble but impoverished family. His home was not a happy one and he spent many years trying to survive away from it, but due to a debilitating vertebral disorder he had to keep returning throughout his short life. Besides his poetry he was highly regarded as a philologist, essayist and philosopher.

He studied constantly throughout his youth both to feed his incredible thirst for knowledge and to experience spiritual, if not physical, escape from his home. He also wrote prolifically during this time, but his first major foray into poetry were two canti published in 1818. These were followed by "The Idilli" - a collection of six idylls written between 1819 and1821.

His poetic style changed dramatically throughout his life and his large volume of works reflect these changing beliefs. These poetical theories are known as 'Leopardian poetics' to this day.

Due to his already poor health Leopardi succumbed to cholera in 1837 at the age of only 39.

Answer: Thomas

Camp + Bell


Thomas Campbell was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1777 to the 6th Laird of Kirnan. Both of his parents were intellectual and he was educated at the University of Glasgow, receiving awards for both the classics and poetry. At 20 he left for Edinburgh, and was able to support himself by tutoring and his writings.

His most famous work is probably "The Pleasures of Hope" which was published in 1799 and an instant success. He is also well known for his numerous war ballads.
Campbell also founded the Clarence Club in 1826 - a gentleman's club for the intellectually minded; helped with the founding of London University and was the Lord Rector of Glasgow University between the years of 1826 - 1829. He died at age 67 in 1844 and is buried at Westminster Abbey in the poet's corner.