Pope's Poetry | 10 Question Literature Multiple Choice Quiz

Answer: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

Pope's "Pastorals" are inscribed in a long tradition of poetry inspired by shepherds, farmers and countrymen observing the change of seasons. After all, the name is derived from the Latin word "Pastor", which translates to "Shepherd".
But Pope differed from several other poets in that he combined the classical hexameter (rhythmic poetry, the rhythmic succession of stressed and unstressed syllables) with the end rhyme (the last words of every pair of verses sound alike, or give the impression of sounding alike). This combination of rhyme and rhythm is persistent in all of Pope's published poetry - be it original work or translation of ancient texts.
Here is an example, the first lines of "Spring" (I've capitalized the stressed syllables):
"First IN these FIELDS I TRY the SYLvan STRAINS // Nor BLUSH to SPORT on WINDsor's BLISSful PLAINS // Fair THAMES, flow GENTly FROM thy SACred SPRING // While ON thy BANKS SiCIlian MUses SING // Let VERnal AIRS through TREMbling Osiers PLAY // And ALbion's CLIFFS reSOUND the RUral LAY."

Blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm were according to ancient medics (such as Hippocrates and Galen) the four bodily fluids which should be in equilibrium. This theory was still widespread in Pope's time.
Water, earth, wind (or air) and fire were, according to Empedocles, the four fundamental elements of which all matter was made. Some philosophers included a fifth element, but only long after Pope chemists discovered that there are far more than four elements.
Red, green, yellow and blue are the four colours used in the logos by some internet giants such as Microsoft and Google.

Answer: Isaiah

Pope wrote "Messiah" in 1709, well before all the red herrings I've mentioned. He was inspired by the style of Virgil's "Eclogues" (also known as the "Bucolica") and intermingled the theme with excerpts of the Bible book Isaiah.
Let's cite verses 7-10 of Pope's "Messiah" (with capitalization of the stressed syllables): "Rapt INto FUture TIMES the BARD beGUN // A VIRgin SHALL conCEIVE, a VIRgin BEAR a SON ! // From JESse's ROOT beHOLD a BRANCH aRISE // Whose SACred FLOwer with FRAgrance FILLS the SKIES."

George Frideric Handel composed an oratorio named "The Messiah", which premiered in 1741. It was based mostly on the gospels.
Roberto Rosselini made a movie entitled "Il Messia" ("The Messiah") in 1975, based upon the gospels.
Lizzie Mickery produced a TV series "The Messiah" (2001-2008) for which she also wrote most of the scripts. Contrary to some other TV productions with similar titles, the story is not about Christ: it is a detective series in which an English police corps tries to apprehend some serial killers.

Answer: Orpheus

A quote will demonstrate the answer, and give you a sampling of Pope's style. Once more, I've capitalized the stressed syllables. "ReSTORE, reSTORE EuRYdiCE to LIFE // Oh TAKE the HUSband, OR reTURN the WIFE // He SUNG and HELL conSENted // to HEAR the POet's PRAYER // Stern PROserPINE reLENted // and GAVE him BACK the FAIR".

Orpheus was indeed the mythical musician we were looking for. As Pope mentioned, Orpheus accompanied the Argonauts and protected them against threatening noises uttered by various spirits (including the Furies). But Orpheus is best known for the other story, the one I quoted: when Eurydice died, Orpheus went to the Underworld, and with his music pleaded to have his wife revived.

Endymion was a mortal shepherd who fell in love with Cynthia, a nickname for Selene (the immortal goddess of the moon). John Keats wrote in 1818 a poem on Endymion, starting with the well-known verse "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever".
Apollo was an Olympian god, responsible for (among other duties) music. As a god, he was immortal.
Pan was a satyr, a minor god (and thus immortal) in Greek myth. He fell in love with the nymph Syrinx, who was turned into hollow reed at her bequest to escape Pan's amorous advances. Pan then used the reed to design a shepherd's flute.

Answer: Greek

Here is the full quote, with capitalization of the stressed syllables: "A LITtle LEARning IS a DANGerous THING // Drink DEEP, or TASTE not the PIERian SPRING." It continues: "There SHALlow DRAUGHTS inTOxiCATE the BRAIN // and DRINKing LARGEly SObers aGAIN."

This advice is not about consuming alcohol or other substances: it is about wisdom and learning. The Pierian spring was situated in ancient Macedonia, near Mount Olympus, and myth told the Muses used to play out there. The name was derived from the mythical king Pierus, whose daughters competed with the Muses in eloquence. The Muses predictably won, and the princesses who mocked their faith, were transformed into chattering magpies.
According to classical Greek myth, drinking from the Pierian spring would inspire the most exalted poetry. Similar wells of wisdom also appear in Norse myth (where Odin sacrificed his one eye to taste the well) and in Irish myth. In Maori myth there is no equivalent.
"An Essay on Criticism" contains most of the well-known quotes by Alexander Pope. Some other quotes from "An Essay on Criticism" are "To ERR is HUman, TO forGIVE diVINE"; "True EASE in WRIting COMES from ART, not CHANCE // As THOSE move EASiest who've LEARNED to DANCE" and "For FOOLS rush IN where ANgels FEAR to TREAD".

Answer: Cards

I'll quote a little passage describing the game: "Now MOVE to WAR her SABle MAtaDORES // In SHOW like LEAders OF the SWARthy MOORS // SpaDILlo FIRST, unCONqueRAble LORD // Led OFF two CAPtive TRUMPS and SWEPT the BOARD."

Pope's poem states that a young lady named Belinda and a baron played ombre at Hampton court. As ombre is a card game for three players, there would thus have been a third party (but Pope does not identify the third player). During the game, the baron tried several times to cut off one Belinda's lovely tresses unseen, and at the fourth try he succeeded.
Although it seems quite unbelievable, various sources point out that such an incident did really happen - and all members of British society were utterly shocked.

Croquet was another popular pastime for the upper class in Pope's time. But there are no stories about cutting a few hairs during a game of croquet.
Leapfrog and hide and seek were (and still are) popular with children, but I doubt that an adult baron and lady would indulge in such a game - let alone that during such a game he would manage to cut off a strand of her hair.

"The Rape of the Lock" ends with the following verses: "This LOCK the MUSE shall CONseCRATE to FAME // And 'MIDST the STARS inSCRIBE BeLINda's NAME." This couplet inspired the naming of one of the moons of Uranus. Also two other of Uranus' moons were named after main characters in "The Rape of the Lock": the airy sprite Ariel and the earthly gnome Umbriel.

Answer: Abelard and Heloise

Pope wrote the poem "Eloisa to Abelard", an apologetic epistle by Eloise after the harsh punishment for their love. Pierre Abelard (1079-1142) was a teacher at the Paris university and gave private courses to Heloise d'Argenteuil (about 1090-1164). But it didn't remain a relation between teacher and pupil: Heloise got pregnant and gave birth to a son, and a bit later the couple married in secret. But Heloise's uncle Fulbert was not amused. Abelard sent Heloise to a nunnery, but was mutilated by some of Fulbert's friends - in such a way that he would never father another child.
In Pope's poem "Eloisa to Abelard", Eloisa mourned Abelard's loss and reflected on their former love life. As she had lost her true love, she felt that she would welcome death soon. Here is a quote: "Yet HERE for Ever, Ever I must STAY // Sad PROOF how WELL a LOver CAN oBEY ! // Death, ONly DEATH can BREAK the LASting CHAIN // And HERE, e'en THEN, shall MY cold DUST reMAIN; // Here ALL its FRAILties, ALL its FLAMES reSIGN // And WAIT till 'TIS no SIN to MIX with THINE."

Paolo Malatesta (1246 -1285) and Francesca da Rimini (1255-1285) were illicit lovers mentioned in Dante's "Inferno". Paolo's brother Giovanni, who was also Francesca's husband, found out and killed them both.
Pyramus and Thisbe were a mythical couple. They loved each other through a crack in the wall dividing their houses. According to Ovid, Thisbe fled from a lioness, leaving her veil. Pyramus assumed that Thisbe was killed by a wild beast, and committed suicide. Upon returning, Thisbe followed suit.
Admetus and Alcestis were another mythical couple. In the play by Euripides, Alcestis was willing to give up her life for Admetus. Luckily Heracles was in the neighbourhood, defeated Thanatos (Death) and brought Alcestis back. 

Answer: Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) included "The Wife of Bath's Tale" in his masterpiece "The Canterbury Tales". He probably intended to write 120 tales (and thus surpass Boccaccio's "Decamerone", containing 100 stories), but only 24 are known to mankind.
According to Pope, the protagonist married five times. She explained this as follows: "For WHEN my TRANsiTOry SPOUSE, unKIND, // shall DIE, and LEAVE his WOful WIFE beHIND, // I'll TAKE the NEXT good CHRIStian I can FIND." So she spent little time in mourning.

Pope's rendering of the story is more easily accessible than Chaucer's original. Here's a random excerpt from the original tale: "UnNETHE myghte THEY the STAtute HOLDE // In WHICH that THEY were BOUNden UNto ME // Ye WOOT wel WHAT I MEENE of THIS, parDEE // As HELP me GOD, I LAUGH whan I THYNKE // How PItousLY a-NIGHT I MADE hem SWYNKE !"

Thomas Malory (1415-1471) is best known for "Le Morte d'Arthur", one of the first renderings of the Arthurian sagas. Venerable Bede (672-735) wrote in Latin, especially on church history. Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) came later than Pope. Scott is known for his historic novels such as "Ivanhoe" and "The Lady of the Lake".

Answer: An Essay on Man

"An Essay on Man" was published between 1732 and 1734. It contains four epistles to Lord Bolingbroke, all written in rhyming and rhythmic couplets (as all of Pope's published works).
Central theme is Pope's view of the Universe, as a whole created perfectly, but we can only observe a little part that seems imperfect: "But OF this FRAME, the BEArings AND the TIES // The STRONG conNEXions, NICE dePENdenCIES // GraDAtions JUST, has THY perVAding SOUL // Look'd THROUGH, or CAN a PART conTAIN the WHOLE?"

"Windsor Forest" is an ode to the eponymous forest. "Three Hours After Marriage" was a comedy written as a joint effort by John Gay, Alexander Pope and John Arbuthnot. The central character was an old scientist who just married a lovely young woman, only to discover that she had two other suitors. "January and May" is an update of "The Merchant's Tale" from Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales".

Answer: Dunciad

The "Dunciad" first appeared in 1728 as an anonymous poem in three parts ("books"). Fourteen years later, Pope published a revised version with a fourth book included. "The MIGHty MOther, AND her SON, who BRINGS // The SMITHfield MUses TO the EAR of KINGS // I SING. Say YOU, her INstruMENTS, the GREAT ! // Call'd TO this WORK by DULness, JOVE and FATE; // You, BY whose CARE, in VAIN deCRIED and CURSED // Still DUNCE the SEcond REIGNS like DUNCE the FIRST; // Say, HOW the GODdess BADE BriTANnia SLEEP, // And POUR'D her SPIrit O'ER the LAND and DEEP."
Thus starts Pope's Dunciad, in which he portrayed the King of Dunces. In both versions Pope elevated one of his main critics to the "king of Dunces", and mocked several other contemporary authors who failed to evaluate Pope's works in the way as he thought to deserve. But the line "Still Dunce the Second reigns like Dunce the First" can also be interpreted as a reference to King George II, who ascended to the English throne just before the publication of the first version of the "Dunciad".

"In Praise of Folly" is the English title of Erasmus' book "Laus Stultitiae" (1509). The other titles are books written well after Pope's death: Dostoevsky published "The Idiot" in 1868, and "A Confederacy of Dunces" is a posthumous publication of John Kennedy Toole (1937-1969).

Answer: Iliad

Being a Roman Catholic in an Anglican country, Pope was barred from university. He did attend some Roman Catholic schools, although these were illegal. Pope learned most by reading ancient literature, periodically helped by his aunt (the wife of the painter Samuel Cooper).
In 1715 Pope started translating Homer's Iliad. The translation was ready in 1720, and his income from this translation allowed him to move into a villa of his own. Here's an example of Pope's translation: "ACHILles' WRATH, to GREECE the DIREful SPRING // Of WOES unNUMber'd, HEAvenly GODdess, SING! // The WRATH which HURL'D to PLUto's GLOOmy REIGN // The SOULS of MIGHty CHIEFS unTIMEly SLAIN // Whose LIMBS unBUried ON the NAked SHORE // DeVOUring DOGS and HUNgry VULtures TORE // Since GREAT ACHILles AND ATRIdes STROVE // Such WAS the SOvereign DOOM, and SUCH the WILL of JOVE !"

In 1726 Pope and two of his friends started the translation of the Odyssey, Pope undertaking half of the work.
"The Battle of Frogs and Mice" was translated into English by Pope's friend Archdeacon Thomas Parnell, but Pope revised the translation and corrected it in several places.
Pope had nothing to do at all with any translation of "Antigone" into English. I found as earliest English translation of this theatre play the 1865 edition by Edward Plumptre.