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Pure Poetry Too Trivia Quiz

Medium-to-tough questions for students of poetry. I hope you'll enjoy them!

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

Author
carmelique

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
25,765

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
658

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. How many lines will you find in a sestina? Hint

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Question 2 of 10

2. Who wrote 'Not Waving but Drowning'? Hint

Dorothy Parker

Sylvia Plath

Stevie Smith

Anne Sexton

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Question 3 of 10

3. How many times had the Wife of Bath been married? Hint

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Question 4 of 10

4. 'Adonais' is an elegy composed by which Romantic poet? Hint

William Wordsworth

Percy Bysshe Shelley

John Keats

Lord Byron

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Question 5 of 10

5. On whose death was 'Adonais' written? Hint

Lord Byron

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

William Wordsworth

John Keats

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Question 6 of 10

6. Emily Bronte and Sylvia Plath have a significant number in common. What is it? Hint

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which college did Adrienne Cecile Rich attend? Hint

Vassar

Smith

Radcliffe

Bryn Mawr

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Question 8 of 10

8. Who wrote 'Dream Songs'? Hint

Carol Ann Duffy

Gregory Corso

Derek Mahon

John Berryman

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Question 9 of 10

9. In which poetic meter did Byron compose 'Don Juan'? Hint

terza rima

ottava rima

blank verse

syllabics

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Question 10 of 10

10. Who is the successor to Ted Hughes as Poet Laureate of England? Hint

Seamus Heaney

Fleur Adcock

Andrew Motion

Patricia Beer

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. How many lines will you find in a sestina?

Answer: 39

2. Who wrote 'Not Waving but Drowning'?

Answer: Stevie Smith

Wonderful poem.

3. How many times had the Wife of Bath been married?

Answer: 5

'Housboundes at chirche dore she hadde five'. The wife's discussion of the woes of marriage is tremendous.

4. 'Adonais' is an elegy composed by which Romantic poet?

Answer: Percy Bysshe Shelley

5. On whose death was 'Adonais' written?

Answer: John Keats

Keats died of tuberculosis in 1821 at the age of 25.

6. Emily Bronte and Sylvia Plath have a significant number in common. What is it?

Answer: 30

Both poets died at the age of thirty. While Emily Bronte is better remembered as the author of the novel "Wuthering Heights", she also produced a significant amount of poetry.

7. Which college did Adrienne Cecile Rich attend?

Answer: Radcliffe

All exclusive American colleges, attended by many a celebrated woman poet.

8. Who wrote 'Dream Songs'?

Answer: John Berryman

What a poet! Listen to him reading and discussing some of his 'Dream Songs' poems if you can.

9. In which poetic meter did Byron compose 'Don Juan'?

Answer: ottava rima

The complete change of rhyme for the last two of the eight lines of each stanza is perfect for the delivery of his comic twist or punch.

10. Who is the successor to Ted Hughes as Poet Laureate of England?

Answer: Andrew Motion

Oddly enough, it seems Seamus Heaney WAS being considered. He would no doubt have relished writing odes to the English monarchy!

Source: Author carmelique

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