Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Probably my favorite Eliot quote of all is "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." Which poem is this from?
2. You have almost certainly heard this quote, and maybe even used it, without necessarily knowing that it was from Eliot:
"This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper"
3. You might be able to figure out which poem this is without ever having read the poem before, just from the content given here.
"Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself--as it will seem to do--
With 'I have saved this afternoon for you';
And four wax candles in the darkened room,
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet's tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid."
4. What Eliot poem contains the popular song quote below, and shows he listened to the pop music of his day?
"O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag--
It's so elegant
So intelligent"
5. Which Eliot piece tells a story and includes this passage?
"'A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey;
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'"
Hint: this is the opening of the poem.
6. You may not know the entire quote given here, but I hope you recognize lines three and four well enough to name the poem it comes from.
"I am moved by fancies that are curled
Around these images, and cling;
The notion of some infinitely gentle
Infinitely suffering thing."
"Wipe your hand across your mouth and laugh;
The worlds revolve like ancient women
Gathering fuel in vacant lots."
7. If you had Eliot in school, you know about his conversion to Christianity. You may not know about his fascination with eastern religions, which influenced these famous lines:
"Dry the pool, dry concrete, brown edged,
And the pool was filled with water out of sunlight,
And the lotos rose, quietly, quietly,
The surface glittered out of heart of light,
And they were behind us, reflected in the pool.
Then a cloud passed, and the pool was empty.
Go, said the bird, for the leaves were full of children,
Hidden excitedly, containing laughter.
Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind
Cannot bear very much reality."
8. You don't have to tell us how to answer the question in the poem. Just tell us where to find the question.
"Who turned in the hall, one hand on the door. Vacant shuttles
Weave the wind. I have no ghosts,
An old man in a draughty house
Under a windy knob."
"After such knowledge, what forgiveness?"
9. You know the last line of this quatrain. Giving it in context should help you recognize the source.
"Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain:
Temptation shall not come in this kind again.
The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason."
10. Ah. You wondered where these lines came from. It was from T. S. Eliot:
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
Source: Author
NormanW5
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
agony before going online.
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