"The Nation's Favourite Poems" Name the Author Quiz

Answer: Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling was born in 1865 and died in 1936. He was born in Bombay, India, where he was raised by an ayah, who taught Rudyard Hindustani as his first language. At the age of six, Rudyard was sent to study in England, where he stayed in a foster home in Southsea; the time spent here was very unhappy for Rudyard and is described in his story, "Baa Baa, Black Sheep." The lines above are from the poem "If".

Answer: Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Alfred was born on August 6th 1809 in Somersby, England and died in 1892. In 1829, Tennyson gained the Chancellor's medal for an English prize poem, entitled: "Timbuctoo". His father, Dr. George Clayton Tennyson, was a reverend. In 1830, with his friend Arthur Hallam, Tennyson joined a Spanish revolutionary army. Alfred was appointed Poet Laureate of England in 1850.

The lines used for the question have been taken from the poem "The Lady of Shalott".

Answer: Walter De La Mare

Walter De La Mare was born in 1873 and brought up in Charlton, Kent, England. It is with this poem, "The Listeners", in 1912, that Walter first gained literary success. Walter's full name is Walter John De La Mare. As well as a poet, Walter was also an anthologist. He was educated at St. Paul's School, London.

Answer: Stevie Smith

Stevie's real name was in fact Florence Margaret Smith; she was born in Hull, England in 1902 and died in 1971. When Florence was a child her mother died, forcing her and her sister to move in with their aunt, knick-named 'lion.' Stevie's first book was published in 1936. Florence attended the North London Collegiate School for Girls in London, which she moved to at the age of three. Florence's first and only job was with the magazine publisher, Newnes-Pearson. The title of the poem used is in the lines themselves: "Not Waving, But Drowning".

Answer: William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was born at Cockermouth, England on April 7th 1770 and died in 1850, being buried next to his daughter in Grasmere churchyard. His father died when William was just seven years old. William was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge University and attained a degree in 1791.

After receiving his degree, William went to France. He did not see his first daughter until she was nine years old, due to war forcing Wordsworth to remain in France and his lover, Annette Vallon of Orléans, in England. "The Daffodils" is the poem that the above lines are taken from.

Answer: Wilfred Owen

Wilfred was born in Shropshire, England in 1893. In 1913, Wilfred went to France to teach English and remained there for two years. He fought in the Battle of the Somme and died on the Sombre Canal one week before the armistice was signed in 1918. In 1918 he won the Military Cross. The lines given are from the famous "Dulce Et Decorum Est".

Answer: W.B Yeats

William Butler Yates was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1865 and died in 1939. He and Lady Gregory founded the Irish Literary Theatre. William was a leader of the Irish Renaissance. William, along with his school friend, Charles Johnson, formed the Dublin Hermetic Society in June 1885, to promote the study of Asian religions. "He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven" is the poem the lines were taken from.

Answer: Christina Rossetti

Born in 1830 and dying in 1894, Christina was a devout Anglican and as a result of this, turned down two marriage proposals, one to a protestant and another to an atheist. She was born in London and is a British, lyric poet. Illness had rendered Christina an invalid by the time she was fifty and she spent the last 15 years of her life as a recluse.

She developed a fatal cancer in the year 1891. The poem used in this question was "Remember".

Answer: Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley was born in Sussex, England in 1792. He died by drowning, returning from Italy in 1822, and a volume of Keats' poetry was found in his coat pocket. His father was a member of the House of Commons. Percy is known as one of the most influential leaders of the Romantic movement. The above lines are taken from the poem, "Love's Philosophy".

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19th 1809 in Boston; he died in Baltimore in 1849. In 1833, he won two prizes of 100 dollars each, one for a tale in prose and one prize for a poem. Edgar's parents were both touring actors and died in Edgar's early childhood. The poet "The Raven" was composed in 1845 and is the poem the above lines are taken from.