Pre-1900 Poetry Quiz
Who So List to Hount:
1. Who wrote this poem and what era was it written?
2. What was his role in England at the time?
3. What queen was this poem alleged to be about?
4. Who was Julius Caesar?
5. Why does the poet use him within the poem?
6. What is the poet credited with bringing to England?
7. When was his poetry published?
8. What may a feminist reading suggest about the use of a deer?
9. How are strict gender roles seen within the poem?
10. What may this poem suggest about female agency?
Sonnet 116:
1. Who wrote this poem and what era was it written?
2. How many sonnets did this writer create?
3. What is a sonnet?
4. How do we recognise it?
5. What are the first section of the sonnets the poet wrote focussed on?
6. What are the second section of the sonnets the poet wrote focussed on?
7. What was the third section of the sonnets the poet wrote focussed on?
8. Under what queen was Shakespeare writing this sonnet?
9. What impact did that have on the obsession with the sonnet form?
10. Who was the poem said to have been addressed to?
The Flea:
1. Who wrote this poem and what era was it written?
2. What did the contemporary reader think blood formed and how does this relate to sex?
3. What issue did the poet have when marrying Anne More?
4. What movement was the poet part of?
5. What are three things this movement believed in?
6. What was the poet known most for in terms of their writing?
7. What was Donne’s occupation and why may we as historicists question this?
8. What is a ‘carpe diem’ poem?
9. What is a conceit?
10. How may this poem actually empower women of the time period?
To His Coy Mistress:
1. Who wrote this poem and what era was it written?
2. What is the ‘interregnum’?
3. Why was the poet seen as mysterious in his life?
4. Why did some people question his allegiances during the English Civil War?
5. What happened when one of his satirical poems was published?
6. What was he most well-known for?
7. What was the gossip surrounding his death?
8. What movement was this poet part of?
9. Why may this poem be seen as a parody?
10. What type of poem could this be seen as?
The Scrutiny:
1. Who wrote this poem and what era was it written?
2. What was the poet famous for being loyal to and where did this come from?
3. What appointment was he given at 16?
4. What does this position mean?
5. What was he imprisoned for?
6. When did he die?
7. What was a Cavalier poet?
8. What did the Cavaliers write about?
9. How may a feminist reader interpret this poem?
10. Why do some critics see this poem as ‘cruel’?
A Song (Absent from thee):
1. Who wrote this poem and what era was it written?
2. What period of time did he live and write within?
3. Where was he Earl of?
4. What name did the poet earn himself the title of?
5. What did his ‘The History of the Insipid” detail?
6. Who were Doctor and Mrs Bendo?
7. How did the poet die and at what age?
8. Who did he marry?
9. How may a feminist approach this poem?
10. How may we see the speaker as weak?
The Garden of Love:
1. Who wrote this poem and in which era was it written?
2. When were his poems published?
3. What movement was he part of?
4. What characterised this movement?
5. What historical movements was he influenced by?
6. What were his thoughts on religion?
7. What us the name of one of his collections and what did it represent?
8. What is the key difference about this poem to the rest?
9. What may the writer be attacking in this poem?
10. How has Blake been compared to Christ by some critics?
Song (Ae Fond Kiss):
1. Who wrote this poem and in which era was it written?
2. How has this poet been commemorated?
3. Who is the poem said to be about?
4. Why did the poet write this?
5. Why may we see this poem to be ironic?
6. What were the pennames under which the two corresponded?
7. What did Burns keep with him until his death?
8. When did he die?
9. How may we see that there are deep and conflicting emotions within the poem?
10. How may a feminist read this?
She Walks in Beauty:
1. Who wrote this poem and in which era was it written?
2. What poetic movement was he a part of?
3. What scandal was he part of?
4. Who was he married to?
5. When and why did he leave England?
6. Which collection was this published in?
7. What is interesting about the performance element of this poem?
8. Who is this poem said to be about?
9. What did James Wedderburn Webster say of him that night?
10. What may a Feminist reading suggest about this poem?
Remember:
1. Who wrote this poem and in which era was it written?
2. How old was the poet when they wrote this?
3. What is their family background?
4. What famous sibling do they have and what are they famous for?
5. What movement was the poet linked to?
6. What did the movement believe in?
7. What institution did they create?
8. How did they die?
9. How may we see the writer as proto-feminist?
10. How may a feminist see this poem?
The Ruined Maid:
1. Who wrote this poem and in which era was it written?
2. What does the term ‘Ruined’ mean in terms of a woman?
3. When was a woman’s sexuality acceptable?
4. How do we link knowledge with being fallen?
5. Which famous book by the author explores similar issues?
6. What poetic movement was he influenced heavily by?
7. What is interesting about his romantic life?
8. How may a feminist interpret this poem?
9. What does William Acton’s 1857 report on prostitution have to do with this poem?
10. How may this be seen as a parody poem?
At An Inn:
1. Who wrote this poem and in which era was it written?
2. Who is this poem said to be about?
3. What autobiographical elements does it have?
4. How did Hardy reportedly feel about this relationship?
5. In what other poems is the woman mentioned?
6. The speaker questions that a higher force wants them to be together, why is this interesting?
7. Why do we have to separate the autobiographical elements away from the poem?
8. What may the writer have been saying about Victorian society?
9. How may we see this as being about deception?
10. How may a feminist read this poem?
La Belle Dame:
1. Who wrote this poem and in what era was it?
2. What does the title translate to?
3. What may we call a female literary figure who is seen as the dangerous, beautiful seductress who
harms because it is within her nature?
4. Who may this poem be about?
5. Why does the character link to Fanny Browne?
6. What poetic movement is he associated with?
7. What was one of Keats’ poetic philosophies?
8. What did Keats die of, how old was he and how did he catch it?
9. Why may the poem be seen as anti-feminist?
10. Why may critics view the knight character as going against conventions?
Non Sum:
1. Who wrote this poem and in what era?
2. What movement was the poet associated with?
3. What did this movement believe in?
4. What is this poem about?
5. How does this link to the poet’s own life?
6. What made the poet’s lifestyle decline rapidly?
7. What happened in the final months of his life?
8. What does the title of the poem translate to and what does it link to?
9. How does this poem present light and dark?
10. How may this poem be praised for not describing the female character’s appearance in detail?