Modern Poetry Test (5/10/16) Flashcards
What are some characteristics of modern poetry?
- diverse and experimental
- questions traditional values and beliefs
- preoccupied with modern psychology (Freud’s influence)
- concerned with social issues
Who are the modern poets from New England?
- Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Robert Frost
- e. e. cummings
Who are the modern poets from St. Louis?
- Sara Teasdale
- Marianne Moore
- T. S. Eliot
Who are the modern poets from Chicago?
- Edgar Lee Masters
- Carl Sandburg
- Vachel Lindsay
Who are the minority poets of modern poetry?
- George Santayana
- Joyce Kilmer
- Joyce Weldon Johnson
- Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Countee Cullen
Which modern poet was a Spanish-born American?
George Santayana
Name the two modern poets that were Roman Catholic.
George Santayana
Joyce Kilmer
What was present in much of George Santayana’s writing?
Traditional form and values
Who wrote “What Riches Have You?”
George Santayana
“Tell me what makes you so exceeding glad: Is your earth happy or your heaven sure?” is from what poem?
What Riches Have You?
Which modern poet grew up in small towns in Illinois?
Edgar Lee Masters
Who wrote Spoon River Anthology?
Edgar Lee Masters
How many poems make up Spoon River Anthology?
244 (free verse) poems
Which work is known for being “a landmark in American literature”?
Spoon River Anthology
What is Spoon River Anthology?
a collection of poems which are epitaphs (writings on tombstones) of different characters
“All, all, are sleeping on the hill” is from what poem?
The Hill (from Spoon River Anthology)
What is “The Hill” about?
a graveyard of people who have died (and telling how they died).
What is “Anne Rutledge” about?
Abraham Lincoln’s first love (she died of fever before they could be married)(She was 20 and Lincoln was 25)
What is “Emily Sparks” about?
a school teacher who has prayed for many years for a man who was in her class when he was a little boy
What is “Reuben Pantier” about?
a man who learns of his old teacher’s death and turns his life around
Who is the boy that Emily Sparks prayed for?
Reuben Pantier
Who was Reuben Pantier’s old school-teacher?
Emily Sparks
What is “Lois Spears” about?
a woman who was blind who considers herself to be “the happiest of women”
What is peculiar about the statement “I was the happiest of women” in “Lois Spears”?
she was blind
What does Lois Spears feel grateful for that other mothers would take for granted?
healthy children (“Children with clear eyes and sound limbs”)
What is “Rev Lemuel Wiley” about?
a reverend who who did many great things
What does Rev. Lemuel Wiley consider to be his greatest deed?
He saved the Blisses from divorce and kept the children free from that disgrace
What is “Hannah Armstrong” about?
a woman who’s son is in the military who used to take care of Abraham Lincoln; she writes letters and never gets a response, but she is welcomed with open arms when she goes to the white house and meets Lincoln herself
What is “Lucinda Matlock” about?
Lucinda Matlock was the pseudonym for Masters’ grandmother, who represented the ideal of courageous womanhood. She gave birth to 12 children, remamined faithful to her husband for 70 years, and lived to be 96.p
Who was a black poet, diplomat, lawyer, and anthologist?
James Weldon Johnson
Who wrote God’s Trombones?
James Weldon Johnson
What (work) is the retelling of seven black dialect sermons that reflect the style of black preachers on Southern plantations?
God’s Trombones
Who wrote “Go Down Death”?
James Weldon Johnson
Who wrote “The Creation”?
James Weldon Johnson
What is the personification of “Go Down Death”?
Death is personified as a man who works for God and relieves people of their pain
“The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky, And the oak spread out his arms, The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground, And the rivers ran down in the sea;” This is an example of what literary devise? What is it from?
Personification; “The Creation”
“And the rainbow appeared, And curled itself around his shoulder.” This is an example of what literary devise? What is it from?
Personification; “The Creation”
“And as far as the eye of God could see Darkness covered everything, Blacker than a hundred midnights Down in a cypress swamp.” This is an example of what literary devise? What is it from?
Hyperbole; “The Creation”
“Like a mammy bending over her baby, Kneeled down in the dust Toiling over a lump of clay Till he shaped it in his own image;” This is an example if what literary devise? What is it from?
Simile; “The Creation”
Who was the first black poet to use black dialect in poems and novels?
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Who wrote “We Wear the Masks”?
Paul Laurence Dunbar
In “We Wear the Masks”, what is the metaphor, and what is its meaning?
The mask represents a smile
“Why should the world be overwise, In counting all our tears and sighs?” is from what work?
“We Wear the Mask”
Who is considered to be the most outstanding poet of the 20th century?
Robert Frost
Which modern poet used traditional forms to explore the natural scenes of New England?
Robert Frost
Who wrote A Boy’s Will?
Robert Frost
What three poems are from A Boy’s Will?
- “The Road Not Taken”
- “The Pasture”
- “Birches”
Who wrote “The Road Not Taken”?
Robert Frost
What does the speaker regret in “The Road Not Taken”?
having to choose between the two roads
What is significant about the ending of “The Road Not Taken”?
it purposely doesn’t say the outcome of taking the road less traveled
Who wrote “The Pasture”?
Robert Frost
Who wrote “Birches”?
Robert Frost
What is the theme of “Birches”?
dominion over nature
What is “Birches” about?
The speaker wants to temporarily excape life’s problems by playing (“swinging on the birches”).
Who wrote “Fog”?
Carl Sandburg
What is the metaphor in “Fog” and what does it represent?
Fog is compared to a cat
Who wrote “Chicago”?
Carl Sandburg
What is the metaphor in “Chicago” and what does it represent?
Chicago is like a savage bulldog
What work are the following lines from, and what are they talking about? “Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,”
Chicago
Which modern poet used original style and a combination of speech and song?
Vachel Lindsay
Which modern poet used themes of America, heroes, and patriotism?
Vachel Lindsay
Who wrote “Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight”?
Vachel Lindsay
Why does Abraham Lincoln walk at midnight, in “Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight”?
Lincoln isn’t resting because of the turmoil going on in the world
Who wrote “General William Booth Enters into Heaven”?
Vachel Lindsay
What literary device is used many times throughout “General William Booth Enters into Heaven”?
Onomatopoeia
Which poem was written to be sung? To what tune?
General William Booth Enters into Heaven; “The Blood of the Lamb”
Which modern poet used simple, emotional tones?
Sara Teasdale
Which modern poet used themes of love, longing, solitude, loss, and despair?
Sara Teasdale
Who wrote “The Look”?
Sara Teasdale
What is “The Look” about?
Two guys kissed her, but one guy looked at her “with kisses in his eyes”; the guy who didn’t kiss her stood out to her more, because he respected her
“Stephen’s kiss was lost in jest, Robin’s lost in play,” is from what poem?
“The Look”
What was the name of the guy who’s kiss in his eyes “Haunts me [Sara Teasdale] night and day.”
Colin
Why didn’t Colin kiss Sara in “The Look”?
because he respected her
Who wrote “The Coin”?
Sara Teasdale
What does the coin (in “The Coin”) represent?
a memory
What poem’s theme is “a lovely thing is more valuable than money”?
“The Coin”
Who wrote “Trees”?
Joyce Kilmer
What is probably the most quoted American poem?
“Trees”
What work are the following lines from?:
“I think that I shall never see
A poem lively as a tree”
“Trees”
What work are the following lines from?:
“Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree”
“Trees”
Give two examples of personification used in “Trees.”
- The tree prays
- The tree wears a nest of robin’s in her hair
How is “Trees” written?
Rhymed couplets
Which modern poet had a strong sense of individuality which they translated into their poetry?
e. e. cummings
Which modern poet experimented with capitalization and arranging of lines?
e. e. cummings
Which modern poet’s poetry is fresh and playful, but often complex?
e. e. cummings
Who wrote “anyone lived in a pretty how town”?
e. e. cummings
Who is the man in “anyone lived in a pretty how town”?
“anyone”
Who is the woman in “anyone lived in a pretty how town”?
“no one”
What is the theme of “anyone lived in a pretty how town”?
life goes on (the circle of life)
Who wrote “when serpents bargain for the right to squirm”?
e. e. cummings
What does cummings call humans in “when serpents bargain for the right to squirm”?
an “incredible unanimal”
What does cummings mean when he says “incredible unanimal”?
man is not an animal
Where was Countee Cullen from?
New York City
Who is considered to be one of the finest black poets?
Countee Cullen
Who wrote “Yet Do I Marvel”?
Countee Cullen
What is the author doing in “Yet Do I Marvel”?
He doesn’t doubt God is good, but he questions the things of life that seem unfair
What is the thing that Cullen marvels at the most in “Yet Do I Marvel”?
“To make a poet [himself] black, and bid him sing!”
