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Quiz about A Poetic Alphabet
Quiz about A Poetic Alphabet

A Poetic Alphabet Trivia Quiz


An abecedarian poem is one where verses begin with successive letters of the alphabet. Try this loosely abecedarian quiz on poetic terms.

A multiple-choice quiz by Catamount. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
Catamount
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
185,030
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
25
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
17 / 25
Plays
2014
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 75 (15/25), PrairieRose78 (17/25), Guest 77 (15/25).
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Question 1 of 25
1. What is the meaning of "apheresis"? Hint


Question 2 of 25
2. What character would you expect to find in a bucolic poem? Hint


Question 3 of 25
3. What is the term for a rhythmic break inside a line of verse? Hint


Question 4 of 25
4. Which of the following would be most suitable at a funeral? Hint


Question 5 of 25
5. Staying with the funeral theme, which of the following would be most appropriate for a tomb stone inscription? Hint


Question 6 of 25
6. Which of the following is an (are) element(s) of figurative language? Hint


Question 7 of 25
7. In poetic terms, what is a gnome? Hint


Question 8 of 25
8. An easy one: what is the name for a Japanese poem consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables? Hint


Question 9 of 25
9. Baudelaire and Rimbaud are representatives of which poetic movement? Hint


Question 10 of 25
10. A jongleur was a medieval entertainer who recited or sang poetry.


Question 11 of 25
11. Which of these is a type of poem? Hint


Question 12 of 25
12. What is the term for a humorous five-liner that might start: "There was a young man in Bombay..."?

Answer: (One Word, named after a city in Ireland)
Question 13 of 25
13. In Greek mythology, the Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Each of them was identified with a specific art or science. There were three for different kinds of poetry alone, but how many were there altogether? Hint


Question 14 of 25
14. Lewis Carrol's "Jabberwocky" is an example of what? Hint


Question 15 of 25
15. What is the term for a lyrical poem on a specific subject - it could be an object, an emotion or a famous person?

Answer: (One Word, three letters)
Question 16 of 25
16. Where would you find the famous Poet's Corner? Hint


Question 17 of 25
17. A quatrain has four lines, a quintain has five. How many lines does a quatorzain have? Hint


Question 18 of 25
18. What is the name for a poem where every line has one more syllable than the previous one? Hint


Question 19 of 25
19. What is a scop? Hint


Question 20 of 25
20. Which of the following means a poem or song to greet the dawn? Hint


Question 21 of 25
21. What is the meaning of meiosis in poetry? Hint


Question 22 of 25
22. Which of the following is not a synonym for versifier? Hint


Question 23 of 25
23. Which of these is a poem by Rudyard Kipling? Hint


Question 24 of 25
24. What is the name of the imaginary country in Sam Taylor Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan"?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 25 of 25
25. Finally here is a double-barreled question for the last two letters of the alphabet: Which poet is correctly matched with his birthplace? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 14 2024 : Guest 75: 15/25
Mar 12 2024 : PrairieRose78: 17/25
Mar 12 2024 : Guest 77: 15/25
Mar 11 2024 : Guest 173: 9/25
Mar 08 2024 : MrNobody97: 25/25
Feb 26 2024 : Guest 102: 0/25
Feb 26 2024 : Guest 102: 1/25

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What is the meaning of "apheresis"?

Answer: A letter or syllable omitted at the beginning of a word

An example would be: "'Twas the night before Christmas..."
2. What character would you expect to find in a bucolic poem?

Answer: A shepherdess

A bucolic poem deals with the countryside and its inhabitants, often in an idyllic manner. The term comes from Greek "boukolos", a herdsman.
3. What is the term for a rhythmic break inside a line of verse?

Answer: Caesura

Alexander Pope's "Eloise to Abelard" is full of examples of caesura:

"Alas how changed! What sudden horrors rise!
A naked lover bound and bleeding lies!"

The first line is a "strong" caesura since it coincides with a punctuation mark. The second line is an example for "weak" caesura; it still calls for a pause between "lover" and "bound".
4. Which of the following would be most suitable at a funeral?

Answer: Dirge

A dirge is a lament. A didactic poem instructs; a ditty is a simple little poem meant to be sung; and doggerel refers to poetry that lacks in artistry, sometimes used for comic or satirical effect.
5. Staying with the funeral theme, which of the following would be most appropriate for a tomb stone inscription?

Answer: Epitaph

An epitaph is a short commemorative statement or poem. An epithet is a descriptive term or phrase; it can also mean an insult. An epic would be rather too long for a tomb stone, and an epigram is a short, witty saying.
6. Which of the following is an (are) element(s) of figurative language?

Answer: All of these

Figurative language uses a number of devices to create mental images and evoke emotions.
7. In poetic terms, what is a gnome?

Answer: Aphorism

This term derives probably from Greek "gignoskein" - "to come to know", while "gnome" as in "garden gnome" likely comes from Greek "genomos" - "earth-dweller". Examples of gnomic poetry can be found in ancient Egyptian and Tibetan texts as well as the Bible, Greek tragedy and Beowulf, but any pithy saying can be called a gnome.
8. An easy one: what is the name for a Japanese poem consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables?

Answer: Haiku

The haiku tradition began in the 17th century. A Japanese haiku usually conveys images of connectedness with nature.
9. Baudelaire and Rimbaud are representatives of which poetic movement?

Answer: Impressionism

A late 19th century movement that also found expression in art and music, impressionist poetry sought to convey the poet's impressions rather than to portray reality.
10. A jongleur was a medieval entertainer who recited or sang poetry.

Answer: True

It comes from the same root as "juggler", and prior to the 10th century "jongleur" included acrobats and entertainers in general.
11. Which of these is a type of poem?

Answer: Kyrielle

A kyrielle is a Middle French verse form, usually in quatrains, with a repetitive last line. It comes from "kyrie eleison - Lord have mercy" and traditionally incorporates this phrase or concept. Good examples are "A Lenten Hymn" by Thomas Campion, and the famous "Epitaphe" by Francois Villon.
12. What is the term for a humorous five-liner that might start: "There was a young man in Bombay..."?

Answer: Limerick

Limericks are often on the "naughty" side.
13. In Greek mythology, the Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Each of them was identified with a specific art or science. There were three for different kinds of poetry alone, but how many were there altogether?

Answer: 9

At one time there was only one Muse, then three, but eventually the Greeks settled on nine. Their names are: Calliope: Muse of epic poetry; Clio: Muse of history; Erato: Muse of lyric and love poetry; Euterpe: Muse of music; Melpomene: Muse of tragedy; Polyhymnia: Muse of sacred poetry; Terpsichore: Muse of dance; Thalia: Muse of comedy; Urania: Muse of astronomy.
14. Lewis Carrol's "Jabberwocky" is an example of what?

Answer: Nonsense poetry

Nonsense poetry often makes use of made-up and "portmanteau words": two words drawn together, as in "smoke" and "fog" to make "smog".
15. What is the term for a lyrical poem on a specific subject - it could be an object, an emotion or a famous person?

Answer: Ode

John Keats especially is famous for his odes on such subjects as a nightingale, a Grecian urn, and melancholy.
16. Where would you find the famous Poet's Corner?

Answer: Westminster Abbey

Geoffrey Chaucer was the first poet to be buried there, not because he was a poet but because he had been Clerk of Works for the city of Westminster. A better tomb was built for him in the 1550s, and in 1599 Edmund Spenser was buried nearby. That started the tradition. The area also contains busts and other memorabilia of poets buried elsewhere.
17. A quatrain has four lines, a quintain has five. How many lines does a quatorzain have?

Answer: 14

A sonnet is a kind of quatorzain.
18. What is the name for a poem where every line has one more syllable than the previous one?

Answer: Rhopalic verse

The word derives from the Greek rhopalos, for a club or cudgel. Rhopalic verse is also called snowball verse and wedge verse. A reverse rhopalic poem starts with a long line and gets progressively shorter.
19. What is a scop?

Answer: An Old English term for poet

Pronounced like "shop", the scop wrote epics and lays that might be performed by himself or a gleeman. Scops were held in high regard.
20. Which of the following means a poem or song to greet the dawn?

Answer: Tagalied

The literal translation from German is "day song". The word also refers to "lovers parting at dawn".
21. What is the meaning of meiosis in poetry?

Answer: Understatement

Meiosis is the opposite of hyperbole. An example of meiosis would be somebody on his deathbed saying: "I'm not having a very good day."
22. Which of the following is not a synonym for versifier?

Answer: Bard

A versifier, poetaster, poeticule or rhymester is a writer of light or inferior verse.
23. Which of these is a poem by Rudyard Kipling?

Answer: The White Man's Burden

The poem talks about the supposed responsibility of white people to govern non-whites and was widely seen as a glorification of British colonialism.
24. What is the name of the imaginary country in Sam Taylor Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan"?

Answer: Xanadu

Once when he was ill, Coleridge fell asleep and dreamed about this fantastic country. Upon awakening he feverishly wrote down the lines he could remember, but unfortunately he was interrupted and afterwards the vision had fled. Kublai Khan was a real person, a grandson of Genghis Khan who became emperor of China and started the Yuan dynasty.
25. Finally here is a double-barreled question for the last two letters of the alphabet: Which poet is correctly matched with his birthplace?

Answer: Yevtushenko - Zima

Yevgeny Yevtushenko was born in Zima in Irkutsk on July 18, 1933. He took a critical view of life in the Soviet Union. Since the 1970s he has been active in a wide field of culture. His first important narrative poem "Zima Junction" was published in 1956.
Source: Author Catamount

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