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Quiz about Discover a Golden Treasury of  Poetry
Quiz about Discover a Golden Treasury of  Poetry

Discover a Golden Treasury of Poetry Quiz


My grandchildren are starting to enjoy poetry so I reflected on what lines of poesy had charmed me in my formative years. I took the battered copy of my much loved "Palgrave's Golden Treasury", leafed through and rediscovered these gems.

A multiple-choice quiz by bracklaman. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
bracklaman
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
257,885
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
573
Last 3 plays: Guest 172 (4/10), Guest 92 (3/10), Buddy1 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. For which lyrical poem in 'Palgrave's Golden Treasury' is this the opening line and, by the way, who was the poet?

"Hail to thee, blithe spirit!"
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. These lines are the opening for which poem (and I need the poet too, please)?

"Ethereal Minstrel! Pilgrim of the sky!
Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound?
Or while the wings aspire, are heart and eye
Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?"
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Another fragment of an opening verse for you to identify. Please can you name the poet and poem from which this comes?

"I remember, I remember
The house where I was born,
The little window where the sun
Came peeping in at morn;
He never came a wink too soon,
Nor brought too long a day:"
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Can you identify the poem (and poet) for which these lines are the opening verse?

"Fair Daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon:
As yet the early-rising Sun
Has not attain'd his noon."
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. "O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June!"

Famous lines for sure but who was the poet?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Rather playful or perhaps more daring lines in the society of the day? But who do you think wrote them?

"Under the greenwood tree
Who loves to lie with me,"
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. One of my all time favourite evocative poems begins with these lines of verse. Name the poet and poem please?

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;"
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Another favourite of mine, it has always reminded me of the days when we had to chip the ice from our free school milk when I was growing up as a pupil in my South Wales junior school. Please tell me who the poet is?

"Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;"
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In my opinion there are fewer better lines of verse to be had than these gems. A real golden treasure I hope you will agree. But who wrote them?

"Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup
And I'll not look for wine."
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. By now I'm sure you'll have conquered all the questions in this quiz and will feel as confident (if not as mistaken) as the view expressed below. But who was the poet Cowper describing in the poem from which I've taken these lines?

"I am monarch of all I survey;
My right there is none to dispute;"
Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. For which lyrical poem in 'Palgrave's Golden Treasury' is this the opening line and, by the way, who was the poet? "Hail to thee, blithe spirit!"

Answer: P.B. Shelley's "To a Skylark"

The editor of the anthology from which these questions are taken was Francis Palgrave (1824-97) he became professor of poetry (1885-95) at Oxford University. A long time friend of Lord Tennyson he is probably best remembered as the editor of the famous anthology, "The Golden Treasury of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language" which was published in 1861.

The really good news for the 21st century student is that the whole anthology is now on-line at http://www.bartleby.com/106/index3.html

Percy Bysshe Shelley was born August 4, 1792 into a very privileged background but his personal idealism and high intellectual ability saw him bullied and abused in the public schools he attended. He met even more radical ideas when he went up to Oxford and was expelled for refusing to acknowledge or deny authorship of a pamphlet entitled "The Necessity of Atheism".
His life is worth some study and I commend both his poetry and personal history of being worthy of further study if you want to consider how radicalism is not necessarily the sole province of the underprivileged.
2. These lines are the opening for which poem (and I need the poet too, please)? "Ethereal Minstrel! Pilgrim of the sky! Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound? Or while the wings aspire, are heart and eye Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?"

Answer: W. Wordsworth's "To the Skylark"

William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770 - April 23, 1850) was a major English romantic poet who helped to launch the so-called 'Romantic Age' in English literature in 1798 with a joint publication with Coleridge of "Lyrical Ballads".
Wordsworth's revolutionary zeal dimmed following the excesses of the Revolution in France and he was criticized by some contemporaries for what was seen as his support for the Establishment later in life.
3. Another fragment of an opening verse for you to identify. Please can you name the poet and poem from which this comes? "I remember, I remember The house where I was born, The little window where the sun Came peeping in at morn; He never came a wink too soon, Nor brought too long a day:"

Answer: T. Hood's "Past and Present"

Thomas Hood(1799-1845).

I find it hard to accept his categorisation by some critics as one of the so-called 'lesser poet' of the Romantic Era. To me his work shows a great range and practical functionality. In his day Thomas Hood was best known as a comic writer. In modern times he is best known for his more serious work, of which "The Song of the Shirt" is widely recognised as a major force attacking worker exploitation.

It first appeared in 'Punch' in 1843, but was soon reprinted across various European newspapers, and appeared on such media as pocket handkerchiefs and broadsheets.

Thomas Hood was highly regarded by many famous men of letters including Charles Dickens.

He is worthy of your further research if a new name to you.
4. Can you identify the poem (and poet) for which these lines are the opening verse? "Fair Daffodils, we weep to see You haste away so soon: As yet the early-rising Sun Has not attain'd his noon."

Answer: R. Herrick's "To Daffodils"

Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674) was a 17th century English poet. He was born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith. After some time as an apprentice jeweller he graduated from Oxford and became a member of the 'Sons of Ben', a group of Cavalier poets who styled their work on the works of Ben Jonson.

A man of principle in the wake of the English Civil War, his position as vicar was revoked on account of his refusal to make pledge to the Solemn League and Covenant.
His position was returned to him in the Restoration of Charles II and he returned to Devon in 1662, residing there until his death in 1674.

Although well-known for his bawdy style and frequent references to lovemaking and the female body, Herrick was a bachelor all his life, and many of the women he names in his poems are thought to be fictional.
5. "O my Luve's like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in June!" Famous lines for sure but who was the poet?

Answer: R. Burns

Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is today widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland.

He has a deserved international reputation as a poet of quality in tone and construction of his verse.

Although some of his poetry might now seem heavily accented, at the time of his writing it was not considered so and he is said to have a 'light' Scots dialect which would have been accessible to a wider audience than simple Scottish people of his day.
6. Rather playful or perhaps more daring lines in the society of the day? But who do you think wrote them? "Under the greenwood tree Who loves to lie with me,"

Answer: W. Shakespeare

William Shakespeare. One of the world's best known playwrights of course. But, folks, if he had never written a play he would be known as one of the world's best poets.
7. One of my all time favourite evocative poems begins with these lines of verse. Name the poet and poem please? "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;"

Answer: J. Keats' "Ode to Autumn"

One of my all time greats as far as poetry and personal courage is concerned. Despite being devastated by early and recurring family tragedy and unrequited love and disparagement by critics he continued his work.

He died on February 23 1821 and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome, a city to which he had been sent by his doctors in a doomed attempt to stave off the TB which was beginning to ravage him as it had already claimed his mother and brother.

His last request was followed, and thus he was buried under a tomb stone reading, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." His name does not appear on the stone.
8. Another favourite of mine, it has always reminded me of the days when we had to chip the ice from our free school milk when I was growing up as a pupil in my South Wales junior school. Please tell me who the poet is? "Blow, blow, thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind As man's ingratitude;"

Answer: W. Shakespeare

"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and this opinion continues to be widely held today.

Few if any other writers in English can rival the appeal that Shakespeare has enjoyed.
9. In my opinion there are fewer better lines of verse to be had than these gems. A real golden treasure I hope you will agree. But who wrote them? "Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I'll not look for wine."

Answer: B. Jonson

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) one of William Shakespeare's contemporaries and rivals.

Jonson suggested his rival had little education or wit but consider he also wrote these lines in his "Hymn to the Belly":
"Room! room! make room for the bouncing Belly,
First father of sauce and deviser of jelly;
Prime master of arts and the giver of wit,
That found out the excellent engine, the spit,"
10. By now I'm sure you'll have conquered all the questions in this quiz and will feel as confident (if not as mistaken) as the view expressed below. But who was the poet Cowper describing in the poem from which I've taken these lines? "I am monarch of all I survey; My right there is none to dispute;"

Answer: Alexander Selkirk

William Dampier who circumnavigated the globe with the privateer Woodes Rogers and during the voyage rescued Alexander Selkirk, who had been marooned on the the Island of Juan Fernandez in 1704 and marooned there for five years. They found Selkirk clothed in goat skins, looking "wilder than the original owners of them." He had survived by hunting and fishing and had passed the time "reading, singing Psalms and praying, so that he said he was a better Christian while in this solitude, than he ever was before."
Source: Author bracklaman

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