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Quiz about Metaphysical Poets
Quiz about Metaphysical Poets

Metaphysical Poets Trivia Quiz


Questions about the great metaphysical poets and their verses, with emphasis on Donne and Herbert. (Note: odd spellings in quotes are the poets' original spellings.)

A multiple-choice quiz by skylarb. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
skylarb
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
112,488
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
25
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
13 / 25
Plays
1382
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 223 (15/25), Guest 157 (15/25), Guest 132 (13/25).
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Question 1 of 25
1. John Donne was born into a family that was _____, but he became a(n) _____ priest. Hint


Question 2 of 25
2. John Donne was on the path to success. He was private secretary to a high court official, Sir Thomas Egerton. How did he ruin his career? Hint


Question 3 of 25
3. Henry Vaughan experienced a spiritual awakening inspired by the poems of what metaphysical poet? Hint


Question 4 of 25
4. Which of the following was NOT a metaphysical poet? Hint


Question 5 of 25
5. The metaphysical poets employed many extended comparisons, also known as: Hint


Question 6 of 25
6. He wrote of both "A Divine Mistress" and "A Cruel Mistress". Hint


Question 7 of 25
7. What Donne poem contains these lines: "If ever any beauty I did see, / Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee." Hint


Question 8 of 25
8. In "The Canonization", Donne says, "The ____ riddle hath more wit / By us: we two being one, are it. / So, to one neutral thing both sexes fit. / We die and rise the same, and prove / Mysterious by this love." What's missing from the blank? Hint


Question 9 of 25
9. In what poem does John Donne try to convince a woman to have sex with him? Hint


Question 10 of 25
10. What kind of poetry did Donne NOT write? Hint


Question 11 of 25
11. "_____, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful." Fill in the missing word from this Donne sonnet.

Answer: (one word, think, but not QUICKly)
Question 12 of 25
12. He wrote "To His Coy Mistress." Hint


Question 13 of 25
13. What Donne poem is a play on Marlowe's "Passionate Shepherd to His Love"? Hint


Question 14 of 25
14. George Herbert wrote a poem in which he insisted that even simple, uncomplicated verse can be beautiful if it plainly states the truth. In it, he says, "Nor let them punish me with losse of ryme, / Who plainly say, My God, My King." What is the name of this poem? Hint


Question 15 of 25
15. This poem by John Donne was probably about his wife's death. Hint


Question 16 of 25
16. John Donne dedicated his holy sonnets to whose mother? Hint


Question 17 of 25
17. Which metaphysical poet helped to rebuild his parish's church out of his own pocket? Hint


Question 18 of 25
18. George Herbert ends his poem "The Collar" with these lines: "Methought I heard one calling, Childe: / And I reply'd, _____" Hint


Question 19 of 25
19. In Herbert's "The Pulley", what alone among the blessings does God withhold from man? Hint


Question 20 of 25
20. What metaphysical poet wrote a poem encouraging Christians to honor Christmas piously, and not by emulating heathen customs of decoration and reveling? Hint


Question 21 of 25
21. After his wife died, Vaughan married his: Hint


Question 22 of 25
22. Andrew Marvell wrote an Horation Ode upon this man's return from Ireland. Hint


Question 23 of 25
23. Richard Crashaw wrote a poem called "Non Vi" that contained a picture of a heart. What is this picture called? Hint


Question 24 of 25
24. Richard Crashaw wrote a poem about what other metaphysical poet's book? Hint


Question 25 of 25
25. What does Vaughan refer to as a "Sweet, sacred hill"? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 223: 15/25
Mar 23 2024 : Guest 157: 15/25
Mar 21 2024 : Guest 132: 13/25
Mar 21 2024 : Guest 49: 12/25
Mar 20 2024 : Guest 37: 0/25
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 157: 9/25
Mar 18 2024 : Guest 49: 7/25
Mar 17 2024 : Guest 152: 9/25
Mar 13 2024 : Guest 49: 12/25

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. John Donne was born into a family that was _____, but he became a(n) _____ priest.

Answer: Roman Catholic, Anglican

Though born into a Roman Catholic family, he later converted. It was King James who encouraged John Donne to take Anglican orders, and the minister was eventually appointed Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral.
2. John Donne was on the path to success. He was private secretary to a high court official, Sir Thomas Egerton. How did he ruin his career?

Answer: He eloped with Egerton's niece

His elopement to Anne Moor occurred in 1601. Not only did it result in his being fired, but he was even put in prison for a time. His marriage, however, was apparently a happy one.
3. Henry Vaughan experienced a spiritual awakening inspired by the poems of what metaphysical poet?

Answer: George Herbert

Vaughan admits this in the preface to his collection of religious poems entitled the "Silex Scintillans." He goes so far as to refer to Herbert as "the blessed man."
4. Which of the following was NOT a metaphysical poet?

Answer: John Dryden

Dryden was what is called a neo-classical poet, though he actually was among the first to apply the term "metaphysical" to Donne and his ilk. The adjective was not meant to be a compliment.
5. The metaphysical poets employed many extended comparisons, also known as:

Answer: conceits

A conceit is an extended metaphor or simile, such as Donne's comparison of the two lovers as two points of a compass in "A Valediction: Forbidding Morning."
6. He wrote of both "A Divine Mistress" and "A Cruel Mistress".

Answer: Thomas Carew

Carew, like Donne, was also fired from a political post. His crime was to insult his employer, Sir Dudley Carleton.
7. What Donne poem contains these lines: "If ever any beauty I did see, / Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee."

Answer: The Good-Morrow

This poem is part of a section entitled the "Songs and Sonnets", which doesn't actually include any sonnets in the traditional sense (i.e. 14 line poems written in iambic pentameter). However, Donne did write many traditional sonnets in his "Holy Sonnets."
8. In "The Canonization", Donne says, "The ____ riddle hath more wit / By us: we two being one, are it. / So, to one neutral thing both sexes fit. / We die and rise the same, and prove / Mysterious by this love." What's missing from the blank?

Answer: Phoenix

The riddle of the Phoenix is simply the question of how the legendary bird can manage to die and then rise again from its own ashes. But Donne sees that this myth makes sense in light of the fact that they "die and rise the same." This is a sexual pun; to "die" was euphemistic for having an orgasm.
9. In what poem does John Donne try to convince a woman to have sex with him?

Answer: All of these

In "The Apparition", he threatens that, if she scorns him, he will die and then haunt her. In "To His Mistress" he tries to induce her by stripping naked himself: "To teach thee, I am naked first; why then / What need'st thou have more covering than a man?" In "The Flea", his basic line of argument is that since the flea has already drunk blood from both of them, they're basically joined anyway--so hey, why not? Her response is to kill the flea and then say that the two of them are none the weaker for it (so they couldn't have really been joined with the flea). Donne then forges a counter attack, saying, "'Tis true; then learn how false fears be: / Just so much honor, when thou yield'st to me, / Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee."
10. What kind of poetry did Donne NOT write?

Answer: concrete poetry

Concrete poetry is poetry that, when it is written out on the page, takes a particular shape. The metaphysical poet George Herbert used this kind of poetry. His "The Altar" is shaped like an altar, his "Easter Wings" like a pair of wings.
11. "_____, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful." Fill in the missing word from this Donne sonnet.

Answer: Death

This is probably Donne's most famous sonnet (number 10). He admonishes Death not to be proud because God has vanquished Death and men will awake to eternity: "And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die."
12. He wrote "To His Coy Mistress."

Answer: Andrew Marvell

Although John Donne wrote many "carpe diem" poems (i.e. poems encouraging women to "seize the day" by having sex with the speaker), perhaps the most famous one is this poem by Marvell.
13. What Donne poem is a play on Marlowe's "Passionate Shepherd to His Love"?

Answer: The Bait

Both poems begin, "Come live with me and be my love." Sir Walter Raleigh also wrote a poem in response to Marlowe's.
14. George Herbert wrote a poem in which he insisted that even simple, uncomplicated verse can be beautiful if it plainly states the truth. In it, he says, "Nor let them punish me with losse of ryme, / Who plainly say, My God, My King." What is the name of this poem?

Answer: Jordan (I)

Herbert also wrote a second "Jordan" poem with a similar theme. In it, he described his struggle to write a well-crafted, beautiful poem, only to conclude, "How wide is all this long pretence! / There is in love a sweetnesse readie penn'd / Copie out only that, and save expense."
15. This poem by John Donne was probably about his wife's death.

Answer: A Nocturnal Upon Saint Lucy's Day

St. Lucy's Day, or December 13, is the shortest day of the year. In the poem, Donne refers to himself, after his loss, as follows: "For I am every dead thing / In whom love wrought new alchemy." His course as a lover is now run, "nor," he says, "will my sun renew." And so he encourages the other young lovers to "Enjoy your summer all."
16. John Donne dedicated his holy sonnets to whose mother?

Answer: George Herbert's

Herbert's mother, who raised ten children after her husband's death, was a patron to Donne.
17. Which metaphysical poet helped to rebuild his parish's church out of his own pocket?

Answer: George Herbert

Herbert had the opportunity to succeed in the political world, but he chose instead to serve as a country rector. He was very dedicated to the care of his parishioners.
18. George Herbert ends his poem "The Collar" with these lines: "Methought I heard one calling, Childe: / And I reply'd, _____"

Answer: My Lord

In this poem, Herbert confesses his infantile rebellion against the strictures of God. He describes himself almost as one throwing a temper tantrum: "I struck the board, and cry'd, No more." He bemoans the time he lost enjoying the sweet savor of sin and thinks he should embark on those pleasures now, but at length he hears the gentle voice of God calling him His child, and that is all Herbert needs to be reminded of his helplessness." I love this poem, as you may have guessed.
19. In Herbert's "The Pulley", what alone among the blessings does God withhold from man?

Answer: rest

In a clever play on words, Herbert has God say: "Yet let him keep the rest / But keep them with repining restlessness." Man is allowed all of the blessings accept for rest, because if "goodness" will not lead man to God, "yet wearinesse / May toss him to my breast." It is this weariness--this lack of rest--that serves as the pulley drawing man to God.
20. What metaphysical poet wrote a poem encouraging Christians to honor Christmas piously, and not by emulating heathen customs of decoration and reveling?

Answer: Henry Vaughan

The poem is called "The True Christmas", and it shows us that modern day objections to the sometimes worldly means of celebrating Christmas are hardly new.
21. After his wife died, Vaughan married his:

Answer: sister-in-law

Vaughan married his wife's sister Elizabeth.
22. Andrew Marvell wrote an Horation Ode upon this man's return from Ireland.

Answer: Cromwell

Marvell was an assistant to John Milton, who was the Latin Secretary in Cromwell's Commonwealth.
23. Richard Crashaw wrote a poem called "Non Vi" that contained a picture of a heart. What is this picture called?

Answer: An Emblem

An emblem is defined as: "an allegorical picture, often inscribed with a motto supplemental to the visual image with which it forms a single unit of meaning." (from www.infoplease.com)
24. Richard Crashaw wrote a poem about what other metaphysical poet's book?

Answer: George Herbert's

It was called, "On Mr. G. Herbert's Book" and was addressed to a woman to whom Crashaw sent a copy of Herbert's "The Temple."
25. What does Vaughan refer to as a "Sweet, sacred hill"?

Answer: The Mount of Olives

This comes from his poem "The Mount of Olives", which is where Christ delivered one of his famous sermons. Calvary and Golgotha are two names for the same place, the hill where Christ was crucified. Mount Sinai is where Moses received the Ten Commandments.
Source: Author skylarb

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This quiz is part of series Neoclassical & Metaphysical Poets:

A collection of my quizzes on poetry and poets of the neoclassical and metaphysical ages.

  1. Metaphysical Poets Difficult
  2. Neoclassical Poetry Difficult
  3. Pope's Poetry Average
  4. John Dryden Average
  5. A Survey of the Works of John Milton Average

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