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Quiz about The Ten Most Anthologized Poems
Quiz about The Ten Most Anthologized Poems

The Ten Most Anthologized Poems Quiz


William Harmon edited a book entitled "The Top 500 Poems", which contains all the top 500 English-language poems, as determined by how frequently each poem has been anthologized. Here are questions about the top ten of those 500 poems.

A multiple-choice quiz by chessart. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
chessart
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
310,438
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
2241
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 147 (3/10), Guest 172 (6/10), Guest 92 (3/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. At number ten is a poem entitled "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time". This was written by an Englishman who died in 1674 at the age of 83. Who was this poet? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. At number nine is the poem "La Belle Dame sans Merci", by John Keats. What is unusual about this poem? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. At number eight is Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach". In which country is this beach which Arnold made famous by his wonderful poem? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Weighing in at number seven is "Kubla Khan", which begins with the familiar lines, "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, A stately pleasure-dome decree." Who is the author of this poem, a poet who also wrote "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The great Robert Frost wrote many beloved poems, but the one which made the top ten, at number six, was his "Stopping by Woods on a _______ Evening". Which adjective goes in the blank?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 6 of 10
6. At number five is a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a poem which begins.
"Glory be to God for dappled things--
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;".
What is the name of this poem?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. There couldn't be a top ten list without Shakespeare. At number seven we have a Shakespearean sonnet, entitled "That ___________ Thou Mayst in Me Behold". What goes in the blank? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. At number three is a poem by John Keats, which is an ode to a particular season. Which season is Keats writing about with his poem which starts, "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. At number two is "Sir Patrick Spens", written by an anonymous author. Who was the character Sir Patrick Spens in this poem? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. And at number one (drum roll please), we have William Blake's "The Tiger", which begins "Tyger, Tyger, burning bright, In the _______ of the night." What goes in the blank? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 25 2024 : Guest 147: 3/10
Mar 23 2024 : Guest 172: 6/10
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Mar 18 2024 : Guest 77: 6/10
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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. At number ten is a poem entitled "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time". This was written by an Englishman who died in 1674 at the age of 83. Who was this poet?

Answer: Robert Herrick

Herrick's poem starts "Gather you rose-buds while ye may"; today we might say, "Make hay while the sun shines", or "You only go around once". Herrick also wrote the number fourteen poem, called "Upon Julia's Clothes".
2. At number nine is the poem "La Belle Dame sans Merci", by John Keats. What is unusual about this poem?

Answer: Keats wrote two versions of it.

Critics do not agree on which version is better, so both versions are included in Harmon's anthology.
3. At number eight is Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach". In which country is this beach which Arnold made famous by his wonderful poem?

Answer: England

Dover is an English port city located at the narrowest point of the English Channel. A famous part of the poem goes "the cliffs of England stand, glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay."
4. Weighing in at number seven is "Kubla Khan", which begins with the familiar lines, "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, A stately pleasure-dome decree." Who is the author of this poem, a poet who also wrote "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?

Answer: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Coleridge claimed that "Kubla Khan" was inspired by an opium-induced dream. Coleridge fought an opium addiction for much of his adult life, before dying in 1834 at the age of 61.
5. The great Robert Frost wrote many beloved poems, but the one which made the top ten, at number six, was his "Stopping by Woods on a _______ Evening". Which adjective goes in the blank?

Answer: Snowy

The famous last verse reads:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
6. At number five is a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a poem which begins. "Glory be to God for dappled things-- For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;". What is the name of this poem?

Answer: Pied Beauty

Hopkins was a Jesuit priest whose poems generally glorify God. None of his poems were published in his lifetime (1844-1889), but they have become more and more recognized and appreciated as time goes on. The wrong choices are all other poems by Hopkins.
7. There couldn't be a top ten list without Shakespeare. At number seven we have a Shakespearean sonnet, entitled "That ___________ Thou Mayst in Me Behold". What goes in the blank?

Answer: Time of Year

The first stanza is:
"That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon the boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs where late the sweet birds sang."

I would have thought "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day" would be the most popular Shakespearean sonnet, but it comes in at "only" number 23.
8. At number three is a poem by John Keats, which is an ode to a particular season. Which season is Keats writing about with his poem which starts, "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"?

Answer: autumn

"To Autumn" is one of the six great odes written by Keats in 1819. The subjects of the other five are a Grecian urn, indolence, melancholy, nightingale, and psyche.
9. At number two is "Sir Patrick Spens", written by an anonymous author. Who was the character Sir Patrick Spens in this poem?

Answer: a sailor

Spens was a sailor whom the King sent on a voyage to Norway. On the way back the ship ran into a storm and sank.
10. And at number one (drum roll please), we have William Blake's "The Tiger", which begins "Tyger, Tyger, burning bright, In the _______ of the night." What goes in the blank?

Answer: forests

The next two lines are "What immortal hand or eye, Could frame they fearful symmetry." The last stanza is identical to the first one, except that "Could" is changed to "Dare".
Source: Author chessart

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