Book Quiz with third set of 10 questions about Poetry

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Books Quiz - Poetry 3 (Questions)

This Specialist Books poetry quiz focuses on close reading. Explore how word choices, line breaks, and punctuation work together to shape meaning, rhythm, and emotion in a poem.

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Fascinating Fact:

Poetry condenses meaning into a limited number of words, so every detail, from diction to punctuation, deserves close attention.

In Specialist Books, this poetry quiz encourages close, careful reading. You will practise noticing how choices of diction, line length, and punctuation work together to express ideas with precision.

Key Terms

Diction: The poet’s choice of words, including their level of formality, connotations, and sound.
Line break: The point where a line of poetry ends, which can create emphasis, pause, or surprise.
Enjambment: When a sentence or phrase continues past the end of a line without a full stop, carrying the meaning into the next line.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What does close reading of a poem mean?

Close reading of a poem means examining its language, structure, and sound very carefully, paying attention to individual words, images, and patterns to understand how they create meaning.

How do I analyse the punctuation in a poem?

To analyse punctuation in a poem, notice where full stops, commas, and dashes appear, how they control pace and pauses, and how they highlight particular phrases or ideas for the reader.

How can I improve my poetry analysis skills?

You can improve poetry analysis by reading poems more than once, annotating interesting words or patterns, looking up unfamiliar terms, and practising writing short paragraphs that explain specific effects.

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How many syllables are there in an iambic pentameter?

[ ]	5
[ ]	7
[ ]	8
[ ]	10

The poem Casabianca, by Felicia Hemans, begins with the famous line: "The boy stood on the burning deck". Which battle inspired the poem?

[ ]	Battle of Cape St Vincent
[ ]	Battle of Copenhagen
[ ]	Battle of the Nile
[ ]	Battle of Trafalgar

Who was imprisoned in 1873 for shooting the French poet Arthur Rimbaud?

[ ]	Jean Cocteau
[ ]	Victor Hugo
[ ]	Paul Valery
[ ]	Paul Verlaine

What was the surname of the English humorist who devised the short verse form, the clerihew?

[ ]	Bentley
[ ]	Bradley
[ ]	Clerihew
[ ]	Cleremont

Who wrote the lengthy poem The Wreck of the Deutschland?

[ ]	Gilbert Keith Chesterton
[ ]	Gerard Manley Hopkins
[ ]	Alfred Edward Houseman
[ ]	Henry Wadsorth Longfellow

What is the title of the Robert Louis Stevenson poem that begins with the line: "Faster than fairies, faster than witches"?

[ ]	In a Railway Carriage
[ ]	From a Railway Carriage
[ ]	On a Railway Carriage
[ ]	To a Railway Carriage

1n 2006 John Steffler was appointed Parliamentary Poet Laureate of which country?

[ ]	Australia
[ ]	Canada
[ ]	New Zealand
[ ]	South Africa

Which American Beat poet wrote the long poem Howl in 1956?

[ ]	Neal Cassady
[ ]	Lawrence Ferlinghetti
[ ]	Allen Ginsberg
[ ]	Jack Kerouac

A Japanese haiku poem has how many syllables?

[ ]	13
[ ]	15
[ ]	17
[ ]	19

10.

What were the first names of the British/American poet TS Eliot?

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Books Quiz - Poetry 3 (Answers)

How many syllables are there in an iambic pentameter?

[ ]	5
[ ]	7
[ ]	8
[x]	10

An example from Shakespeare's play Richard III - "Now is the winter of our discontent"

The poem Casabianca, by Felicia Hemans, begins with the famous line: "The boy stood on the burning deck". Which battle inspired the poem?

[ ]	Battle of Cape St Vincent
[ ]	Battle of Copenhagen
[x]	Battle of the Nile
[ ]	Battle of Trafalgar

It commemorates an actual event on board a French ship. The son of its commander remained at his post and died when the fire caused an explosion.

Who was imprisoned in 1873 for shooting the French poet Arthur Rimbaud?

[ ]	Jean Cocteau
[ ]	Victor Hugo
[ ]	Paul Valery
[x]	Paul Verlaine

Verlaine, in a drunken, jealous rage at his rival, fired two shots at Rimbaud, wounding him, though not seriously. He was gaoled for 2 years

What was the surname of the English humorist who devised the short verse form, the clerihew?

[x]	Bentley
[ ]	Bradley
[ ]	Clerihew
[ ]	Cleremont

His full name was Edmund Clerihew Bentley

Who wrote the lengthy poem The Wreck of the Deutschland?

[ ]	Gilbert Keith Chesterton
[x]	Gerard Manley Hopkins
[ ]	Alfred Edward Houseman
[ ]	Henry Wadsorth Longfellow

Longfellow wrote The Wreck of the Hesperus

What is the title of the Robert Louis Stevenson poem that begins with the line: "Faster than fairies, faster than witches"?

[ ]	In a Railway Carriage
[x]	From a Railway Carriage
[ ]	On a Railway Carriage
[ ]	To a Railway Carriage

It comes from the 1885 collection A Child’s Garden of Verses

1n 2006 John Steffler was appointed Parliamentary Poet Laureate of which country?

[ ]	Australia
[x]	Canada
[ ]	New Zealand
[ ]	South Africa

His 1992 novel The Afterlife of George Cartwright won the Thomas Head Raddall Award and his 1998 poetry collection That Night We Were Ravenous won the Atlantic Poetry Prize

Which American Beat poet wrote the long poem Howl in 1956?

[ ]	Neal Cassady
[ ]	Lawrence Ferlinghetti
[x]	Allen Ginsberg
[ ]	Jack Kerouac

The poem was the subject of an obscenity trial, as it was openly homosexual at a time when that was illegal in the United States