Poetry Trivia Questions
In case you missed them, here are the past five Columbia Granger's World of Poetry trivia questions of the day.
March 25
Question:
What Elizabethan poet was prevented from taking his seat in Parliament because he was accused of debt, manslaughter, atheism, and the writing of "slanderous Pasquelles against divers personnes of greate callinge"?
Answer
March 24
Question:
What English meter, favored by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is named for the inconsistent number of eggs in an Elizabethan dozen?
Answer
The Poulter's Measure. It varies between 12 and 14 syllables, just as "a dozen eggs" could vary between 12 to 14 eggs in Surrey's day.
March 23
Question:
Which English poet has a verse form named after him?
Answer
John Skelton is the namesake of the Skeltonic.
March 22
Question:
What daily gift did Geoffrey Chaucer receive from the King Edward III of England, starting on St. George's Day 1374?
Answer
A pitcher of wine. Later his financial situation forced him to ask for money instead.
March 21
Question:
What is the secet power of poets, according to Percy Bysshe Shelley?
Answer
"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." Shelley makes the statement in the conclusion to his "Defense of Poetry," where he argues, following Torquato Tasso that "No one merits the name of creator except God and the Poet."
