Poetry Trivia Questions
In case you missed them, here are the past five Columbia Granger's World of Poetry trivia questions of the day. .
October 12
Question:
Which poem contains the advice "carpe diem quam minimum credula postero"?
Answer
Roughly translated as "seize the day, for the future believe the minimum," this bit of wisdom appears in Horace's "Ode 1" of Book 1 . The theme is taken up by the poets Robert Herrick, Andrew Marvell and Alfred Tennyson to name a few.
October 11
October 10
Question:
What poet's death inspired the formation of a new religious order?
Answer
The Whirling Dervishes, a Sufi order, formed after the death of Jelaluddin Rumi.
October 9
Question:
Who wrote in lieu of the final examination in William James's philosophy course, "I am so sorry but I really do not feel a bit like an examination paper in philosophy to-day"?
Answer
Gertrude Stein. William James wrote back that he had often felt similarly and gave her an A.
October 8
Question:
What was Rainer Maria Rilke's birth name? And why did he change it?
Answer
Born René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke, Rilke changed his first name to Rainer because it was more masculine. In addition to having been born René Maria Rilke, after his elder sister who died a year before his birth, his mourning mother had dressed him in girl's clothes for the first five years of his life.
