Poetry Trivia Questions
In case you missed them, here are the past five Columbia Granger's World of Poetry trivia questions of the day.
November 18
Question:
Famously misattributed to Plato (by General MacArthur among others), the quote "Only the dead have seen an end to war" was actually written by whom?
Answer
George Santayana wrote this in Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies published in 1922.
November 17
Question:
Who coined the term "pathetic fallacy" in his 1856 book Modern Painters ?
Answer
This term for attributing human emotions to natural subjects was coined by influential poet and critic John Ruskin.
November 16
Question:
From which word was George Russell's pseudonym fashioned?
Answer
Known as AE (or Æ), Russell's pseudonym had started as "Æon," but, due to a proofreader finding the signature illegible, it was pared down.
November 15
Question:
What work was at the center of what has been called the world's first literary quarrel, which took place in 1401 and 1402?
Answer
The Querelle du Roman de la Rose (Quarrel of the Romance of the Rose) was over whether Jean de Meun's allegorical poem "Roman de la Rose" merited the literary attention it received. Written, most likely, at the end of the thirteenth century, Jean de Meun had added nearly 19,000 lines to Guillaume de Lorris's earlier version. The work was accused of being vulgar and unfair in its satirical treatment of women.
November 14
Question:
Who has been identified as Europe's first professional female writer? And in what century was she writing?
Answer
Christine de Pisan developed her reputation as a writer from 1399 to 1430. Born in Venice, she worked for the king of France as an astrologer, physician and alchemist. Aphra Behn is considered one of the first English women to be a professional writer.
