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 2
Question:
What famous Elizabethan tavern is immortalized in a John Keats poem?
Answer
The Mermaid Tavern. It was the regular watering hole of William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, as well as many other poets.
March 1
Question:
Which English Romantic poets belonged to the so-called "Satanic School"?
Answer
Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. Robert Southey coined the phrase to characterize their audacity and general air of rebelliousness.
February 28
Question:
Who coined the phrase "Metaphysical Poet" when referring to John Donne?
Answer
John Dryden. It was intended to be disparaging: "He affects the Metaphysics [. . .] in his amorous verses, where nature only should reign; and perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy, when he should engage their hearts."
February 27
Question:
What event is memorialized in W.B. Yeats's "Easter, 1916"?
Answer
The Easter Rising. Irish Republicans took over major landmarks in Dublin, only to be brutally suppressed by the British Army. It is considered one of the major events leading up to Irish independence.
February 26
Question:
What Elizabethan poet was killed in a bar room brawl?
Answer
Christopher Marlowe. There is speculation that he was assassinated, either for being a spy in the service of Elizabeth I, or for being a traitor against her.
