Historical Poetry Meter

Description: This quiz tests your knowledge of the various meters used in historical poetry.
Number of Questions: 15
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Tags: historical poetry meter poetry
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What is the most common meter used in English poetry?

  1. Iambic pentameter

  2. Trochaic octameter

  3. Anapestic dimeter

  4. Spondaic hexameter


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Iambic pentameter is a meter consisting of five iambs, or pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables, per line. It is the most common meter used in English poetry, and is often used in narrative and dramatic verse.

Which of the following poems is written in iambic pentameter?

  1. The Canterbury Tales

  2. Paradise Lost

  3. The Waste Land

  4. Leaves of Grass


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Paradise Lost is an epic poem written by John Milton in the 17th century. It is written in iambic pentameter and tells the story of the fall of man from grace.

What is the meter of the following line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?

  1. Iambic pentameter

  2. Trochaic octameter

  3. Anapestic dimeter

  4. Spondaic hexameter


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The line "But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" is written in iambic pentameter. It consists of five iambs, or pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables.

Which of the following is an example of trochaic octameter?

  1. The Charge of the Light Brigade

  2. The Raven

  3. Ode to a Nightingale

  4. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The Charge of the Light Brigade is a poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the 19th century. It is written in trochaic octameter and tells the story of the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War.

What is the meter of the following line from Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha?

  1. Trochaic octameter

  2. Anapestic dimeter

  3. Spondaic hexameter

  4. Dactylic hexameter


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The line "By the shores of Gitche Gumee, / By the shining Big-Sea-Water" is written in trochaic octameter. It consists of eight trochees, or pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Which of the following poems is written in anapestic dimeter?

  1. The Pied Piper of Hamelin

  2. The Raven

  3. Ode to a Nightingale

  4. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a poem written by Robert Browning in the 19th century. It is written in anapestic dimeter and tells the story of the Pied Piper who rids the town of Hamelin of rats.

What is the meter of the following line from Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

  1. Anapestic dimeter

  2. Spondaic hexameter

  3. Dactylic hexameter

  4. Trochaic octameter


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The line "Water, water, everywhere, / And all the boards did shrink and swell" is written in anapestic dimeter. It consists of two anapests, or groups of three unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable.

Which of the following poems is written in spondaic hexameter?

  1. The Canterbury Tales

  2. Paradise Lost

  3. The Waste Land

  4. Leaves of Grass


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Paradise Lost is an epic poem written by John Milton in the 17th century. It is written in spondaic hexameter and tells the story of the fall of man from grace.

What is the meter of the following line from Milton's Paradise Lost?

  1. Spondaic hexameter

  2. Dactylic hexameter

  3. Trochaic octameter

  4. Anapestic dimeter


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The line "Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit / Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste" is written in spondaic hexameter. It consists of six spondees, or pairs of stressed syllables.

Which of the following poems is written in dactylic hexameter?

  1. The Canterbury Tales

  2. Paradise Lost

  3. The Waste Land

  4. Leaves of Grass


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The Waste Land is a poem written by T.S. Eliot in the 20th century. It is written in dactylic hexameter and tells the story of the spiritual wasteland of modern society.

What is the meter of the following line from Eliot's The Waste Land?

  1. Dactylic hexameter

  2. Trochaic octameter

  3. Anapestic dimeter

  4. Spondaic hexameter


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The line "April is the cruellest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing" is written in dactylic hexameter. It consists of six dactyls, or groups of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Which of the following poems is written in free verse?

  1. The Canterbury Tales

  2. Paradise Lost

  3. The Waste Land

  4. Leaves of Grass


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Leaves of Grass is a collection of poems written by Walt Whitman in the 19th century. It is written in free verse and explores themes of democracy, nature, and the American spirit.

What is the meter of the following line from Whitman's Leaves of Grass?

  1. Free verse

  2. Iambic pentameter

  3. Trochaic octameter

  4. Anapestic dimeter


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The line "I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you" is written in free verse. It does not follow any regular metrical pattern.

Which of the following poets is known for their use of free verse?

  1. Geoffrey Chaucer

  2. John Milton

  3. T.S. Eliot

  4. Walt Whitman


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Walt Whitman is known for his use of free verse in his poetry. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of the free verse movement in American poetry.

What is the meter of the following line from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales?

  1. Iambic pentameter

  2. Trochaic octameter

  3. Anapestic dimeter

  4. Spondaic hexameter


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The line "Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote" is written in iambic pentameter. It consists of five iambs, or pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables.

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