According to Merriam-Webster, the word poet “comes from the Greek word poietes.....
Answers
1. D
According to Merriam-Webster, the word poet “comes from the Greek word poietes, itself from poiein, meaning “to make”” and has been in use in the English language for over 600 years.
2. C.
Well, maybe.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia. It is believed to have been written around 2100 BC, and predates Homer’s work – the Greek epics Iliad and Odyssey – by around 1500 years. It is widely regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature, although some believe that the Ancient Egyptian poem The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor might predated The Epic of Gilgamesh.
3. B
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 1400) is regarded as the first great English poet as well as the Father of English Literature and poetry. His best known work, The Canterbury Tales – a collection of 24 stories (mostly written in verse, some in prose) – is considered one of the greatest works of literature.
4. B
“TO.THE.ONLIE.BEGETTER.OF.
THESE.INSUING.SONNETS.
Mr.W.H. ALL.HAPPINESSE.
AND.THAT.ETERNITIE.
PROMISED.
BY.
OUR.EVER-LIVING.POET.
WISHETH.
THE.WELL-WISHING.
ADVENTURER.IN.
SETTING.
FORTH.
T.T.”
The initials “T.T.” refer to the publisher, Thomas Thorpe. The identity of the dedicatee, “Mr. W.H.”, is unknown, although it is speculated that William Herbert (the Earl of Pembroke) or Henry Wriothesley (the Earl of Southampton) could be likely possibilities.
5. C
“Lines Composed In A Wood On A Windy Day” is a poem by English poet Anne Brontë (1820 – 1849), the youngest Brontë sibling. The poem was inspired by her love of the sea. It appeared in Poems, a volume of poetry published by the Brontë sisters in 1846 under the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell; the sisters adopted masculine first names to evade contemporary prejudice against female writers.
6. A
“If—” was written by English poet Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936) in the form of paternal advice to his son, John (1897 – 1915). The poem is thought to have been written around 1895 and was published in 1910 in Kipling’s historical fantasy book Rewards and Fairies (1910). John was killed in 1915 while serving with the British Army during the First World War, nearly six weeks after his 18th birthday.
7. D
“You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”
One of her most popular poems, “Still I Rise” appeared on American poet Maya Angelou’s (1928 – 2014) 1978 collection And Still I Rise, her third volume of poetry, which focused on the determination to rise above difficulty.
8. A
English poet John Keats (1795 – 1821) composed the epitaph “Here lies One whose Name was writ in Water” for his tombstone, reflecting his doubts about whether his name and work will last.
9. B
American poet and writer Dorothy Parker (1893 – 1967) was well known for her sharp wit in both her poetry and prose.
Side note: Upon her death, she bequeathed her estate to Martin Luther King Jr.; following his death, her estate was bequeathed by his family to the NAACP.
10. C
Published in 1939, T. S. Eliot’s (1888 – 1965) Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats is a collection of whimsical poems that the poet originally wrote in letters to his godchildren in the 1930s.
The book would eventually be adapted into the musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical premiered in 1981 and has since become one of the longest-running Broadway shows in history.
11. A
American poet Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) was considered an eccentric and lived much of her life in reclusive isolation.
12. B
Breaking Bad made several references to American poet Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892), especially in the fifth and final season. Most prominently, the title of the episode “Gliding Over All” – the eighth episode of season five – is taken from a Whitman poem, and an inscription in a copy of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass leads to the downfall of protagonist Walter White, whose name is very similar to that of the poet.
- S.A.
