Of Modern Poetry Quizzes

Of Modern Poetry Quiz

1 Opening line: "The poem of the ______"
heart

mind

soul

world
2 Why was poetry's job easier before Modernism, according to the first stanza?
Poets were better educated

Poets kept to themselves

Poets were also musicians

Poets could simply repeat a script
3 Stevens writes that "the theatre was changed" for poetry. Which of the following was NOT a change that helped shape Modernism into a distinct new era?
World war

Poets strayed from established formal conventions

Poets found new ways to use language

Many more people started reading poems
4 What does modern poetry have to "think about" in the world?
war

language

aesthetics

government
5 Which of the following is NOT an accurate descriptor for the ideal modern poem, as described here?
Archaic

Slow and careful

Potent

Cosmopolitan
6 What does poetry have to "construct"?
a souvenir of the past

a wiry instrument

a new stage

a new state of mind
7 What type of artist is modern poetry personified as?
dancer

actor

singer

painter
8 What part of audiences should poetry speak to?
the quietest heart

the insatiable emotions

the men of the time

the delicatest ear of the mind
9 Which of the following is not an image of "satisfaction" in the poem?
a woman dancing

a man skating

a man reading

a woman combing her hair
10 What should audiences express, as a result of modern poetry?
new knowledge about writing

shared emotions

apathy

thoughts about war
11 What should the audience be listening to?
the play

itself

the woman singer

the news
12 What might "sudden rightnesses" mean?
strict moral rules

inspiration for a new poem

legal rights

clarity and meaning
13 What is the form Stevens uses in this poem?
free verse

terza rima

blank verse

iambic pentameter
14 What rhetorical device does Stevens use frequently at the beginnings of sentences?
onomatopoeia

anaphora / repetition

alliteration

allusion
15 Which sense is most often evoked by the descriptions of poetry?
sound

touch

taste

smell
16 During the middle of the poem, Stevens shifts from primarily _______ sentences to _______ ones.
lyrical to plain

simple to complex

imperative to interrogative

visual to multisensory
17 Which of the following is NOT a reason why Stevens may have chosen to use theater as an extended symbol for poetry?
Theater is verbal and vocal

It's easier to imagine the live audience of a theater

It's easier to imagine the physical space of theater

Theater is relatively simple
18 Poetry is described as "A metaphysician in the ____"
ear

mind

dark

city
19 What is poetry's "past" according to the first stanza?
a valuable legacy

nonexistent

a souvenir

an ideal
20 Why might the metaphysician's instrument (poetry) be able to "wholly contain the mind"?
Poetry keeps people confused

Readers of poetry have simple minds

Poetry only exists in the imagination

Poetry is created in the mind and takes effect in the mind
21 How does the "actor" need to speak to his audiences?
slowly, with meditation

comfortingly, with love

fiercely, with urgency

quickly, with humor
22 On a broad level, what does modern poetry need to help people find?
a sense of national identity

life partners

a favorite pastime

satisfaction and meaning in life
23 Which of the following should modern poetry NOT do, according to this poem?
Be modern in its language

Mirror the actions and needs of the mind

Pay attention to real people and events

Adhere to convention
24 "Of Modern Poetry" was published during which of the following events?
World War II

World War I

The Great Depression

The Roaring 20s
25 Which of the following is a good descriptor for the poem?
A manifesto

A confession

A romance

A personal narrative

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Study Guide for Of Modern Poetry

On Modern Poetry study guide contains a biography of Wallace Stevens, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Essays for Of Modern Poetry

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