Of Modern Poetry Quizzes

Of Modern Poetry Quiz

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

soul

world

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

Poets could simply repeat a script

Poets kept to themselves

Poets were also musicians
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 found new ways to use language

Poets strayed from established formal conventions

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

aesthetics

war

language
5 Which of the following is NOT an accurate descriptor for the ideal modern poem, as described here?
Slow and careful

Cosmopolitan

Archaic

Potent
6 What does poetry have to "construct"?
a new stage

a souvenir of the past

a new state of mind

a wiry instrument
7 What type of artist is modern poetry personified as?
actor

dancer

painter

singer
8 What part of audiences should poetry speak to?
the delicatest ear of the mind

the insatiable emotions

the quietest heart

the men of the time
9 Which of the following is not an image of "satisfaction" in the poem?
a woman combing her hair

a man reading

a man skating

a woman dancing
10 What should audiences express, as a result of modern poetry?
thoughts about war

shared emotions

new knowledge about writing

apathy
11 What should the audience be listening to?
the news

itself

the play

the woman singer
12 What might "sudden rightnesses" mean?
inspiration for a new poem

clarity and meaning

legal rights

strict moral rules
13 What is the form Stevens uses in this poem?
blank verse

free verse

terza rima

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

alliteration

allusion

onomatopoeia
15 Which sense is most often evoked by the descriptions of poetry?
taste

smell

sound

touch
16 During the middle of the poem, Stevens shifts from primarily _______ sentences to _______ ones.
visual to multisensory

lyrical to plain

imperative to interrogative

simple to complex
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 relatively simple

It's easier to imagine the physical space of theater

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

Theater is verbal and vocal
18 Poetry is described as "A metaphysician in the ____"
ear

dark

mind

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

a souvenir

nonexistent

an ideal
20 Why might the metaphysician's instrument (poetry) be able to "wholly contain the mind"?
Poetry only exists in the imagination

Poetry keeps people confused

Readers of poetry have simple minds

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

quickly, with humor

comfortingly, with love

slowly, with meditation
22 On a broad level, what does modern poetry need to help people find?
satisfaction and meaning in life

a sense of national identity

a favorite pastime

life partners
23 Which of the following should modern poetry NOT do, according to this poem?
Mirror the actions and needs of the mind

Be modern in its language

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

The Roaring 20s

World War I

The Great Depression
25 Which of the following is a good descriptor for the poem?
A manifesto

A romance

A confession

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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