Of Modern Poetry Quizzes

Of Modern Poetry Quiz

By Rebecca Bedell · Last reviewed September 04, 2017

1 Opening line: "The poem of the ______"

world

mind

heart

soul
2 Why was poetry's job easier before Modernism, according to the first stanza?

Poets were also musicians

Poets could simply repeat a script

Poets were better educated

Poets kept to themselves
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?

Poets found new ways to use language

Poets strayed from established formal conventions

World war

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

language

aesthetics

government

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

Potent

Slow and careful

Cosmopolitan

Archaic
6 What does poetry have to "construct"?

a wiry instrument

a new state of mind

a souvenir of the past

a new stage
7 What type of artist is modern poetry personified as?

actor

singer

painter

dancer
8 What part of audiences should poetry speak to?

the men of the time

the quietest heart

the insatiable emotions

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 reading

a woman combing her hair

a man skating
10 What should audiences express, as a result of modern poetry?

shared emotions

apathy

thoughts about war

new knowledge about writing
11 What should the audience be listening to?

the woman singer

itself

the news

the play
12 What might "sudden rightnesses" mean?

legal rights

inspiration for a new poem

clarity and meaning

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

iambic pentameter

terza rima

free verse

blank verse
14 What rhetorical device does Stevens use frequently at the beginnings of sentences?

allusion

alliteration

onomatopoeia

anaphora / repetition
15 Which sense is most often evoked by the descriptions of poetry?

touch

sound

taste

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

simple to complex

lyrical to plain

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 physical space of theater

Theater is relatively simple

It's easier to imagine the live audience of a theater
18 Poetry is described as "A metaphysician in the ____"

ear

dark

city

mind
19 What is poetry's "past" according to the first stanza?

a valuable legacy

a souvenir

an ideal

nonexistent
20 Why might the metaphysician's instrument (poetry) be able to "wholly contain the mind"?

Poetry keeps people confused

Poetry is created in the mind and takes effect in the mind

Poetry only exists in the imagination

Readers of poetry have simple minds
21 How does the "actor" need to speak to his audiences?

slowly, with meditation

fiercely, with urgency

quickly, with humor

comfortingly, with love
22 On a broad level, what does modern poetry need to help people find?

satisfaction and meaning in life

a sense of national identity

life partners

a favorite pastime
23 Which of the following should modern poetry NOT do, according to this poem?

Mirror the actions and needs of the mind

Pay attention to real people and events

Adhere to convention

Be modern in its language
24 "Of Modern Poetry" was published during which of the following events?

World War II

World War I

The Roaring 20s

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

A manifesto

A romance

A personal narrative

A confession

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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

On Modern Poetry essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of On Modern Poetry by Wallace Stevens.

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