Identification of American Poetry - AP English Literature and Composition
Card 0 of 144
The author of the poem "Sylvia's Death" is .
The author of the poem "Sylvia's Death" is .
Anne Sexton's poem "Sylvia's Death" deals with the death of fellow poet Sylvia Plath.
Anne Sexton's poem "Sylvia's Death" deals with the death of fellow poet Sylvia Plath.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” is a famous poem by which author?
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” is a famous poem by which author?
The poem, broken into 13 fractured, imagistic sections, was written by American poet Wallace Stevens. Stevens was a leading figure in the American modernist poetry world, and in 1955 he won a Pulitzer for his work. Stevens’ work is marked by a preoccupation with intellectual themes and ideas about human consciousness. Some of his best-known poems include “The Emperor of Ice Cream,” “Anecdote of the Jar,” “The Idea of Order at Key West,” and “Sunday Morning,” as well as “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.”
The poem, broken into 13 fractured, imagistic sections, was written by American poet Wallace Stevens. Stevens was a leading figure in the American modernist poetry world, and in 1955 he won a Pulitzer for his work. Stevens’ work is marked by a preoccupation with intellectual themes and ideas about human consciousness. Some of his best-known poems include “The Emperor of Ice Cream,” “Anecdote of the Jar,” “The Idea of Order at Key West,” and “Sunday Morning,” as well as “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.”
Compare your answer with the correct one above
This expatriate American wrote poems distinguished by their repetition, attention to sound, and ostensible incomprehensibility. This poet's writing, which includes books such as Tender Buttons and The Making of Americans, often received critical acclaim but not popular attention. Who is the poet?
This expatriate American wrote poems distinguished by their repetition, attention to sound, and ostensible incomprehensibility. This poet's writing, which includes books such as Tender Buttons and The Making of Americans, often received critical acclaim but not popular attention. Who is the poet?
Gertrude Stein is famous for her hosting of salons in Paris, where she lived with her partner Alice B. Toklas until her death in the 1940s. These salons helped support the careers of painters as renowned as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, and Stein herself collected many valuable pieces of artwork. Her poetry attempts to destroy the linear, logical narratives that were the dominant form of writing at the time and create a modern, fragmentary, and sometimes incomprehensible verse.
Gertrude Stein is famous for her hosting of salons in Paris, where she lived with her partner Alice B. Toklas until her death in the 1940s. These salons helped support the careers of painters as renowned as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, and Stein herself collected many valuable pieces of artwork. Her poetry attempts to destroy the linear, logical narratives that were the dominant form of writing at the time and create a modern, fragmentary, and sometimes incomprehensible verse.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
This modernist, imagist poet wrote works including “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “Spring and All.”
This modernist, imagist poet wrote works including “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “Spring and All.”
William Carlos Williams, a medical doctor as well as a poet, was known for experimental works such as “To Elsie” and the poems mentioned in the question stem. Although his vision for modern poetry differed greatly from the views of T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and other literary giants, Williams found like-minded creators in “The Others,” a group of early twentieth-century New York artists and writers.
William Carlos Williams, a medical doctor as well as a poet, was known for experimental works such as “To Elsie” and the poems mentioned in the question stem. Although his vision for modern poetry differed greatly from the views of T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and other literary giants, Williams found like-minded creators in “The Others,” a group of early twentieth-century New York artists and writers.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Which poet was the author of “We Real Cool” and was the first black American to win a Pulitzer Prize?
Which poet was the author of “We Real Cool” and was the first black American to win a Pulitzer Prize?
Gwendolyn Brooks’ poetry, which also includes titles such as “The Bean Eaters,” “Sadie and Maud,” “The Crazy Woman,” and “Speech to the Young,” drew on her experiences living in inner-city Chicago and was diverse in style, incorporating everything from sonnets to blues to free verse. Brooks, an important figure in twentieth-century African-American literature, served as the Poet Laureate of Illinois for many years.
Gwendolyn Brooks’ poetry, which also includes titles such as “The Bean Eaters,” “Sadie and Maud,” “The Crazy Woman,” and “Speech to the Young,” drew on her experiences living in inner-city Chicago and was diverse in style, incorporating everything from sonnets to blues to free verse. Brooks, an important figure in twentieth-century African-American literature, served as the Poet Laureate of Illinois for many years.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
A leader of the Harlem Renaissance, this poet wrote “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “Montage of a Dream Deferred.”
A leader of the Harlem Renaissance, this poet wrote “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “Montage of a Dream Deferred.”
Langston Hughes wore many hats, including poet, novelist, playwright, and social justice advocate. He was an early innovator of the genre known as “jazz poetry,” which incorporates blues- and jazz-inspired rhythms and a sense of linguistic improvisation.
Langston Hughes wore many hats, including poet, novelist, playwright, and social justice advocate. He was an early innovator of the genre known as “jazz poetry,” which incorporates blues- and jazz-inspired rhythms and a sense of linguistic improvisation.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Which modernist poet wrote “Baseball and Writing,” “He Made This Screen,” and “Poetry”?
Which modernist poet wrote “Baseball and Writing,” “He Made This Screen,” and “Poetry”?
Marianne Moore, who won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, is noted for her innovations and irony in her poems. She often eschewed formal meter and used animal motifs and interesting language to develop her themes, and she was known for criticizing the institution of poetry (as in her poem "Poetry").
Marianne Moore, who won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, is noted for her innovations and irony in her poems. She often eschewed formal meter and used animal motifs and interesting language to develop her themes, and she was known for criticizing the institution of poetry (as in her poem "Poetry").
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Who is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
Who is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
Maya Angelou, a famous African-American poet and prose writer, is best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and for her inspirational poetry. She published more than a dozen major works during her lifetime.
Maya Angelou, a famous African-American poet and prose writer, is best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and for her inspirational poetry. She published more than a dozen major works during her lifetime.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Which poet is the author of Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror and The Tennis Court Oath, two characteristically opaque and controversial poetry collections?
Which poet is the author of Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror and The Tennis Court Oath, two characteristically opaque and controversial poetry collections?
This contemporary postmodernist poet is John Ashbery. During his lifetime, Ashbery has produced more than a dozen volumes of poetry and won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. His work is known for its wordplay, surrealism, avant-garde syntax, and ability to resist critical analysis.
This contemporary postmodernist poet is John Ashbery. During his lifetime, Ashbery has produced more than a dozen volumes of poetry and won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. His work is known for its wordplay, surrealism, avant-garde syntax, and ability to resist critical analysis.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question ...
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
This author of this poem also wrote .
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question ...
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
This author of this poem also wrote .
A major modernist poet, T. S. Eliot was also a highly influential critic and essayist. In his essay "Tradition and Individual Talent," Eliot rejected the inspired individualism of romantic poets like William Wordsworth in favor of a view of the poet as one who uses tradition to lift him beyond his personal experience.
Passage adapted from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Elliot, 1-11 (1915)
A major modernist poet, T. S. Eliot was also a highly influential critic and essayist. In his essay "Tradition and Individual Talent," Eliot rejected the inspired individualism of romantic poets like William Wordsworth in favor of a view of the poet as one who uses tradition to lift him beyond his personal experience.
Passage adapted from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Elliot, 1-11 (1915)
Compare your answer with the correct one above
And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
“That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all.”
Identify the title of poem from which the selection was adapted based on its content and style.
And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
“That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all.”
Identify the title of poem from which the selection was adapted based on its content and style.
The stanza is from T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," which was published in 1915.
Passage adapted from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" l.99-110 (1915)
The stanza is from T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," which was published in 1915.
Passage adapted from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" l.99-110 (1915)
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
This stanza opens a famous poem by which American author?
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
This stanza opens a famous poem by which American author?
The poem is Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” a lyrical poem in which Dickinson personifies Death as he takes the speaker to her grave.
The poem is Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” a lyrical poem in which Dickinson personifies Death as he takes the speaker to her grave.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil,
this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and
their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Who wrote this poem?
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil,
this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and
their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Who wrote this poem?
This is the opening of Walt Whitman’s beautiful “Song of Myself,” taken from Leaves of Grass (1855). The poem is said to represent the heart of Whitman’s poetic vision and be inspired by the Transcendentalist movement, although it was initially criticized for its raw, uncensored depictions of human sexuality.
This is the opening of Walt Whitman’s beautiful “Song of Myself,” taken from Leaves of Grass (1855). The poem is said to represent the heart of Whitman’s poetic vision and be inspired by the Transcendentalist movement, although it was initially criticized for its raw, uncensored depictions of human sexuality.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow near I did not look,
I wakened was with thund’ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
That fearful sound of “fire” and “fire,”
Let no man know is my Desire.
I, starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To straighten me in my Distress
And not to leave me succourless.
Who wrote the poem from which this passage is adapted?
In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow near I did not look,
I wakened was with thund’ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
That fearful sound of “fire” and “fire,”
Let no man know is my Desire.
I, starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To straighten me in my Distress
And not to leave me succourless.
Who wrote the poem from which this passage is adapted?
Anne Bradstreet wrote “Verses Upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666,” as well as many other early poems. Bradstreet, the first female author to be published in America, lived in the seventeenth century and is known for including her Puritan ideals in her poetry.
Passage adapted from "Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666" (1666)
Anne Bradstreet wrote “Verses Upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666,” as well as many other early poems. Bradstreet, the first female author to be published in America, lived in the seventeenth century and is known for including her Puritan ideals in her poetry.
Passage adapted from "Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666" (1666)
Compare your answer with the correct one above
The Song of Hiawatha
"On the shores of Gitche Gumee,
Of the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood Nokomis, the old woman,
Pointing with her finger westward,
O'er the water pointing westward,
To the purple clouds of sunset."
Who wrote the poem from which these lines are taken?
The Song of Hiawatha
"On the shores of Gitche Gumee,
Of the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood Nokomis, the old woman,
Pointing with her finger westward,
O'er the water pointing westward,
To the purple clouds of sunset."
Who wrote the poem from which these lines are taken?
“The Song of Hiawatha” is one of Longfellow’s best known poems. Published in 1855 and written in trochaic tetrameter, it is an epic that follows the life and adventures of Hiawatha, a Native-American hero.
“The Song of Hiawatha” is one of Longfellow’s best known poems. Published in 1855 and written in trochaic tetrameter, it is an epic that follows the life and adventures of Hiawatha, a Native-American hero.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
But how presumptuous shall we hope to find
Divine acceptance with the Almighty mind
While yet a deed ungenerous they disgrace
And hold in bondage Afric's blameless race
Let virtue reign and then accord our prayers
Be victory ours and generous freedom theirs.
Based on the subject matter of this excerpt, the author of the poem is most likely to be which of the following?
But how presumptuous shall we hope to find
Divine acceptance with the Almighty mind
While yet a deed ungenerous they disgrace
And hold in bondage Afric's blameless race
Let virtue reign and then accord our prayers
Be victory ours and generous freedom theirs.
Based on the subject matter of this excerpt, the author of the poem is most likely to be which of the following?
This excerpt, taken from a eulogy to an American general, was written by the female poet, Phillis Wheatley. An African slave, Wheatley was well educated and wrote on a variety of topics—everything from slavery to infant mortality. She favored couplets in her work and was the first African-American to publish a book.
This excerpt, taken from a eulogy to an American general, was written by the female poet, Phillis Wheatley. An African slave, Wheatley was well educated and wrote on a variety of topics—everything from slavery to infant mortality. She favored couplets in her work and was the first African-American to publish a book.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
In the Desert
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, “Is it good, friend?”
“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;
“But I like it
“Because it is bitter,
“And because it is my heart.”
Which American author wrote this poem?
In the Desert
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, “Is it good, friend?”
“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;
“But I like it
“Because it is bitter,
“And because it is my heart.”
Which American author wrote this poem?
This poem was written by Stephen Crane. It was published in 1895, as part of his poetry collection The Black Riders and Other Lines. Historically, Crane’s poetry has received less attention than his prose, among which is the famous American novel The Red Badge of Courage, but this particular poem is often discussed among scholars and has served as the epigraph to several later works of fiction.
This poem was written by Stephen Crane. It was published in 1895, as part of his poetry collection The Black Riders and Other Lines. Historically, Crane’s poetry has received less attention than his prose, among which is the famous American novel The Red Badge of Courage, but this particular poem is often discussed among scholars and has served as the epigraph to several later works of fiction.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
Which American author wrote this poem?
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
Which American author wrote this poem?
Written by Walt Whitman in 1865 (and popularized by the movie, Dead Poets Society), this iconic American elegy eulogizes Abraham Lincoln, compaings him to a stalwart ship captain. “O Captain! My Captain!” is included in later editions of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and often accompanies another Whitman elegy for Lincoln, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.”
Written by Walt Whitman in 1865 (and popularized by the movie, Dead Poets Society), this iconic American elegy eulogizes Abraham Lincoln, compaings him to a stalwart ship captain. “O Captain! My Captain!” is included in later editions of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and often accompanies another Whitman elegy for Lincoln, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.”
Compare your answer with the correct one above
“So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.”
These lines conclude an American poem titled “Thanatopsis.” Who is the author?
“So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.”
These lines conclude an American poem titled “Thanatopsis.” Who is the author?
“Thanatopsis” was published in 1817 by the early American poet, William Cullen Bryant. As its Greek title indicates, the poem is an extended meditation on death (Thantos = "death" in Greek).
“Thanatopsis” was published in 1817 by the early American poet, William Cullen Bryant. As its Greek title indicates, the poem is an extended meditation on death (Thantos = "death" in Greek).
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Hear the sledges with the bells,
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars, that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells—
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
This stanza is from a poem by which poet?
Hear the sledges with the bells,
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars, that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells—
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
This stanza is from a poem by which poet?
This poem is Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Bells.” Known also for his short fiction, much of which has a macabre tone and a preoccupation with human mortality, Poe wrote “The Bells” with the aid of literary devices such as onomatopoeia, metaphor, and diacope. It was published posthumously.
This poem is Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Bells.” Known also for his short fiction, much of which has a macabre tone and a preoccupation with human mortality, Poe wrote “The Bells” with the aid of literary devices such as onomatopoeia, metaphor, and diacope. It was published posthumously.
Compare your answer with the correct one above