Rhythm and Rhyme: The Poetry Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
2 min
Rhythm and Rhyme: The Poetry Quiz
Image: Nathan Benn/Corbis via Getty Images

About This Quiz

Poetry may seem simple, but if you take a closer look, you'll see the attention to form, detail, meter and rhyme that make classic poems so unforgettable. Take our quiz to see how much you know about the art and practice of poetry.
What type of poem is Shakespeare best known for?
epic
sonnet
limerick
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Shakespeare wrote more than 150 sonnets between 1593 and 1601, then published the collection as a group in 1609.

How many lines does a sonnet have?
10
12
14
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A sonnet consists of 14 lines, and the rhyming scheme can vary. Sonnets with those 14 lines grouped as four, four, four and two are known as Shakespearean sonnets.

What do you call a poem where the first letter of each line spells a word or phrase when read vertically?
acrostic
aubade
anagram
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The first letter in each line of an acrostic spells a word or phrase. Lewis Carroll's "A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky" is an example of this.

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What does every didactic poem have?
12 lines
no rhyming
a moral
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Didactic poetry is known for its strong lesson or moral. John Milton's "Paradise Lost" is one famous example.

What type of poetry was Virgil known for?
Georgic
Gothic
Gnomic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ancient poet Virgil was famous for his Georgic works, which were often instructional and covered agriculture and other rural topics.

How many lines are in a haiku?
one
three
five
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A haiku consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first and third lines and seven syllables in the second line.

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What country did landays originate in?
Greece
Afghanistan
China
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Landays are a form of folk poetry native to Afghanistan. They consist of a simple couplet with a total of 22 syllables.

How many lines are in a limerick?
three
four
five
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A limerick consists of five lines with an AABBA rhyming scheme.

How many lines make up a quatrain?
two
three
four
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A quatrain consists of four lines, though the rhyming pattern and meter can vary between works.

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Where did the tanka style of poetry originate?
Japan
Vietnam
Cambodia
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A tanka is a Japanese poem similar to the haiku that has five lines with five syllables in the first and third lines and seven syllables in each of the remaining lines.

What of these rhyming schemes is known as common measure?
ABBA
ABAB
AAAA
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Common measure incorporates the traditional ABAB rhyming pattern. This measure can be found in many poems by Emily Dickinson and in Rudyard Kipling's "The Benefactors."

What country produced the world's longest poem?
China
Russia
India
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

With more than 1.8 million words, India epic "The Mahabharata" is the world's longest poem.

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When was the "Epic of Gilgamesh" first recorded?
12th century B.C.E.
3rd century C.E.
12th century C.E.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The epic poem about a Sumerian king dates back to around 2100 B.C.E. It was compiled onto cuneiform tablets around the 12th century B.C.E., making it one of the oldest known poems.

How old is the world's oldest known love poem?
6000 years
4000 years
2000 years
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A Sumerian love poem, romantically titled "Istanbul No. 2461," dates back to around 2030 B.C.E.

What year was magnetic poetry invented?
1973
1983
1993
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Believe it or not, it wasn't until 1993 that songwriter Dave Kapell came up with the idea for magnetic poetry.

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What month is celebrated as National Poetry Month in the U.S.?
February
April
July
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Since 1996, the Academy of American Poets has designated April as National Poetry Month.

What year was the first poet laureate of the United States selected?
1985
1995
2005
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Starting in 1937, the U.S. entrusted its poetic interests to a consultant of poetry, which evolved into the title of poet laureate in 1985.

Who appoints the poet laureate of the United States?
president
first lady
Librarian of Congress
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sorry Mr. President — the appointment of the poet laureate is left up to the Librarian of Congress.

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True or false: The poet laureate position is unpaid.
true
false
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Poet laureates earn a stipend of $35,000 per year thanks to an endowment established by Archer Milton Huntington.

What style of poetry is Allen Ginsberg best known for?
epic
Beat
didactic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and other Beat poets were known for their free verse, jazz-influenced style.

What style of poetry originated in Switzerland around 1916?
spondee
aubade
Dada
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dada poetry was a precursor to surrealism that originated in Switzerland in 1916. Both T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound are associated with this style.

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True or false: There is a style of poetry called flarf.
true
false
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Flarf started as an internet joke in the '90s but is now considered a legitimate poetic form in which writers are inspired by bizarre online searches.

What is the most common poetic meter called?
iamb
triamb
quadramb
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The iamb meter is the most common rhythm used in poetry. It consists of unaccented syllables followed directly by accented ones.

How many syllables are in a foot?
two
six
12
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In poetry, a foot consists of two syllables, generally including one accented syllable and one unaccented.

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How many feet are in a pentameter?
five
10
12
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A pentameter consists of five feet, for a total of ten syllables. It is among the most common metrical lines in English poetry.

How many syllables are in Poulter's measure?
13
26
51
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Poulter's measure consists of two rhyming lines with a total of 26 syllables — the first with 12 syllables and the second with 14.

What do you call a foot in which both syllables are accented?
sponge
spondee
pyrrhic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A foot in which both syllables are accented is a spondee. "Hog wild" is one common example of this.

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What is the opposite of spondee?
spondoo
aubade
pyrrhic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pyrrhic meter was common in classic Greek poetry and consists of a foot in which both syllables are unaccented.

What are aubade style poems about?
money
dawn
death
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

An aubade is a poem dedicated to or lamenting the dawn.

What style of poem has ABCD rhyming quatrains and alternating three-stress and four-stress lines?
ballad
epic
dada
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ballad-style poems follow this form. Edgar Allen Poe's "Annabel Lee" is a popular example of a ballad.

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You Got:
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