CliffsNotes on

American Poets of the 20th Century

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How to Analyze Poetry

Context of the Poem
Style of the Poem
Title of the Poem
Repetition in the Poem
Opening and Closing Lines of the Poem
Passage of Time in the Poem
Speaker of the Poem
Basic Details of the Poem
Culture
Fantasy versus Reality
Mood and Tone of the Poem
Themes of the Poem
Rhythm of the Poem
Use of the Senses in the Poem
Imagery in the Poem
Language of the Poem
Supplemental Materials
Drawing Conclusions

The Poets

Edgar Lee Masters (1868–1950)
Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935)
Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Amy Lowell (1874–1925)
Carl Sandburg (1878–1967)
Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)
Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
H. D. (1886–1961)
Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)
Marianne Moore (1887–1972)
T. S. Eliot (1888–1965)
John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)
Jean Toomer (1894–1967)
Louise Bogan (1897–1970)
Hart Crane (1899–1933)
Allen Tate (1899–1979)
Sterling Brown (1901–1989)
Langston Hughes (1902–1967)
Countée Cullen (1903–1946)
Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979)
John Berryman (1914–1972)
Randall Jarrell (1914–1965)
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000)
Robert Lowell (1917 — 1977)
Richard Wilbur (1921– )
James Dickey (1923–1997)
Denise Levertov (1923–1997)
A. R. Ammons (1926–2001)
Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997)
W. S. Merwin (1927– )
James Wright (1927–1980)
Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
Adrienne Rich (1929– )
Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)
Amiri Baraka (1934– )
Wendy Rose (1948– )
Joy Harjo (1951– )
Rita Dove (1952– )
Cathy Song (1955– )

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1:  The prissy protagonist who's named in T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of . . . " is

a. Eben Flood

b. Huffy Henry

c. J. Alfred Prufrock

d. Langston Hughes


2:  In addition to his considerable contributions to literature, William Carlos Williams managed a 41-year career as a(n)

a. actor and theater production publicist

b. physician

c. minister

d. banker


3:  Ezra Pound's "A Virginal" is named after

a. a small Renaissance keyboard instrument

b. an ornate vessel used in religious ceremony

c. a ceremony in which maidens meet the men their parents have arranged as marital partners

d. a book by Ernest Hemingway


4:  Anne Sexton had personal experience as all of the following, except

a. college dropout

b. religious leader

c. jazz singer

d. fashion model


5:  The full name of the poet who preferred the pen name of H.D. is

a. Henry Drago

b. Harley Davidson

c. Heather Drake

d. Hilda Doolittle


6:  Robert Lowell's "Memories of West Street and Lepke" shares a first-person account of

a. the poet's childhood

b. Lowell's incarceration

c. a harpist's performance

d. the family business in which Lowell worked as a teenager


7:  Wendy Rose sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of

a. Zelda E.

b. Anne Sexton

c. Bronwen Elizabeth Edwards

d. Chiron Khanshendel


8:  As a poet, Richard Wilbur stands out among his contemporaries because of what characteristic?

a. His habit of repeating specific verses within a work

b. His use of foreign words

c. His cheerful mood

d. The harsh, satiric tone he took in his poetry


9:  In "Here Lies a Lady," the poet speaks through the mask of

a. a courtly gentleman

b. a crazed lover

c. a genderless observer

d. an emotional mourner


10:  How many Pulitzer Prizes for poetry did Robert Frost win in his lifetime?

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. 4


11:  In "Picture Bride," Cathy Song draws inspiration from which modern painter?

a. Andrew Wyeth

b. Georgia O'Keefe

c. Henri Matisse

d. Pablo Picasso


12:  At age 21 (in 1920), Hart Crane made his first cash sale with

a. "My Grandmother's Love Letters"

b. "October-November"

c. "White Buildings"

d. "Immortal Outcasts"


13:  Gwendolyn Brooks sets the tone in "We Real Cool" with what now-popular musical form?

a. Jazz

b. Country

c. Rock

d. Rap


14:  An American haiku, "Fog" by Carl Sandburg invites readers to relate their personal experiences with fog and

a. moonlight

b. difficult math problems

c. cats


15:  The memorable line, "O world, I cannot hold thee close enough" comes from an inventive, self-revelation written by

a. Denise Levertov

b. Edna St. Vincent Millay

c. Maya Angelou

d. H.D.





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