Authors, Poetry, and Contexts Practice Flashcards

A set of practice flashcards covering the lives and works of poets Billy Collins, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Walt Whitman, as well as Native American storytelling and poetic technical terms.

What title was Billy Collins known by in America, and what years did he serve as the US Poet Laureate?

He was known as the most popular poet in America and served as the US Poet Laureate from 2001-2003.

What is the poetic style of Billy Collins as seen in Forgetfulness?

He writes in the Postmodern tradition, using humor, irony, and everyday observation to explore memory, aging, and identity.

How many poems did Emily Dickinson craft, and how many were published during her lifetime?

She crafted nearly 1,800 poems, but fewer than 20 were published in her lifetime.

In what way did Emily Dickinson answer questions about her religious status at the Mount Holyoke Female academy?

She was resolute in her consistent answer of "no hope" regarding her religious status.

What specific tradition did Robert Frost like to follow, similar to Billy Collins?

Frost liked to portray ordinary people in everyday situations.

How many times was Robert Frost awarded the Pulitzer prize for poetry, and in what years?

He was awarded it four times: 1924, 1931, 1937, and 1943.

Which poem did Robert Frost recite at President Kennedy's inauguration in 1961?

The Gift Outright

How did Walt Whitman's experience in New Orleans influence his later activities in Brooklyn?

After witnessing a slave auction, he returned to Brooklyn and founded The Brooklyn Freeman.

What characterizes the overall consistency in Walt Whitman's work?

An emphasis on the importance of self-determination to human dignity.

Which Native American group before 1492 was a notable exception to the rule of oral culture by having a written language system?

The Aztecs

Who recorded the version of The Iroquois Creation Story found in the textbook, and what tribe was he a member of?

David Cusick, who was a member of the Tuscorora tribe.

According to literary scholar Terry Eagleton, what is a poem?

A fictional, verbally inventive moral statement in which it is the author, rather than the printer or word processor, who describes where the lines should end.

In poetic meter, what is the difference between iambic and trochaic feet?

Iambic is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (da-DUM), whereas trochaic is a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (DA-dum).

What are the characteristics of a Sonnet?

A poem that has 14 lines of iambic pentameter, usually following a specific rhyme scheme.

What is the structure of Common Meter, often used by Emily Dickinson?

It alternates lines of iambic tetrameter (four feet) and iambic trimeter (three feet).

How is Free Verse defined, and which authors in the transcript are associated with it?

A style of poetry that does not follow set patterns of meter or stanza length; it is used by Walt Whitman and Billy Collins.

What is the difference between eye rhyme and slant rhyme?

Eye rhyme is based on spelling rather than pronunciation (e.g., through and rough), while slant rhyme features words with similar but not identical sounds (e.g., heart and star).

What is the rhyme scheme of Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken?

ABAAB

Define Alliteration, Consonance, and Assonance as used in poetry.

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds; Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds anywhere in words; Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within words.

What is the definition of Lyric Poetry?

A concentrated form of verse that captures personal emotions, thoughts, or reflections rather than telling a long story.

List the Greco-Roman allusions found in Billy Collins's poem Forgetfulness.

The Muses, the river Lethe, planets named for Roman gods, and the quadratic equation.

What abstract concept is personified in Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop for Death?

Death is personified and given human characteristics.