The Outerview Series: Part XVI - Poetry Exam

 1. What is poetry?

   a) Emotive writing.
   b) Profound writing.
   c) Humorous writing.
   d) Memorable speech.

2.  Is a line more or less rhythmic as it goes along?

3.  Does one scan poems from left to right or from right to left.

4.  Can we replace all the accented syllables in a foot with unaccented ones?  Or all the unaccented syllables in a foot with with accented ones?

5.  Hard sounds add pop, kick, or "toot", especially before a vowel rather than at the end of a syllable, but do they raise, lower, or not affect the tension level?

6.  Hypermetrical syllables are those before (anacrusis) or after (hypercatalectic) the meter.  Do they typically use hard or soft sounds? 

7.  Is Blake's "Tyger" iambic or is it trochaic?

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, 
In the forests of the night; 
What immortal hand or eye, 
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies. 
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat.
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp.
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears 
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

8.  Is "The Red Wheel Barrow" by W.C. Willams metrical or not (e.g. free verse)?

So much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.

9.  Are all song lyrics poetry or does their content matter?

10.  Does assonance (or consonance) apply only to accented syllables?

11.  In English prosody does quantity (i.e. line duration) matter more in spoken verse or songs?

12.  Metrical verse usually uses one cadence.  Free verse uses rhythm strings.  Which uses more substitutions?

13.  What is terminal dieresis?  What is its effect?

14.  Can the same words be both poetry and prose?  If so, how?  If not, why not?

15.  When and why did poetry (other than song lyrics) die?

16.  In what meter is Gordon Lightfoots "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"?

17.  What is unusual about "Tecumseh?

"Tecumseh" by EG
(aka "Shooting Star" or "Panther that Crouches in Wait")

You, Canadian? The greatest
American? You fought to be neither,
but nor were you panther
that crouches in wait. You were egret,
your feet in the mud as you stood
above weeds. Both

your fathers would leave you
to war. Brock would say no more
valorous warrior exists. Sure
as apple trees bud, the pleas
of a peacemaker can't be imparted
while even your traplines
have got to be guarded. Time

is gravity, a shooting star descending. Time
is charity; too soon you'll see it ending.

The cities were the bellows of the wind
that blew at Prophetstown,
across the rivers,
over you. Gray wolves surround the egret.
Foxes slink
away, their turn tail coats the colour of your blood.

You'd say: "Sing your death song and then die
like a hero returning home." Yours was the song
of that egret, your life
like a burning poem.

18. Cryptocrappers abide by Earl Gray's 2nd Law:  "If you can't be profound be vague."  Everyone else goes by Earl's 12th Law, which is:

   "___ __ __ __________ ___ _______."?

19. What is the Egoless Motto?  Hint: 

 "If you don't think your poetry is competing against the works of others

  ___'__ ________ _____."

20. What is The Elizabeth Alexander Rule?  Hint:  

 "Poetry's only selling point is that it is _______ ____ ____ ___."