Quizology.Online

Tag: poetry

  • Born and Raised—Answers

    The answers to my earlier questions are shown below.

    The following questions relate to people born on 18 March.

    Grover Cleveland.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    Born 1980. Actress who links the following roles: Penelope (in 2004), Isolde (2006), Erika (2003 and 2006), Darcy (2014) and Freya (2008). Who is she? 

    1. Rose Keegan
    2. Sophia Myles
    3. Lucy Russell

    Answer: 2. Sophia Myles.

    Sophia Myles, an English actress, who portrayed the following characters in the associated film. Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in Thunderbirds(2004), Isolde in Tristan & Isolde(2006), Darcy in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Erika in Underworld(2003) and Underworld: Evolution (2006), and Freya in Outlander (2008)”

    Two

    Born 1837, Grover Cleveland, served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Where was he born? 

    1. Amherst, New Hampshire 
    2. Brighton, New York 
    3. Caldwell, New Jersey

    Answer: 3. Caldwell, New Jersey.

    Stephen Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, was the first Democrat elected after the Civil War and the first president to serve non-consecutive terms. A Bourbon Democrat, he championed political reform, fiscal conservatism and classical liberalism. His presidency was marked by significant legislation like the Interstate Commerce Act and the Dawes Act, as well as challenges like the Panic of 1893 and the Pullman Strike.

    Three

    Anthem for Doomed Youth was written by a war poet born this day in 1893. Who was he? 

    1. Rupert Brook 
    2. Wilfred Owen 
    3. Siegfried Sassoon

    Answer: 2. Wilfred Owen.

    Wilfred Owen, an English poet and soldier, expressed anger at war’s cruelty and waste through his poetry. Based on his World War I experiences, his war poetry was about the horrors of trenches and gas warfare. At only 25 years of age, he was killed in action at the Battle of the Sambre on 4 November 1918, exactly a week before the war’s end. His best-known works— most of which were published posthumously— are Anthem for Doomed Youth, Dulce et Decorum est, Futility, and Spring Offensive. 

    Four

    Who is Dana Elaine Owens, born 18 March 1970, a musician and actress, better known as?

    1. Lauryn Hill
    2. Missy Elliott
    3. Queen Latifah 

    Answer: 3. Queen Latifah.

    An American musician and actress, Queen Latifah rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album, All Hail the Queen, which blended diverse styles and feminist themes. The name Latifah is Arabic for ‘delicate’ or ‘sensitive’.

    Five

    Born today in 1869, this British prime minister returned from Germany with a ‘piece of paper’ promising to ‘have brought you back peace — but a peace I hope with honour’. Who was he? 

    1. Stanley Baldwin  
    2. Neville Chamberlain 
    3. Winston Churchill 

    Answer: 2. Neville Chamberlain.

    Prime Minister of the UK from 1937 to 1940 Neville Chamberlain is known for his policy of appeasement towards Hitler’s Germany. He served in various government positions, including Chancellor of the Exchequer, before becoming Prime Minister. Despite signing the Munich Agreement with Hitler in 1938, Chamberlain declared war on Germany less than a year later following the Nazi invasion of Poland.

  • Born and Raised

    The following questions relate to people born on 18 March.

    Grover Cleveland.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    Born 1980. Actress who links the following roles: Penelope (in 2004), Isolde (2006), Erika (2003 and 2006), Darcy (2014) and Freya (2008). Who is she? 

    1. Rose Keegan
    2. Sophia Myles
    3. Lucy Russell

    Two

    Born 1837, Grover Cleveland, served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Where was he born? 

    1. Amherst, New Hampshire 
    2. Brighton, New York 
    3. Caldwell, New Jersey

    Three

    Anthem for Doomed Youth was written by a war poet born this day in 1893. Who was he? 

    1. Rupert Brook 
    2. Wilfred Owen 
    3. Siegfried Sassoon

    Four

    Who is Dana Elaine Owens, born 18 March 1970, a musician and actress, better known as?

    1. Lauryn Hill
    2. Missy Elliott
    3. Queen Latifah 

    Five

    Born today in 1869, this British prime minister returned from Germany with a ‘piece of paper’ promising to ‘have brought you back peace — but a peace I hope with honour’. Who was he? 

    1. Stanley Baldwin  
    2. Neville Chamberlain 
    3. Winston Churchill 

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • Four Births and a Funeral—Answers

    Here are the answers to the questions I posted earlier.

    Five questions which consist of four births on this date, February 21st, and one death.

    Robert Mugabe, 1995.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    Born in 1924, Robert Mugabe served as the first prime minister of which African country from 1980 to 1987 and then as president from 1987 to 2017?

    Answer: Zimbabwe

    Robert Mugabe, a prominent Black nationalist leader, served as Zimbabwe’s prime minister (1980–87) and president (1987–2017). He resigned in 2017 after 37 years in power, facing pressure to prevent his wife from succeeding him.

    Two

    Born on this day, Barbara Jordan became the first African American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives from the South. In what year did she join the House?

    Answer: 1972.

    Barbara Jordan was a lawyer, educator and politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas. She was the first African American congresswoman from the South and gained national prominence during the Watergate scandal. After retiring from Congress, she taught at the University of Texas and remained influential in political affairs.

    Three

    Which poem by W. H. Auden, written in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II, famously opens with the line ‘I sit in one of the dives / On Fifty-second Street’?

    Answer: September 1, 1939

    Although it became one of his most quoted works—especially after major global crises—Auden later grew dissatisfied with the poem and even excluded it from some of his collected editions.

    Four

    Born in Linares, Spain in 1893, the Marquis of Salobreña was a celebrated musician and composer. What was his name and on which instrument was he renowned for his performances?

    Answers: Andrés Segovia; Guitar.

    Andrés Segovia, a Spanish classical guitarist, was a pivotal figure in the 20th century, known for re-establishing the guitar as a concert instrument. He significantly influenced the modern-romantic repertoire through commissions and transcriptions, and his expressive performances and distinctive style are highly remembered. Segovia’s career began in Granada in 1909, with notable performances in Madrid in 1912, Paris in 1924, and New York in 1928. His work inspired many composers to create specially composed pieces for the guitar.

    and finally…

    Five

    In 2018, a prominent American Christian evangelist, born in North Carolina 99 years earlier, passed away in the same state.  He organised annual crusades drawing huge crowds eager to hear his preaching. His website boasts live audiences of at least 210 million people across over 185 countries and territories.  He was also known for rebuking a US president for profanity.  Who was this evangelist and which US president did he rebuke?

    Answer: Billy Graham; Richard Nixon.

    Graham rebuked Nixon for his behaviour regarding Watergate and for his profanity as heard on the Watergate tapes. Billy Graham, a prominent American evangelist, gained international influence through his crusades and media presence. He advocated for racial integration, supported the Civil Rights Movement, and founded the Lausanne Movement.

  • Four Births and a Funeral

    Five questions which consist of four births on this date, February 21st, and one death.

    Robert Mugabe, 1995.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    Born in 1924, Robert Mugabe served as the first prime minister of which African country from 1980 to 1987 and then as president from 1987 to 2017?

    Two

    Born on this day, Barbara Jordan became the first African American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives from the South. In what year did she join the House?

    Three

    Which poem by W. H. Auden, written in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II, famously opens with the line ‘I sit in one of the dives / On Fifty-second Street’?

    Four

    Born in Linares, Spain in 1893, the Marquis of Salobreña was a celebrated musician and composer. What was his name and on which instrument was he renowned for his performances?

    and finally…

    Five

    In 2018, a prominent American Christian evangelist, born in North Carolina 99 years earlier, passed away in the same state.  He organised annual crusades drawing huge crowds eager to hear his preaching. His website boasts live audiences of at least 210 million people across over 185 countries and territories.  He was also known for rebuking a US president for profanity.  Who was this evangelist and which US president did he rebuke?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • There’s a Theme Running Through It—Answers

    Here are the answers to the questions I posted earlier.

    Swallowtail.
    Image Wildlife Trusts

    One

    What is the largest butterfly in the UK? It has a ten-letter name and lives in the Norfolk Broads. 

    Answer: Swallowtail

    The swallowtail is the largest and most localised butterfly in the UK. Adults emerge from winter chrysalises, drying their wings in reedbeds before displaying their bright colours. Their swallow-like tails and false eye spots confuse predators. Even as caterpillars, they are striking, with bulging horns for defence and orange scent glands that release a pineapple-like odor when threatened.

    Two

    In what 1975 novel does IRA member Liam Devlin take part in a wartime plot to kidnap Winston Churchill?

    Answer: The Eagle Has Landed

    Irish Republican Liam Devlin and Joanna Grey, an Afrikaner woman and seasoned Abwehr agent residing in England, team up with German paratroopers to plan and execute the kidnapping of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

    Three

    In the 1955 film, To Catch a Thief (1955), who is seen sitting beside Cary Grant and a pair of caged birds on a bus? 

    Answer: Alfred Hitchcock

    Producer and director Alfred Hitchcock makes his signature cameo, approximately ten minutes into the film, as a bus passenger sitting next to Cary Grant and a caged pair of birds.

    Four

    What single answer satisfies all of the following: the title of Fleetwood Mac’s only number one hit on the UK Singles Chart; a significant being in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; and in golf, refers to a score of three strokes under par for a hole?

    Answer: Albatross

    Albatross is a guitar-based instrumental by Fleetwood Mac, composed by Peter Green. It was released as a single in 1968 and became their only number one single on the UK charts. The albatross that saves the ship by leading the way from the ice in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and is then shot; and the word used as an alternative to double eagle meaning a score of three strokes under par for a hole.

    A nesting pair of Macaroni penguins, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands.
    Image Wikipedia

    Five

    Eudyptes chrysolophus: part of this bird’s name is also a type of pasta. What pasta? 

    Answer: Macaroni 

    The macaroni penguin—Eudyptes chrysolophus—is a crested penguin with a distinctive yellow crest, it is the most numerous penguin species, with an estimated 18 million individuals. Despite its abundance, the species is vulnerable due to widespread population declines since the mid-1970s.

    Theme

    The theme was of course Birds. Question 1. swallow (from swallowtail); 2. Eagle; 3. Caged birds mentioned in the question plus Hitchcock was the director of The Birds; 4. Albatross and 5. penguin.

  • There’s a Theme Running Through It

    Today, a common thread weaves through five seemingly unrelated questions.

    Image Wildlife Trusts.

    One

    What is the largest butterfly in the UK? It has a ten-letter name and lives in the Norfolk Broads. 

    Two

    In what 1975 novel does IRA member Liam Devlin take part in a wartime plot to kidnap Winston Churchill?

    Three

    In the 1955 film, To Catch a Thief (1955), who is seen sitting beside Cary Grant and a pair of caged birds on a bus? 

    Four

    What single answer satisfies all of the following: the title of Fleetwood Mac’s only number one hit on the UK Singles Chart; a significant being in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; and in golf, refers to a score of three strokes under par for a hole?

    Five

    Eudyptes chrysolophus: part of this bird’s name is also a type of pasta. What pasta? 

    Good luck! The answers will be posted later.

  • Dress Sense—Answers

    Here are the answers to the questions from my earlier post.

    Ocelots are active especially during dawn and dusk.
    Image Wikipedia

    One

    Which fictional character habitually wears a charcoal turtleneck, Harris Tweed jacket, khakis and collegiate cordovan loafers; and which author created him?

    Answer: Robert Langdon (created by) Dan Brown

    Robert Langdon, a fictional character created by author Dan Brown for his Robert Langdon book series: Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003), The Lost Symbol (2009), Inferno (2013), Origin (2017), and The Secret of Secrets (2025). He is a Harvard University professor of Religious Iconology and Symbology (a fictional field).

    Tom Hanks portrays Langdon in the Robert Langdon film series; starting with the 2006 film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, reprising the role in the 2009 film adaptation of Angels & Demons, and again in the 2016 film adaptation of Inferno, while Ashley Zukerman plays a younger version of the character in the 2021 TV series adaptation of The Lost Symbol.

    Two

    Is it true or false that in zoology, a crepuscular animal is one which lives on a seashore in the areas between the high and low tide marks?

    Answer: False

    In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal (active during dawn), vespertine/vespertinal (active during dusk), or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behaviour, where an animal is active during the hours of daytime and of night, respectively. Some crepuscular animals may also be active by moonlight or during an overcast day.

    Stanley Baldwin.
    Image The Spectator

    Three

    Who was the British prime minister at the time of the abdication crisis, when King Edward VIII renounced the throne?

    Answer: Stanley Baldwin

    Baldwin served as Prime Minister from May 1935 to June 1937. He held office under three kings: George V, his eldest son Edward VIII, who abdicated and was succeeded by his brother Albert, who took the regnal name King George VI.
    In 1936, King Edward VIII’s proposed marriage to Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, caused a constitutional crisis. The British government and the Church of England, of which the monarch is head, opposed the marriage. Consequently Edward abdicated in favour of his brother.

    The Doors c. 1966: Jim Morrison (L), John Densmore (C), Robby Krieger (R), and Ray Manzarek (seated).
    Image Wikipedia

    Four

    The Doors chose their band name from a 1954 work by what author (1894-1963)?

    Answer: Aldous Huxley

    Morrison took the band’s name from Aldous Huxley’s book on mescaline, The Doors of Perception (1954), which in turn refers to a line in a poem by Romantic artist and writer William Blake.
    — Encyclopædia Britannica

    Five

    Can you name three players chosen for the European 2025 Ryder Cup team whose surnames begin with the same letter?

    Answer: Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Højgaard and Viktor Hovland

    The players are Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Højgaard, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka.

  • An A to Z Cornucopia of Trivia. Part V | Answers

    See #2 below. Laphroaig Distillery, Islay, Scotland.
    Geograph UK/Wikipedia

    As usual, the answers to my earlier questions are in bold below. But in a change from normal, I have decided to include the questions as well but will strike out the incorrect alternative answers. I am not sure if it will be permanent or not.

    Naulakha, Rudyard Kipling’s house. Wikipedia
    1. (V) In which state is Naulakha, the home built for Rudyard Kipling in 1892-93?
      • Veracruz, Mexico
      • Vermont, US—Naulakha, a historic Shingle Style house in Dummerston, Vermont, was built in 1893 and served as Rudyard Kipling’s home until 1896. During this time, Kipling wrote several notable works, including Captains Courageous and The Jungle Book. The house, named after the Naulakha Pavilion in Lahore, is now owned by the Landmark Trust and available for rent.
      • Virginia, US
      Islay distilleries. Pinterest UK
    2. (W) What are Caol Ila, Laphroaig and Rosebank?
      • Water (spring water)
      • Wine
      • Whisky—Malt whisky is made from malted barley and can be single malt if produced at a single distillery. Other malted grains can be used, but the whisky is then specified by the grain. Caol Ila and Laphroaig are both from the Isle of Islay, Scotland; Rosebank is a malt from the Scottish lowlands.
    3. (X) Which of these words is omitted from this poem’s opening lines?
      • Xagacía
      • Xai-xai
      • Xanadu—the quote is below and the complete poem is at the bottom of the post.

        In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
        A stately pleasure-dome decree:
        Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
        Through caverns measureless to man
        Down to a sunless sea.

    4. (Y) Which former Soviet republic capital is located on the Hrazdan River?
      • Yaounde
      • Yaren
      • Yerevan—the capital of Armenia, is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Founded in 782 BC as the fortress of Erebuni, it has served as Armenia’s capital since 1918. Yerevan is a cultural and industrial centre, home to numerous landmarks, museums and theatres.
    5. (Z) What activity consisting of rolling downhill inside an orb, typically made of transparent plastic, pictured, is taking place here?
      • Zooming
      • Zorbing—or globe-riding, involves rolling downhill inside a transparent plastic orb. There are two types of orbs: harnessed for one to two riders and non-harnessed for up to three riders.
      • Zowing
    Zorbing Wikipedia

    Kubla Khan

    By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

    Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.

    In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
    A stately pleasure-dome decree:
    Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
    Through caverns measureless to man
    Down to a sunless sea.
    So twice five miles of fertile ground
    With walls and towers were girdled round;
    And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
    Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
    And here were forests ancient as the hills,
    Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

    But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
    Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
    A savage place! as holy and enchanted
    As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
    By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
    And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
    As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
    A mighty fountain momently was forced:
    Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
    Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
    Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:
    And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
    It flung up momently the sacred river.
    Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
    Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
    Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
    And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;
    And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
    Ancestral voices prophesying war!
    The shadow of the dome of pleasure
    Floated midway on the waves;
    Where was heard the mingled measure
    From the fountain and the caves.
    It was a miracle of rare device,
    A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

    A damsel with a dulcimer
    In a vision once I saw:
    It was an Abyssinian maid
    And on her dulcimer she played,
    Singing of Mount Abora.
    Could I revive within me
    Her symphony and song,
    To such a deep delight ’twould win me,
    That with music loud and long,
    I would build that dome in air,
    That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
    And all who heard should see them there,
    And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
    His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
    Weave a circle round him thrice,
    And close your eyes with holy dread
    For he on honey-dew hath fed,
    And drunk the milk of Paradise.

  • An A to Z Cornucopia of Trivia. Part V

    Some trivia related to the letters V to Z.

    1. V) In which state is Naulakha, the home built for Rudyard Kipling in 1892-93?
      • Veracruz, Mexico
      • Vermont, US
      • Virginia, US
    2. (W) What are Caol Ila, Laphroaig and Rosebank?
      • Water (spring water )—
      • Wine
      • Whisky
    3. (X) Which of these words is omitted from this poem’s opening lines?
      • Xagacía
      • Xai-xai
      • Xanadu

        In ___ did Kubla Khan
        A stately pleasure-dome decree:
        Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
        Through caverns measureless to man
        Down to a sunless sea.

    4. (Y) Which former Soviet republic capital is located on the Hrazdan River?
      • Yaounde
      • Yaren
      • Yerevan
    5. (Z) What activity consisting of rolling downhill inside an orb, typically made of transparent plastic, pictured, is taking place here?
      • Zooming
      • Zorbing
      • Zowing

    Zorbing Wikipedia

  • An A to Z Cornucopia of Trivia. Part II | Answers

    Freesia. Wikipedia
    1. (F) Freesia—Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants native to eastern southern Africa. Cultivated hybrids of Freesia species are commonly known as “freesias” and grown as ornamental plants.
    2. (G) Golden Cap—Golden Cap, a hill and cliff in Dorset, England, is the highest point near the south coast of Great Britain. It is owned by the National Trust and part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.
      H.G. Wells by George Charles Beresford, 1920. Wikipedia
    3. (H) H.G. Wells—Half a Sixpence is a 1963 musical comedy based on H.G. Wells’s novel Kipps. The show, tailored for Tommy Steele, follows Arthur Kipps, an orphan who inherits a fortune and learns that money can’t buy happiness.
    4. (I) Ireland—In May 1915, the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner, was sunk by the German submarine U-20, 11 miles (18 km) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland. This tragic event resulted in the loss of 1,197 lives, including passengers, crew, and stowaways. The sinking significantly boosted American support for entering World War I.
    5. (J) J. Alfred Prufrock—The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is T. S. Eliot’s first published poem, reflecting the title character’s thoughts in stream-of-consciousness style. Initially considered outlandish, it is now seen as a landmark in the shift from Romanticism to Modernism in poetry.
      Regarding the wrong alternative answers: J. Bruce Ismay was the chairman of the White Star Line, the owners of the Titanic. He faced criticism and was branded a coward after surviving the sinking. J. Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the FBI. He served in that role in the predecessor organisation, the BOI, and the FBI for a total of 48 years.
    RMS Lusitania. See #4 above. Wikipedia