Think you’re a poetry expert? You might think you know everything about poetry, especially if you read and write it regularly. Chances are, you have a couple famous poets that inspire you and keep you motivated to write your own poetry. But how well do you really know them? Do you think you can match the famous poet to one of their most famous poems? What about if we only give you the very last line of the poem? There’s one way to find out!
1.
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
2.
I say, I know that you’re there,
so don’t be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he’s singing a little
in there, I haven’t quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it’s nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don’t
weep, do
you?
3.
Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
4.
Whose pallid burden, sick with pain, watches
the world with wearied eyes,
And weeps for every soul that dies, and weeps
for every soul in vain.
5.
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
A. Charles Bukowski – Bluebird
B. Oscar Wilde – The Sphinx
C. e. e. cummings – i carry your heart with me
D. William Wordsworth – I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
E. Sylvia Plath – Lady Lazarus
Answer Key:
- C
- A
- E
- B
- D
How did you do? Think you have what it takes to write a poem that will go down in history? Go ahead and take a stab at it! If you like what you write, consider submitting it to our poetry contest and show your work to the world!