BellaOnline Forums Books and Music Poetry Name That Poet and Poem

Can you name the poet who wrote the line, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood"? Of course, it's Robert Frost and the poem is "The Road Not Taken." I would like to start a game that might require a little Googling but would be fun, entertaining, and educational. Here's how it works:

I will start by quoting a line from poem, and then the next poster simply tells the poet's name and title of the poem. Sometimes you will know the line immediately, but other times you will need to Google it. That's perfectly fine! That way you will learn who wrote the line, if you did not know. After you answer, you place a quotation on, and so on. It's also OK to look up quotations to place on the forum.

Let see if this will work! Since I've never tried it before, I don't know, but I thought it's worth a try. So I'll start.

Here is the line, "It powders all the Wood." Who is the poet? What is the title of the poem?

Thanks for playing!

I think this will be fun. By playing the game, I can learn lots of poems.

Answer:
Emily Dickinson, "It Sifts from Leaden Sieves".

Next:
Here is the line, "The sleeps of trees or dreams of herbs." Who is the poet? What is the title of the poem?

Thanks, Sandra! I can learn too. Had to look this one up.

Answer: Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Transition"

Next: Title of poem, name of poet?
"When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table"

Next: Title of poem, name of poet?
"When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table"

TS Eliot, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock

I remember reading this in an English class and being drawn to it, but also completely mystified. Love the rhythm of the very simple first line . . . Let us go then, you and I

Next: Title of poem, name of poet?
"Why were you born when the snow was falling?
You should have come to the cuckoo's calling"

Thank you for playing, Mona! Yes, "Prufrock" is a fascinating poem.

"Why were you born when the snow was falling?
You should have come to the cuckoo's calling"
Answer: Christina Rossetti's "Dirge"

Next: Title of poem? Name of poet?
"Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies"

"Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies"

Answer: Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson

It is interesting that it is a hymn. I never thought of poetry in that way before.

Next:
Half monarch, half shadow, the tree aspires to the sky

"Half monarch, half shadow, the tree aspires to the sky"
Answer: "Horses on the Grass" by Grace Schulman
What an interesting technique! You think it's going to be about horses, and you float right over the foreshadowing line about the silver maple. Great find, Sandra! I posted it to Facebook because it reminded me of the silver maple my sister and I grew up with. Unfortunately, it died recently. Sad for both of us. Especially for her because she still lives on the farm where we grew up, and she sees its stump every day!

Next:

my cat met me
and licked my fins
till they were hands again

"my cat met me
and licked my fins
till they were hands again"

Answer: "On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High" by D.C. Berry

I read the paraphrase on this when I looked it up. I had to read it a second time to grasp the meaning.

Next:
"When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears"

I've always loved the playfulness of D. C. Berry's poem. I've always thought it would be a great poem to teach technique in use of metaphor.

"When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears"
Answer: William Blake's "The Tyger"

I recognized the lines but had to look to see which poem it was from.

Next:
"They also serve who only stand and waite."

"They also serve who only stand and waite."

Answer: "On His Blindness" by John Milton

I basically grasp his meaning and I like how he expresses that he has much to give even though he is blind.

Linda Sue, these lines I have a hard time grasping. What is your interpretation?

"And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent"

Next:

"Windows and watermelons march down the street
The air is nobody"