GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of World Poetry
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #6 : Contexts Of World Poetry After 1925
Who is the author of the poetry collection titled Unattainable Earth?
Tristan Tzara
Osip Mandelstam
János Pilinszky
Czesław Miłosz
Joseph Brodsky
Czesław Miłosz
This is the Nobel Prize-winning Eastern European poet Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004). In addition to Unattainable Earth (1984), he is also known for his collections City Without a Name (1969), Native Realm (1959), and Road-side Dog (1997) as well as for a famous anti-Stalin nonfiction work, The Captive Mind (1953).
Example Question #7 : Contexts Of World Poetry After 1925
The writer of Unattainable Earth was known for several collaborative English translations with which American poet?
Frank O’Hara
Robert Hass
Gary Snyder
James Wright
Robert Lowell
Robert Hass
Along with poet Robert Pinksy, Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass (1941-present) is known for his translations of Miłosz’s works, including Provinces (1991), Facing the River (1995), The Separate Notebooks (1984), and Road-Side Dog (1997).
Example Question #8 : Contexts Of World Poetry After 1925
Which of the following poets is not a contemporary of the author of Unattainable Earth?
Stanisław Barańczak
Wisława Szymborska
Zbigniew Herbert
Jan Kochanowski
Tadeusz Różewicz
Jan Kochanowski
Zbigniew Herbert (1924-1998), Wisława Szymborska (1923-2012), Tadeusz Różewicz (1921-2014), and Stanisław Barańczak (1946-2014) were all 20th-century Polish writers. Jan Kochanowski (1530-1584) was also a Polish poet, but he lived and wrote during the Renaissance.
Example Question #9 : Contexts Of World Poetry After 1925
Who is the author of Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair?
Gabriel García Márquez
Elena Poniatowska
Isabel Allende
Pablo Neruda
Jorge Luis Borges
Pablo Neruda
This is the Latin American poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and the International Peace Prize. Neruda published Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair in 1924.
Example Question #161 : Contexts Of Poetry
What country is the author of Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair from?
Chile
Uruguay
Venezuela
Argentina
Mexico
Chile
Pablo Neruda was born in Chile. In addition to writing collections such as 100 Love Sonnets (1959), The Book of Questions (1974), and Canto General (1950), Neruda served as a politician and poet-diplomat (a role played by other Latin American writers such as Octavio Paz and Miguel Angel Asturias Rosales) for his country for many years.
Example Question #162 : Contexts Of Poetry
What is the best descriptor for the type of poems in Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair?
epicurean
erotic
epistolary
elegiac
epic
erotic
As is hinted at in the title, most of the works in Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (1924) are erotic love poems. Although Neruda wrote in many different styles and forms (including prose, poetry, realism, surrealism, autobiography, and political manifesto), he is perhaps best known for his love poetry, including various sonnets and odes.
Example Question #169 : Contexts Of Poetry
During what decade was The Labyrinth of Solitude published?
1920s
1940s
1910s
1950s
1930s
1950s
The Labyrinth of Solitude, which explores Mexico’s heritage and the behavior of Paz’s countrymen, first appeared in 1950.
Example Question #171 : Contexts Of Poetry
When was The Striders published?
1970s
1980s
1960s
1990s
2000s
1960s
The Striders was first published in 1966, making it one of A. K. Ramanujan’s earlier collections. (The poet lived from 1929 to 1993.)
Example Question #171 : Contexts Of Poetry
Who is the author of Autobiography of Red?
Mary Oliver
Adrienne Rich
Anne Carson
Seamus Heaney
A.E. Housman
Anne Carson
Autobiography of Red (1998) is a work by Anne Carson.
A.E. Housman wrote Last Poems (1922), Seamus Heaney wrote Death of a Naturalist (1966), Adrienne Rich wrote Twenty-one Love Poems (1976), and Mary Oliver wrote The Night Traveler (1978).
Example Question #173 : Contexts Of Poetry
What country is the author of Autobiography of Red from?
Trinidad
Canada
Spain
France
Scotland
Canada
Anne Carson is a Canadian poet, translator, and nonfiction writer.
The Autobiography of Red was published in 1998.
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