The 20 quiz questions
Question 1 : Which poet wrote "The Lake", a romantic elegy on the passage of time?
Possible answers:
- Alfred de Vigny
- Alfred de Musset
- Alphonse de Lamartine
- Victor Hugo
Explanation: Alphonse de Lamartine published "The Lake" in his Poetic Meditations in 1820, an emblematic poem of French Romanticism.
Question 2 : Who wrote the collection "Les Fleurs du mal", censored upon its publication in 1857?
Possible answers:
- Paul Verlaine
- Stéphane Mallarmé
- Charles Baudelaire
- Arthur Rimbaud
Explanation: Charles Baudelaire published Les Fleurs du mal in 1857, a collection condemned for offending public morals but which became foundational for modern poetry.
Question 3 : Which symbolist poet wrote "The Drunken Boat" at the age of 16?
Possible answers:
- Lautréamont
- Paul Verlaine
- Arthur Rimbaud
- Gérard de Nerval
Explanation: Arthur Rimbaud composed The Drunken Boat in 1871, a visionary poem that revolutionized French poetry.
Question 4 : Who is the author of the famous poem "Tomorrow, at dawn" dedicated to his daughter Léopoldine?
Possible answers:
- Alphonse de Lamartine
- Victor Hugo
- Alfred de Musset
- Théophile Gautier
Explanation: Victor Hugo wrote this poem in tribute to his daughter Léopoldine, who drowned in 1843. It appears in Les Contemplations.
Question 5 : Which Pléiade poet wrote "Mignonne, let us go see if the rose"?
Possible answers:
- Pierre de Ronsard
- Joachim du Bellay
- Clément Marot
- François Villon
Explanation: Pierre de Ronsard, prince of Renaissance poets, composed this famous ode to Cassandra around 1545.
Question 6 : Who wrote "Art poétique" with the famous verse "Music above all else"?
Possible answers:
- José-Maria de Heredia
- Paul Verlaine
- Stéphane Mallarmé
- Théodore de Banville
Explanation: Paul Verlaine published his Art poétique in 1884, a manifesto of symbolist poetry advocating the musicality of verse.
Question 7 : Which surrealist poet wrote "Capitale de la douleur" in 1926?
Possible answers:
- Louis Aragon
- Robert Desnos
- André Breton
- Paul Éluard
Explanation: Paul Éluard published Capitale de la douleur in 1926, a major surrealist collection exploring love and dreams.
Question 8 : Who composed "Zone", the opening poem of Alcools, without punctuation?
Possible answers:
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- Max Jacob
- Blaise Cendrars
- Pierre Reverdy
Explanation: Guillaume Apollinaire opened his collection Alcools (1913) with Zone, a modern poem without punctuation celebrating the city.
Question 9 : Which 19th century poet wrote "Les Chimères", a collection including "El Desdichado"?
Possible answers:
- Gérard de Nerval
- Leconte de Lisle
- Théophile Gautier
- Sully Prudhomme
Explanation: Gérard de Nerval published Les Chimères in 1854, hermetic and esoteric sonnets of great beauty.
Question 10 : Who wrote "Le Pont Mirabeau" with the refrain "May night come, may the hour strike"?
Possible answers:
- Saint-John Perse
- Paul Valéry
- Jules Supervielle
- Guillaume Apollinaire
Explanation: Guillaume Apollinaire composed Le Pont Mirabeau, a melancholic poem about lost love, published in Alcools in 1913.
Question 11 : Which medieval poet wrote "The Ballad of the Hanged Men" before his supposed execution?
Possible answers:
- Charles d'Orléans
- François Villon
- Christine de Pizan
- Rutebeuf
Explanation: François Villon composed this poignant ballad, also called Villon's Epitaph, around 1462, a masterpiece of medieval poetry.
Question 12 : Who wrote "Paroles" including the famous poem "Barbara"?
Possible answers:
- Jacques Prévert
- Raymond Queneau
- Boris Vian
- Jean Cocteau
Explanation: Jacques Prévert published Paroles in 1946, a popular collection including Barbara, a poem about war and love.
Question 13 : Which Parnassian poet wrote "Les Trophées", a collection of perfect sonnets?
Possible answers:
- José-Maria de Heredia
- Leconte de Lisle
- Sully Prudhomme
- Théodore de Banville
Explanation: José-Maria de Heredia published Les Trophées in 1893, 118 polished sonnets representing the Parnassian ideal.
Question 14 : Who wrote "The Graveyard by the Sea", a meditation on death and creation?
Possible answers:
- Paul Claudel
- Saint-John Perse
- Francis Ponge
- Paul Valéry
Explanation: Paul Valéry composed The Graveyard by the Sea in 1920, a philosophical poem on death facing the Mediterranean.
Question 15 : Which poet wrote "A Season in Hell", an autobiographical confession in poetic prose?
Possible answers:
- Lautréamont
- Tristan Corbière
- Paul Verlaine
- Arthur Rimbaud
Explanation: Arthur Rimbaud wrote A Season in Hell in 1873, an autobiographical work marking his break with poetry.
Question 16 : Who wrote "Happy he who, like Ulysses, has made a fine voyage"?
Possible answers:
- Maurice Scève
- Clément Marot
- Joachim du Bellay
- Pierre de Ronsard
Explanation: Joachim du Bellay composed this nostalgic sonnet in Les Regrets (1558), expressing his homesickness while in Italy.
Question 17 : Which poet wrote "Liberté", a resistance poem with "I write your name"?
Possible answers:
- Robert Desnos
- Paul Éluard
- René Char
- Louis Aragon
Explanation: Paul Éluard composed Liberté in 1942, a poem dropped by the RAF over occupied France, symbol of the Resistance.
Question 18 : Who wrote "L'Invitation au voyage" with "There, all is order and beauty"?
Possible answers:
- Gérard de Nerval
- Paul Verlaine
- Charles Baudelaire
- Théophile Gautier
Explanation: Charles Baudelaire composed L'Invitation au voyage, a poem from Les Fleurs du mal evoking an ideal paradise.
Question 19 : Which poet received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960 for his work "Amers"?
Possible answers:
- Paul Claudel
- Yves Bonnefoy
- René Char
- Saint-John Perse
Explanation: Saint-John Perse (Alexis Leger) received the Nobel in 1960 for his poetic work including Amers, Anabase and Éloges.
Question 20 : Who wrote "Les yeux d'Elsa", a collection dedicated to his muse Elsa Triolet?
Possible answers:
- René Char
- Louis Aragon
- André Breton
- Paul Éluard
Explanation: Louis Aragon published Les yeux d'Elsa in 1942, a collection celebrating his love for Elsa Triolet during the Occupation.




