Heroes (poem) Quizzes

Heroes (poem) Quiz

By John Melendez · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed May 30, 2022

1 What type of stanzas is the poem made up of?

Octaves

Sestets

Quatrains

Couplets
2 What was Hercules's final labor?

Catch and return Cerberus

Kill the Nemean lion

Fight Apollo

Journey to the underworld
3 Who is the speaker of the poem?

Hercules

Aeneas

Robert Creeley

Virgil
4 What scene from the Aeneid does Creeley depict?

Achilles's battle with Hector

The destruction of Troy

Aeneas's journey to the Underworld

Ulysses' return home
5 Who wrote the Aeneid?

Virgil

Shakespeare

Dante

Homer
6 What is the meter of the poem?

Iambic tetrameter

Free verse

Iambic trimeter

Dactylic hexameter
7 Which of the following is a main theme of the poem?

Animal cruelty

War

Heroism

History
8 What does the Latin quote "hoc opus, hic labor est" mean?

"Therein lies the difficulty"

"Deeds, not words"

"Nothing comes from nothing"

"That is the task, that is the labor"
9 What quality does Creeley prize in hero narratives?

Strength

Valor

Determination

Humanness
10 How many labors was Hercules assigned?

Ten

Two

Twelve

Five
11 When was the poem published?

1965

1975

1960

1950
12 What literary movement was Robert Creeley associated with?

The New York School

The Beat Generation

The Black Mountain poets

The Imagists
13 How does Creeley subtly criticize Virgil?

By saying his poetry is bad

By mocking Aeneas

By saying he has never read his work

By saying he is long dead
14 Who is Aeneas trying to see in the underworld?

Virgil

Hercules

His father

Achilles
15 What best characterizes the tone of the poem?

Respectful but critical

Solemn

Thoughtful but harsh

Reverent
16 What is the meaning of the line "death also / can still propose the old labors" in the poem?

Hercules died after completing his tasks

Mortality can push heroes into action

Poets should write about death more often

Mortality forces people into dull labor
17 Who is Aeneas's guide into the underworld?

Cerberus

Dido

Sibyl

Charon
18 What is the genre of the poem?

Pastoral poetry

Heroic poetry

Sea shanty

Ekphrasis
19 What does Aeneas's father have a vision of?

The city of Rome

Aeneas' death

Hercules' capture of Cerberus

The destruction of Troy
20 Why does Creeley single out Aeneas's trip to the underworld as the moment of "humanness" in the Aeneid?

Because it shows him missing his father

Because it shows him being lost

Because it shows him being vulnerable and mortal

Because it shows him being afraid
21 Who is the guardian of the underworld?

The Nimean lion

Apollo

Cerberus

The king of Mycanae
22 Which of the following figures is NOT referenced in the poem?

Aeneas

Sibyl

Ulysses

Hercules
23 Why does Creeley say he is the speaker of the poem and then mention Virgil?

To place his own work in the same category as Virgil's

To align himself with a certain poetic tradition

To mock himself

To challenge Virgil's authority over hero narratives
24 What collection was the poem first published in?

5 Numbers

If You

The Island

For Love
25 Which of the following poets was a noted contemporary of Creeley's?

Emily Dickinson

Charles Olson

Virgil

Dante

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Study Guide for Heroes (poem)

Heroes (poem) study guide contains a biography of Robert Creeley, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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