Lesson 4.2.1.21

4.2.1.21 The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry, ed. George Walter Quiz: AQA English Literature A, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.2.1.21, The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry, ed. George Walter: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA English Literature A (7712), Unit 2: Texts in shared contexts, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Who edited The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry?

    • Jon Stallworthy
    • Catherine Reilly
    • George Walter
    • Brian Gardner

  2. What is an anthology?

    • A play written in verse for performance by a company of actors in a theatre
    • A single novel by one author, published in several volumes over a long period
    • A collection of selected texts by various writers
    • A treatise on military tactics setting out the principles of attack and defence

  3. Which poet wrote the sonnet "The Soldier", which begins "If I should die"?

    • Isaac Rosenberg
    • Wilfred Owen
    • Edward Thomas
    • Rupert Brooke

  4. Which feature of Brooke's poetry contrasts most sharply with Owen's?

    • Harsh realism rather than idealism, with graphic images of wounds and the dead
    • Focus on naval life and the seafaring men who served aboard the great warships
    • Idealised patriotism rather than harsh realism
    • Use of prose rather than verse, which gives his writing a looser and plainer form

  5. Which term describes a poem of mourning for the dead?

    • Ode
    • Elegy
    • Satire
    • Epistle

  6. Which term describes poetry written by soldiers about their own experience of the front?

    • Court poetry
    • Pastoral verse
    • Trench poetry
    • Nursery rhyme

  7. What is the main reason an editor includes poems from both sides of the debate about war?

    • To make the war seem uniform in opinion
    • To prove the war was a success
    • To avoid any moral judgement
    • To show the range of responses to the war

  8. Evaluate: how does an anthology shape a reader's view of WW1?

    • It removes the need for critical reading
    • It proves all poems are equally representative
    • It presents the war as a neutral fact with no framing
    • It frames the war through the choices its editors make

  9. Why does the publication date of a poem matter in an anthology?

    • It proves the poem is a translation from a foreign language and was published abroad
    • It shows whether the poet was an officer or an ordinary soldier serving in the ranks
    • It shows whether the poem was written during or after the war
    • It determines the poem's rhyme scheme, which is fixed by the year it was composed

  10. Which kind of contributor does a diverse WW1 anthology usually include?

    • Both soldiers and civilians
    • Only foreign translators
    • Only generals
    • Only politicians

  11. What does a WW1 anthology most often offer a student studying Option A?

    • A list of battles only, with the dates and places of each engagement on the front
    • A single novel to memorise word for word, with its chapters and characters
    • A collection of comic songs sung by soldiers in the canteens and billets behind the line
    • A wide range of texts to compare in shared context

  12. Which concept describes a poet looking back on the war with later understanding?

    • Sprung rhythm
    • Caesura
    • Mimesis
    • Retrospection

  13. Which poetic device does Owen use in place of full rhyme to create dissonance?

    • Pararhyme
    • Ballad refrain
    • Limerick rhythm
    • Iambic rhyme only

  14. Which term describes the study of metre, rhythm and sound patterns?

    • Synopsis
    • Prosody
    • Epigraph
    • Glossary

  15. Which idea explains why Brooke's poems were read as patriotic propaganda?

    • His documentary of the Armistice, recording the surrender and celebrations in Paris
    • His detailed account of trench mud, rats and the weather on the Western Front
    • His use of comic dialogue, which mocks officers and the government in each sonnet
    • His idealised, romantic vision of death for one's country

  16. Which literary term describes a poem's form of 14 lines with a set rhyme scheme?

    • Epigram
    • Sonnet
    • Villanelle
    • Ode

  17. What does the anthology's inclusion of differing tones show about wartime attitudes?

    • A steady consensus in favour of war, with every poet supporting its aims and methods
    • A range from patriotic idealism to disillusion and anger
    • A preference for prose over verse, which the editors felt was more truthful and direct
    • A decline in poetic skill over time, as the poets lost their craft under pressure

  18. Which concept describes the way a collection reflects the range of responses to a conflict?

    • Censored content
    • Uniform viewpoint
    • Range of perspectives
    • Official dogma

  19. Which broader question does a WW1 anthology invite a reader to ask?

    • Which battle in the anthology had the largest number of ships engaged on each side
    • Which country signed the armistice first, and which followed on the next day
    • How many soldiers were paid in gold during each campaign on the Western Front
    • How do different writers respond to the same conflict?

  20. Which term describes a short, personal poem that expresses a speaker's feelings?

    • Epic
    • Satire
    • Lyric
    • Drama

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