"Sniff at vice": Who Wrote It?" (A Multiple-Choice Quiz)

I am not of those miserable males
Who sniff at vice, and, daring not to snap,
Do therefore hope for heaven. I take the hap
Of all my deeds. The wind that fills my sails,
Propels; but I am helmsman. Am I wrecked,
I know the devil has sufficient weight
To bear: I lay it not on him, or fate.
Besides, he's damned. That man I do suspect
A coward, who would burden the poor deuce
With what ensues from his own slipperiness.
I have just found a wanton-scented tress
In an old desk, dusty for lack of use.
Of days and nights it is demonstrative,
That, like some aged star, gleam luridly.
If for those times I must ask charity,
Have I not any charity to give?

This poem was written by
1) Robert Lowell on the subject of Hillary Clinton
2) George Meredith in Modern Love
3) Meredith Wilson in The Music Man
4) Lana Turner on Johnny Stompanato (April 4, 1958)
5) Woodrow Wilson, on being canceled

For extra credit, what does the painting on top have to do with the poem?

I am not of those miserable males
Who sniff at vice, and, daring not to snap,
Do therefore hope for heaven. I take the hap
Of all my deeds. The wind that fills my sails,
Propels; but I am helmsman. Am I wrecked,
I know the devil has sufficient weight
To bear: I lay it not on him, or fate.
Besides, he's damned. That man I do suspect
A coward, who would burden the poor deuce
With what ensues from his own slipperiness.
I have just found a wanton-scented tress
In an old desk, dusty for lack of use.
Of days and nights it is demonstrative,
That, like some aged star, gleam luridly.
If for those times I must ask charity,
Have I not any charity to give?

This poem was written by
1) Robert Lowell on the subject of Hillary Clinton
2) George Meredith in Modern Love
3) Meredith Wilson in The Music Man
4) Lana Turner on Johnny Stompanato (April 4, 1958)
5) Woodrow Wilson, on being canceled

For extra credit, what does the painting on top have to do with the poem?

Comments

[Bra Bar]

I get it. Thank you, George Meredith. But some things are more valuable and some more transitory than others. Climate activists vandalized Stonehenge in England on Wednesday. Two campaigners from the group Just Stop Oil covered the monolith, which has stood for 5,000 years, in orange powder paint.

[Charlotte Dickenson]

The U.S. Department of Education determined this week that the University of Michigan and the City University of New York (CUNY) failed to protect Jewish students from discrimination in the wake of the October 7 attack on Israel. The two cases are the first to conclude since the Israel-Hamas war began, triggering skyrocketing rates of antisemitism on campus. As part of the settlement agreement, both universities agreed to improve training about antisemitism.

[Mark C. Minton]

I'm not sure what the previous replies have to do with the inquiry, but to be brief and to the point:

The poem is Meredith.

The painting is "The Death of Chatterton."

And the connection is that the model for Chatterton in the painting was the young George Meredith.

Just answer the question, folks...

[Leah Martinson]

I agree with George Meredith. "76 Trombones" of Meredith Wilson very nice for summer camp but it's no "West Side Story." Hillary Clinton died before Robert Lowell was first lady. Woodrow Wilson's first name was Thiomas. I didn't realize that Lana Turner's daughter shot her mom's boyfriend. Thanks. I love multiple choice and hate politics.