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Quiz about Literary Timeline
Quiz about Literary Timeline

Literary Timeline Trivia Quiz


Take this quiz to get the big picture! It will give you a feel for who wrote when, and it will provide an overview of many literary periods. But fear not; there are no specific dates.

A multiple-choice quiz by skylarb. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
skylarb
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
118,104
Updated
Mar 16 22
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
10 / 20
Plays
5066
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 81 (7/20), Guest 152 (6/20), Guest 185 (13/20).
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Question 1 of 20
1. Literary divisions are not always exact, but we draw them because they are often convenient. The majority of English literary periods are named after: Hint


Question 2 of 20
2. Which period of literature came first? Hint


Question 3 of 20
3. In what language did Shakespeare write? Hint


Question 4 of 20
4. Jane Austen wrote during this period. Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. Which work was published first? Hint


Question 6 of 20
6. Which of the following works was written before the all-important Battle of Hastings? Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. Who wrote first? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. Which work was completed last? Hint


Question 9 of 20
9. One of these men did NOT write during the Restoration period. Who? Hint


Question 10 of 20
10. The Bronte sisters wrote during this period. Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. Which of the following poets wrote during the Victorian period but was not published until the 20th century? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. This work was NOT originally published in the 20th Century. Hint


Question 13 of 20
13. Which poet did NOT write during the 16th century? Hint


Question 14 of 20
14. Historical events often influence literature. Which of the following did NOT occur during the Restoration period? Hint


Question 15 of 20
15. He was not a Renaissance writer. Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. Which of the following literary sub-periods does NOT fall under the Neoclassical Period? Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. Which of the following periods of English literature came last? Hint


Question 18 of 20
18. This work was written before the other three choices. Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. Which of the following writers would be an appropriate subject for a class on "The Literature of the British Empire"?

Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. World War I affected the writing of many authors. Which of the following poets would not have been touched by that event? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 30 2024 : Guest 81: 7/20
Oct 25 2024 : Guest 152: 6/20
Oct 19 2024 : Guest 185: 13/20
Oct 14 2024 : Guest 124: 7/20
Oct 08 2024 : Guest 24: 6/20
Oct 07 2024 : Guest 88: 6/20
Oct 04 2024 : Guest 185: 10/20
Sep 25 2024 : Guest 136: 11/20
Sep 13 2024 : Guest 103: 6/20

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Literary divisions are not always exact, but we draw them because they are often convenient. The majority of English literary periods are named after:

Answer: Monarchs or political events

Some periods are named after the leading characteristic of the age (The Renaissance, The Age of Sensibility, and The Romantic Period). Sometimes authors give birth to period names, like The Age of Johnson. There are two periods named after the language itself: the Old English and Middle English Periods.

However, most periods are named for monarchs or major political events: The Elizabethan Age, The Jacobean Age, The Regency, The Victorian Period, The Commonwealth Period, The Restoration, The Edwardian Age, etc.
2. Which period of literature came first?

Answer: Restoration

The "Restoration" refers to the return of King Charles II to the throne in 1660. Literature from this period includes the writings of John Milton, John Dryden, Thomas Otway, and William Congreve, to name but a few.
3. In what language did Shakespeare write?

Answer: Modern English

As ancient as his wording may seem to our contemporary ears, Shakespeare wrote in what is known as Modern English. Chaucer wrote in Middle English, and Old English (in which "Beowulf" was written) is for all practical purposes a foreign language.
4. Jane Austen wrote during this period.

Answer: Regency

"The Regency" refers to the period when the Prince of Wales served as regent to George III, after the King had been declared incurably insane in 1811. Jane Austen is the most famous writer of this period. The period overlaps in time somewhat with the Romantic Period, but Jane Austen is not generally considered a Romantic.
5. Which work was published first?

Answer: Blake's "Songs of Innocence"

Blake's work appeared in 1790. Blake is generally considered to be a pre-Romantic writer, whereas the rest of these authors are Romantics.
6. Which of the following works was written before the all-important Battle of Hastings?

Answer: Beowulf

One date every school child learns (or used to) is 1066, the year when William the Conqueror defeated Harold II at The Battle of Hastings, changing the English language forever. "Beowulf" was written before this time, in Old English. "The Domesday Book," a sort of census, came shortly after, in 1086. "Canterbury Tales" belongs to the Middle English period, and "Sons and Lovers", by D.H. Lawrence, was a 20th century work.
7. Who wrote first?

Answer: Howard, Earl of Surrey

Howard, Earl of Surrey, author of several poems including "My Friend, the Things That Do Attain," was imprisoned in 1537, decades before the birth of Shakespeare and his contemporary Marlowe, and long before George Eliot.
8. Which work was completed last?

Answer: John Milton's "Paradise Lost"

Milton's book appeared in 1663, after the Restoration. All of the other works belong to the early 17th century.
9. One of these men did NOT write during the Restoration period. Who?

Answer: Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott belongs to the Romantic period. He was famous for his historical novels, such as "Ivanhoe."
10. The Bronte sisters wrote during this period.

Answer: Victorian

Queen Victoria began her long rule in 1837. Charlotte Bronte published "Jane Eyre" in 1847. Anne Bronte's "Agnes Gray" appeared the same year. Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" came the following year.
11. Which of the following poets wrote during the Victorian period but was not published until the 20th century?

Answer: Gerard Manley Hopkins

Ted Hughes wrote in the 20th century. Rossetti and Browning were both published in their own time. Hopkins's work, however, was not published until 1919, well after his death. As a Catholic priest, he did not think it fit for him to be writing poetry, and yet he could not prevent himself from doing so.
12. This work was NOT originally published in the 20th Century.

Answer: Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles"

The original dates of publication of these works are as follows: Hardy-1891; James-1903; Forster-1908; Woolf-1925.
13. Which poet did NOT write during the 16th century?

Answer: Thomas Carew

Thomas Carew, a 17th century poet, is most famous for his work "The Rapture," which appeared in 1640.
14. Historical events often influence literature. Which of the following did NOT occur during the Restoration period?

Answer: The French Revolution

The French Revolution was the formative event of the Romantic period. The Exclusion Bill Crisis is alluded to in much literature of the Restoration, including such works as John Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel" and Thomas Otway's play "Venice Preserv'd"
15. He was not a Renaissance writer.

Answer: Sir Thomas Malory

For definition purposes, the Renaissance is usually said to begin around 1485. Malory's famous work, "Morte Darthur," appeared in 1469, which is generally classified as belonging to the Middle English period.
16. Which of the following literary sub-periods does NOT fall under the Neoclassical Period?

Answer: Jacobean Age

The Jacobean Age is usually given as 1603-1625, and it probably best falls under the umbrella of "The Renaissance." Alexander Pope was the most famous writer of the Augustan Age, and The Age of Sensibility is sometimes referred to as "The Age of Johnson."
17. Which of the following periods of English literature came last?

Answer: The Commonwealth Period

The most famous writer of the Elizabethan Age, which spanned 1558-1603, was William Shakespeare. The Jacobean age takes its name from Elizabeth's successor, King James, who ruled from 1603-1625. The Commonwealth Period did not occur until after the English Civil War, when Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector in 1653.
18. This work was written before the other three choices.

Answer: Bede's "An Ecclesiastical History of the English People"

Bede's work was written during the Old English period, Chaucer's and Julian's during the Middle English Period, and Sir Thomas More's during the early 16th century.
19. Which of the following writers would be an appropriate subject for a class on "The Literature of the British Empire"?

Answer: Any of these

I actually took a class on this theme once, which included Kipling and Bronte. Edward Fitzgerald translated the famous "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam."
20. World War I affected the writing of many authors. Which of the following poets would not have been touched by that event?

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde's most famous play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," was published in 1895. He died in 1900, well before the outbreak of World War I.
Source: Author skylarb

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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