A Guilded Cage Trivia Quiz

Answer: A nightingale

"The Emperor's Nightingale" is a classic story from Andersen that was one of my favorites. I think I felt that the nightingale's gesture of saving the mechanical bird from being smashed, as she'd done her best, was quite noble too. However, I've often thought the title was a misnomer; after all, she wasn't his to keep!

Bruyere's literary take on this Guilded subject reflects one of her passions - the written word - not to mention the fact that she edits in this category as well.

Answer: All of them

"Ghel" has given birth to a diverse collection of words. Many of them refer either to coloring or shining such as yellow, chlorite, gold, guilder (a Dutch coin) and glitz. As is the case with many Indo-European roots, "ghel" has spun off a number of words where the connection to shine or color is less apparent - including melancholy, glimpse, glad, glee, glower and glib. Even the "hare" in Hare Krishna has a "gilden" origin! So, when I'm feeling MELANCHOLY, I'll stop GLOWERING and GLADLY (and somewhat GLIBLY) express my GLEE.

uglybird is one of the most eclectic writers in the Guild, but he does have a penchant for words and their origins. It's not surprising that he approached the Guilded quiz request in this way.

Answer: Josephine Baker

Miss Josephine Baker absolutely ruled the Vaudevillian stage in the early 20th century. She was so well-loved and admired by her public, that when famed radio commentator Walter Winchell insulted her in a New York eatery, it damaged his career irreparably. Even so, Miss Baker was too often subject to discrimination in certain public venues, and she eventually relocated to France where she adopted over ten children of various races. She died in the early 1970s, after being honored on Broadway for her life achievements. Her most famous visual legacy remains the filmed performance she gave while festooned in feathers inside the gilded cage of which she sang so sweetly.

Gretas is another editor on this site and declares herself among other things, a lover of humanity and good music. This has so capably been reflected in her Guilded subject choice.

Answer: Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, a Catholic monarch in a newly Protestant country, had been deposed in favour of her young son, James VI in 1567. In 1568, she escaped from her imprisonment and sought to regain her throne.
With the defeat of her forces at the Battle of Langside, Mary fled to England to seek help from her father's cousin, Queen Elizabeth. However, Elizabeth saw Mary, whom many English Catholics viewed as the rightful queen of England, as a threat and had her imprisoned. Mary spent the next nineteen years in captivity until she was tried and beheaded for treason in 1587. Her son raised only cursory protests.
The nature and validity of the charges against Mary remain a matter of historical debate.

Alan03's quiz writing prowess covers many Fun Trivia categories. His interest in the Scottish Queen is evidenced in his linking her long imprisonment to this Guilded quiz topic.

Answer: The Birds

When socialite Melanie Daniels first met Mitch Brenner, he managed to turn around a joke that she tried to play on him, so that it ended up being at her expense. In retaliation she decided to take a pair of lovebirds (which he had been looking for) to his mother's place in Bodega Bay, as a birthday gift for Mitch's younger sister. Melanie was attacked by a sea gull while transporting the caged lovebirds across the bay, which was a very rare occurrence. But before long, birds were attacking people everywhere; sometimes with lethal results.
No one knew exactly why the birds were doing this, but it all seemed to coincide with the arrival of the caged lovebirds. Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and Suzanne Pleshette starred under the master's direction.

Skunkee is only one of a handful of Guild members who have a quiz online in every category. She has turned to the category in which she edits however, to link a movie question to the challenge of the Guilded Cage.

Answer: "The Picture of Dorian Gray", by Oscar Wilde

The 1945 film version of Wilde's novel features Hurd Hatfield in the title role, George Sanders as the misanthropic Sir Henry Wotton, and Lansbury as the ill-fated Sybil Vane. Sybil sings this plaintive song when she first meets Dorian who, in his quest for new experiences, visits the London dive where she is the featured singer.
The song tells of a humble sparrow who, seeking shelter from the cold in the window of an elegant home, wins the heart of a pet canary. Despite their love, the sparrow realizes that she could never live in a cage, even a golden one.
Sybil, unfortunately, disregards the song's message and falls in love with the aristocratic Dorian. Tragedy ensues when Sir Henry advises Dorian to test her virtue. At his prompting, Dorian asks Sybil to give herself to him, body and soul, becoming cold toward her when she refuses. Fearful of losing him, Sybil gives in, thereby failing the test. Afterward, she receives a cutting letter from him, reviling her for her immorality, and breaking off their engagement. Later, Dorian is remorseful, and begins to write an apology, but it is too late; the devastated girl has already committed suicide.
It should be noted that the Sybil Vane affair is quite different in the novel. Sybil is a Shakespearean actress, who captures Dorian's heart in the role of Juliet. After becoming engaged to Dorian, she gives a farewell appearance in the same role. To Dorian's disgust, she gives a slovenly performance, which precipitates his rejection.
To Wilde, the consummate aesthete, bad acting was undoubtedly far more unforgivable than a lapse of morals, but apparently the film makers feared that audiences wouldn't understand. In both the novel and the film, Dorian's treatment of Sybil causes the first notable change in the portrait's appearance; the mouth takes on a cruel sneer.

Jouen58 has an enduring love of music and literature and has linked both topics rather well in a Guilded movie question of all things. Such is the talent of this very versatile quiz maker.

Answer: The Ottoman Empire

By the eighteenth century, the socially isolated Ottoman Sultans were almost entirely dependent on their Grand Viziers to rule the decentralized Turkish holdings that spanned the Arab world and the Balkan Peninsula. These Viziers and other officeholders were recruited from the top young boys of the conquered peoples in a system called the "devshirme". Under the devshirme, these slave-rulers were converted to Islam, educated in the Turkish capital of Constantinople, and placed in responsible positions, ostensibly according to merit. By the 1800s, this system was largely corrupt, and the weakened Ottoman Empire was widely disdained (most notably by Russian Czar Nicholas I) as the "Sick Man of Europe".

stuthehistoryguy also has the distinction of a quiz online in every category. He has literally lived up to his name in this challenge, with another historical perspective on the subject of the Guilded Cage.

Answer: Isabella, Countess of Buchan

Isabella MacDuff, wife of John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, was condemned by Edward I of England to four years in a cage, hung on the walls of the castle in the city of Berwick. Isabella was the sister of Duncan, Earl of Fife, the husband of Edward's niece. While Duncan was pro-English, and had sworn an oath of loyalty to Edward, Isabella was a Scottish patriot, and, since Duncan wasn't about to do it, she asserted the hereditary right of the MacDuffs to crown the Kings of Scotland at Scone. In 1306, she crowned Robert the Bruce, and brought down the wrath of Edward on her head - not only her own head, but also that of her brother! Isabella was captured and encaged on the walls of Berwick, suffering great privation. After four years of this imprisonment she was rescued by the forces of Robert the Bruce and thereupon she entered a convent. She died in 1358. Duncan, who had had no part in Isabella's action, was imprisoned along with his wife in Kildrummie Castle in Ayrshire, and Duncan died there in 1336.

Cymruambyth has taken yet another historical turn with her rather literal question on someone imprisoned in a cage. Her interest in actually reading reference books and encyclopedias for pleasure has proved fruitful with another Guilded winner.

Answer: yellow

"Yellow Bird" was written in 1957 by Marilyn Keith, Alan Bergman and Norman Luboff. It was performed by, among others, Lawrence Welk, champagne bubbles and all.

Quiz writer ertrum has written in a number of categories on Fun Trivia but was inspired by the title of the quiz challenge to seek a music question about a Guilded bird.

Answer: Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple played Diaperina, a young star performing in the Lullaby Lobster Palace nightclub. The club was owned by the nasty, exploiting Elmer, who controlled the young performer and forced her to work for him. The song reflected the hopelessness of the young girl's situation in this short 1932 movie.

The song which inspired this entire quiz was jointly written by Arthur J. Lamb who penned the lyrics and Harry Von Tilzer who composed the haunting melody.

"She's only a bird in a gilded cage,
A beautiful sight to see.
You may think she's happy and free from care,
She's not, though she seems to be.
'Tis sad when you think of her wasted life
For youth cannot mate with age;
And her beauty was sold
for an old man's gold,
She's a bird in a gilded cage."

As the instigator and compiler of this Guilded quiz, I could probably just slide by with a thank you to all the very able contributors and little else.
In choosing the subject for my question, I did however set myself a task whereby I Googled the line "She's only a bird in a gilded cage" and chose my question after happily surfing the most popular sites.