British Literature Trivia

1. "Sir Patrick Spens", "The Twa Corbies", and "Glenlogie" are examples of a form of literature at which Scotland has long excelled. What are they called?

From Quiz For Your Ayes Only

Answer: Folk ballads

Scotland has a long tradition of balladry. In the late 19th century, Francis James Child collected 305 ballads which were still being sung in Great Britain at the time, and published them as "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads." Many of the Scottish ballads are based on real events, and some may date as far back as the 16th century. Many ballads were brought to America by early Scots-Irish settlers; the movie "Songcatcher" is about a woman collecting these ballads in the Appalachian Mountains. And although they were sung, the lyrics are often considered to be a form of poetry. According to the book, "The 500 Greatest Poems," "Sir Patrick Spens" is the poem that appears most often in anthologies of English language poems.

From Quiz Opening Lines from British Books

Answer: Brideshead Revisited

"Brideshead Revisited" was written by Evelyn Waugh during the period December 1943 to June 1944 during which time he was recovering from an injury sustained whilst parachuting during his military service. The book was published in 1945. The story is told from the perspective of Charles Ryder and narrates the fortunes of the various members of the "Marchmain" family who he becomes involved with, following his initial friendship with the son of the household, Sebastian, who he meets at Oxford University.

From Quiz London Literary Allusions

Answer: William Dunbar

The line was not written by an Englishman! Dunbar, the celebrated Scots poet who visited London around 1500, was nicknamed "the Rhymer of Scotland" by some of his acquaintances there.

From Quiz Do You Know Your Early British Novels?

Answer: Defoe, "Robinson Crusoe"

Crusoe constantly struggles to remain a dignified Englishman while abandoned on this island. He takes ownership of his surroundings (the natives and resources) because he feels that being a gentleman gives him a natural right above all other savages.

From Quiz British Literature of the Restoration

Answer: It imitates the Latin classics.

This era was also known as the Age of Reason and Enlightenment because of the focus on logic and science; and the Augustan Era because of the historical similarities between the Emperor Octavian (Augustus) and the Stuart line.

From Quiz Mixed Bag of Victorian Literature

Answer: Milady de Winter

Milady de Winter was the ambitious first wife of the musketeer Athos, and met her fate at the hands of an executioner.

From Quiz English Literature Made Simple - No. 4

Answer: Skylark

In 1843 Wordsworth became England's poet laureate and remained so until his death in 1850.

From Quiz English Literature Made Simple - No. 3

Answer: Richard Steele

The two men were both born in 1672 and were former schoolmates.

From Quiz English Literature Made Simple - No. 2

Answer: Christopher Marlowe

Born the same year as Shakespeare, Marlowe's life ended tragically at the age of 29.

From Quiz English Literature Made Simple - No. 1

Answer: a Geatish warrior

Beowulf is believe to be the only surviving full-length heroic epic in Old English. Geatland was in what is now southern Sweden.

From Quiz Scottish Literature

Answer: Sir Walter Scott

Scott wrote the first novel, 'Waverley', anonymously as he was slightly ashamed, feeling it would affect his reputation as a poet. Subsequent novels were published as "By the Author of 'Waverley'". The Scott Monument in Edinburgh sits across from the city's main rail station: Edinburgh Waverley.

From Quiz The Victorian Age Quote Identification

Answer: Christina Rossetti

Song... "When I am dead, my dearest".

From Quiz Middle English Literature

Answer: Piers Plowman

"Piers Plowman," a medieval allegory and dream vision, exhibits much sympathy for the commoner.

From Quiz London In Literature

Answer: Southwark

The Tabard (renamed The Talbot in 1678) stood in what is now Talbot Yard, off Borough High Street. It thrived for centuries, but went into a decline when stagecoaches gave way to railways. The building (no longer a tavern) was demolished in the 1870s.

From Quiz British Classical Women Writers

Answer: 'Middlemarch'

Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot, was born in 1819 and died in 1880.

From Quiz Yup, English and Irish Lit

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Wilde adopted his alias from 'Melmoth The Wanderer', a novel written by a fellow Irish writer, Charles Maturin.

From Quiz Post-War British Literature

Answer: Dylan Thomas

Thomas was born at Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea in 1914. Fernhill is in Carmarthenshire. Rhosili is on the Gower Peninsula. Yeats, Eliot and Auden are sufficiently well-known not to require any 'footnotes'.

From Quiz 19th Century British Lit

Answer: the Radical & radical

Felix Holt gives a good account of the election process of MP's in early 19th century England... the process was fairly confusing, but the account was good.

From Quiz English Literature Through the Ages

Answer: The Faerie Queene

The Red Cross Knight is the hero of Book One of Spenser's 16th-century epic, "The Book of Holiness".

From Quiz Victorian Literature

Answer: Emily

Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre, Shirley, and Villette. Anne wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey.

From Quiz For Your Ayes Only

Answer: James I

"The Kingis Quair" means "The King's Book." It is believed to have been written by James I (1394 - 1437) who was captured by the English in 1406 and not released until 1424. It is semi-autobiographical, and describes the dream of a man in prison who is visited by Venus, Minerva, and Fortune, who promises him that he will prosper. James seems to have been heavily influenced by the works of Geoffrey Chaucer. The poem is written in a complicated form called "rhyme royal".

From Quiz Let Me Go Look

Answer: "Trainspotting" by Irvine Welsh

This was Welsh's first novel and it was published in 1993. It follows the lives of a group of Edinburgh-based drug addicts. It was made into a film by Danny Boyle in 1996 and helped the acting careers of Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle.

From Quiz The Write Stuff

Answer: Brontë

Charlotte, Emily and Anne were the daughters of Patrick and Maria Brontë. Although they were not prolific authors, the books they wrote are still well known today. Charlotte was born in 1816 and died in 1855, and is best known as the author of "Jane Eyre". Emily was born in 1818 and died in 1848, and is known for the only novel she wrote, "Wuthering Heights". Anne was born in 1820 and died in 1849, and is best remembered for her novel "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall". Charlotte, Emily and Anne also had a brother named Patrick Branwell and two other sisters named Maria and Elizabeth. Their home in Haworth is now a museum.

From Quiz Opening Lines from British Books

Answer: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

There are eight books in John Le Carre's "Smiley" series of which "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is the fifth. John Le Carre is the pen name for David John Moore Cornwell who himself served as a member of the British Foreign Service from 1959 to 1964. There have been many adaptations of the Smiley books for radio, television and the cinema.

From Quiz London Literary Allusions

Answer: Lud's Town

The name appears four times in the play. The word "London" appears (63 times, I believe) only in Shakespeare's history plays, not in any of his other works.

From Quiz English Lit 101

Answer: Billy

Billy the page is mentioned in three of Conan Doyle's detective stories - "The Valley of Fear", "The Problem of Thor Bridge" and "The Mazarin Stone". The last has his most significant role as he actually participates in helping Holmes bring the villains, Sylvius and Merton, to justice. He was portrayed in the 1939 movie "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Terry Kilburn.

From Quiz Do You Know Your Early British Novels?

Answer: Hardy, "Mayor of Casterbridge"

After losing favor with the people, Henchard renounces all of his possessions and commits to being a hermit. Also, after committing suicide, he asks that no one remember him. These are acts to gain favor with the people, not to repent.

From Quiz Mixed Bag of Victorian Literature

Answer: Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe is in love with Rowena, who is promised to Athelstane. He must free her from imprisonment by the splendidly-named Front-de-Boeuf (Bull's Forehead) and his evil friends.

From Quiz English Literature Made Simple - No. 4

Answer: Xanadu

Coleridge also wrote "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" with the well known quote "Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink".

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