Literary References in "Harry Potter" Online Trivia

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In Homer's classic poem "The Iliad", it is an obligation and the respectful thing to do for warriors to bury fallen heroes because it allows the warrior's soul to move on to the after-world. In "The Goblet of Fire", Harry agrees to take his friend's body back to his dad for the same reason. What was this friend's name?

Answer: Cedric

Cedric Diggory is one of the Triwizard champions in the fourth book of the series. Harry brings Cedric's body back to his father to allow Mr. Diggory the chance to grieve over his son and to perform a proper burial for him.

Neville is not a character that dies in the series. Ron is Harry's best friend. Edward is not a character from the Harry Potter series.

2. In "The Deathly Hallows", Harry dies for a brief period of time when Voldemort aims a killing curse at him. Harry enters a heaven-like place and is soon brought back to life to save his fellow wizards and witches from Voldemort. Where is this heaven-like place at which Harry and Dumbledore discuss the situation?

Answer: King's Cross Station

Some people think that this scene is a Biblical reference that compares Harry to Jesus. Harry was willing to die in order to save his friends and this showed his true character.

"Purgatorio" is the second part of Dante's Divine Comedy in which the narrator is guided through a limbo-type place where the souls must go through purgation in order to reach "Paradiso". Harry finds himself in a similar limbo-type place where he must choose if he is ready to go to Heaven yet.

3. Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" features a story called "The Pardoner's Tale" which was the inspiration for the Tale of the Three Brothers in "The Deathly Hallows". In the Harry Potter series, to whom do Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to get information on the Deathly Hallows?

Answer: Xenophilius Lovegood

At this point in the book, Luna has been kidnapped by the death eaters. Although Hermione does have a book with her that Dumbledore left her, it does not have information about the Three Brothers. Ron however, is familiar with the story because his mother used to tell it to him as a good night story.

He does not realize that the story is related to the real-life Deathly Hallows, and this is why they go to Xenophilius for information.

4. J.K. Rowling once stated in an interview that she is a fan of the Shakespearean play "Macbeth". In both "Macbeth" and "The Order of the Phoenix" a prophecy is used to foreshadow future events in the plot. Which character in the Harry Potter series heard the prophecy about Voldemort's downfall and spread the word to the Dark Lord?

Answer: Severus Snape

Trelawney made the prophecy but she was not aware of it, and Dumbledore never told her. Dumbledore heard the prophecy, but he was not the one who told Voldemort about it. The idea of the "self-fulfilling prophecy" is used in both "Macbeth" and "The Order of the Phoenix".

This idea implies that the prophecy only came true because the person who heard it caused it to come true by his own actions. For example, when Voldemort tried to kill Harry as a baby, it was only because he heard part of the prophecy and thought he could prevent it.

In reality, he is the one who made Harry his enemy by acting on the prophecy's words.

5. J.K. Rowling once stated that she loved Jane Austen's "Emma" for its surprise ending. At the ending of "The Prisoner of Azkaban", Harry found out that someone who had been accused of murder had actually been innocent the whole time. Which character was this?

Answer: Sirius Black

Remus Lupin's first name comes from a Roman story about the origins of Rome. Romulus and Remus were supposed to found Rome. They were the sons of Rhea and Mars, but Rhea feared rumors that the other gods were plotting to kill her and her sons, so she sent them out on a river.

A she-wolf found the two boys and fed and raised them. This is where J.K. Rowling got the idea of Remus Lupin and his true identity as a werewolf. She also got Sirius Black's name from the "dog star", Sirius.

6. In "The Chronicles of Narnia", written by C.S. Lewis, the children go through the back of a wardrobe into a different world. In the Harry Potter series, the children must run through a brick wall in order to get to the magical world. What time does the train leave according to Harry's Hogwarts letter?

Answer: 11:00 AM

In the second book of the series, Harry and Ron think that they can't get through the barrier because it had passed 11:00 AM. They decide to take Ron's father's car and fly it to Hogwarts instead. Although the train did indeed leave at 11:00 am, it was Dobby who closed the barrier to get to the Hogwarts Express.

The ride to school must take six or seven hours because by the time the students arrive at Hogwarts, it is already dinnertime. Ron is usually the one that complains about being hungry.

7. There are many similarities between J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series and J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". In both stories there is a small human-like creature that wears only a small cloth to cover himself. In the Lord of the Rings the creature's name is Gollum. What is the small elf's name in the Harry Potter series that befriends Harry in the second book of the series, "The Chamber of Secrets"?

Answer: Dobby

There are many similarities between characters in both series, but as far as the plot and storyline go there are clear distinctions. Kreacher is the elf that Harry inherits after the fifth book in the series. Winky is Mr. Crouch's elf that we meet in the fourth book of the series. Smeagol is another name for Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings". Gollum used to be a hobbit, while Dobby was born an elf.

8. Harry Potter's family is very similar to the family in Roald Dahl's "Matilda". The families in both the Harry Potter series and the book "Matilda" treat the main characters like pests. What is Harry's lazy cousin's name?

Answer: Dudley

Wormwood is Matilda's last name in Dahl's book. In the Harry Potter series, Harry is treated as though he is a bug that won't leave the Dursleys alone. In the beginning, it seems odd that the Dursleys fight Hagrid when he tries to take Harry to Hogwarts because it would mean they wouldn't have to see him anymore.

It becomes obvious, however, that the Dursleys were trying to stamp out Harry's magic because they didn't want to be associated with such rubbish.

9. Terry Pratchett's "The Colour of Magic" features a magic college and a young student with dark hair and glasses who might have been an influence for Harry's look. Harry Potter looks very much like his dad except for one feature. What feature is this that he inherited from his mom?

Answer: His green eyes

In the movie series, Harry's eyes are blue because the actor chose not to wear contact lenses to change the color since it irritated his eyes. Although there are similarities between Terry Pratchett's character and J.K. Rowling's character, they are only physical characteristics. Harry's glasses seem to be similar to the ones his father wore.

He also gets his dark, messy hair from his father. There is no mention of what Harry's nose looks like, but we do know that Dumbledore's was obviously broken at one point!

10. Centaurs are one of the creatures that live in the Dark Forest in the "Harry Potter" series. They are, of course, a mythological creature that has been used in many stories. What kind of weapon are the creatures known to use in the "Harry Potter" series?

Answer: A bow and arrow

They use their bows to shoot at Hagrid's brother in the fifth book of the series, "The Order of the Phoenix". The centaurs are normally peaceful creatures, but they have been known to get hostile if they are insulted. We see this in the fifth book of the series when Umbridge calls them half-breeds.

These creatures do not like to be compared to men or animals; they are their own breed and proud of it.

Source: Author RavenLydia

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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Literary References in "Harry Potter" Quiz

This quiz focuses on JK Rowlings' "Harry Potter" series and makes references to literature of the past. It is not necessary to have read the other literature in order to get any of the questions correct.

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