A Fool's Paradise Trivia Quiz

Answer: Capulet

The play by William Shakespeare is set in the Italian city of Verona, where the houses of Capulet and Montague are sworn enemies. Romeo sneaks into a ball given by the Capulet family to see Rosaline, the girl he loves. Upon meeting Juliet he falls madly in love with her instead. Juliet's cousin Tybalt is angered upon Romeo's sneaking into the ball and challenges him to a duel. Romeo refuses, but his friend Mercutio accepts for him and is mortally wounded in the fight. Romeo then kills Tybalt after confronting him.

After killing Tybalt Romeo is exiled from Verona. Juliet's father wants to marry her to Count Paris. Juliet comes up with a plan with the help of Friar Laurence to prevent the marriage from taking place. She takes a drug that puts her in a coma for 42 hours. A messenger is to give Romeo this message, so he can be with her when she awakes again. The message does not reach Romeo however and upon learning about her death, he goes to visit her grave and is confronted by Count Paris. He kills the count in the fight that ensues. He then drinks poison, since he can't get over the grief of losing Juliet. When Juliet awakes and learns of Romeo's death, she kills herself with a dagger.

Answer: Richard Wagner

The legend of Tristan and Isolde seems to date back to approximately the twelfth century, but is most likely much older, dating back to Celtic legend. In history there are several variations to the legend, but most of them follow the main theme. The knight Tristan escorts Isolde (also referred to as Iseult) to Cornwall to marry his beloved uncle King Mark. During the journey they drink a love potion, which makes them fall madly in love with each other. Both lovers are torn by the fact they have a lot of respect for King Mark. In some versions they eventually do find true love, but several versions end with Tristan dying in Isolde's arms.

In the 19th century, Richard Wagner wrote the opera "Tristan und Isolde", based on the famous legend. At the end of the second act Tristan is fatally wounded by his rival Melot. During the third and final act Tristan dies, as Isolde rushes over to see him. He dies with her name on his lips. At the sight of her dead lover, Isolde collapses and later dies.

Answer: Menelaus

The story of the Trojan War is a very famous story in Greek mythology. It forms the subject for instance of the "Iliad", written by Homer. It all started when the goddess of strife, Eris, gave a golden apple for the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. The apple was meant for the fairest of goddesses and subsequently Aphrodite, Athena and Hera all claimed the apple. In order to decide who would get the apple Zeus sent them to Paris, the king of Troy, to decide. Paris could not make a choice, but when Aphrodite offered him the love of Helen of Sparta, the most beautiful of all women, Paris decided in favour of her.

In exchange for the apple, Aphrodite arranged for Helen to fall in love with Paris. Paris then took her to the city of Troy. Helen however was already married to Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The brother of Menelaus, Agamemnon, then started a war against Troy as a response. Paris was eventually killed in the war. Helen was briefly married to his brother Deiphobus, but he was killed by Menelaus. Helen then returned to him.

Answer: By a snake bite

The love between Cleopatra and Mark Anthony is a legendary one. After the death of Julius Caesar Mark Anthony summoned Cleopatra to meet him to find about her loyalties in the ongoing Roman wars. He was apparently so charmed by her, that he decided to spend time with her in Alexandria during the winter. Cleopatra had two children with him, twins called Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II. They officially married each other in 36 BC according to Egyptian rite and they had another child called Ptolemy Philadelphus.

After being defeated by Octavian in battle, Mark Anthony apparently felt betrayed by Cleopatra. She feared his wrath and had messengers tell Mark Anthony that she was dead. He then stabbed himself with a sword in order to die. He did receive the message that Cleopatra was still alive, but it was too late. He eventually died in her arms. Cleopatra then also committed suicide, by having a snake bite her, or so the story goes.

Answer: She becomes a nun

The story of Lancelot and Guinevere forms part of the Arthurian legend. There are many variations to the theme, but the most common version tells of the love that forms between Lancelot and Guinevere, although she is married to King Arthur. Soon suspicions arise and at first they avoid each other, but slowly their love grows anyway. One day the nephew of King Arthur gathers a group of twelve men and they catch the lovers in the act. Lancelot manages to escape, but Guinevere is set to be burned at the stake for her adultery. As a true knight, Lancelot comes to save her, but they can't find true love anymore.

Guinevere feels guilty for what has happened and supposedly bringing on the downfall of the Knights of the Round Table. She decides to become a nun. She agrees to see Lancelot one last time, but refuses to kiss him. Lancelot decides he should live a life of penitence himself and becomes a hermit. He gets a dream one night that he should visit Guinevere, but she dies before he arrives. Six weeks later Lancelot dies himself.

Answer: Hades

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of the sad love stories in Greek mythology. Orpheus married the beautiful nymph Eurydice. One day she is pursued by a satyr (some versions mention the god Aristaeus) and in her desire to get away is bitten by snakes. Orpheus is so distraught, that he plays very sad songs mourning her loss. All of the gods and nymphs weep at this and persuade him to go to the God of the underworld, Hades and his wife Persephone. They might want to give Eurydice back.

Through his sad music, Orpheus manages to soften both Hades and Persephone and they agree to give Eurydice back. They give him one condition though. He is to walk in front of her and he can't look back before they are both in the upper world. Unfortunately Orpheus is a little too hasty and forgets that they both have to have reached their destination. When he looks back too soon, Eurydice is taken away from him again, this time forever.

Answer: She did not bear him an heir

Josephine's official name is Marie Josčphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie. She married Alexandre de Beauharnais in 1779. It was not a very happy marriage, as it was arranged to benefit both families involved. Still they had two children together. Alexandre was arrested in 1794 in the Reign of Terror, the period of violence directly following the French Revolution. Josephine herself was also arrested shortly after. Alexandre was eventually guillotined and Josephine was released from jail five days later.

In the years after her husband's death Josephine was said to have been the mistress of several political figures. She met Napoleon Bonaparte in 1795 and married him a year later. Their love was very passionate, although both were rumoured to have had affairs during their marriage. Eventually Josephine agreed to a divorce, since she was unable to give Napoleon an heir. Josephine went on to live at the Chateau Malmaison, located near Paris. She remained good friends with Napoleon. She died of pneumonia, four years after the divorce.

Answer: Agra

Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal Emperor, who first came to power in 1628. He married Arjumand Banu Begum in 1607, when he was only fifteen years old. His bride was one year younger. He gave her the title of Mumtaz Mahal, meaning Jewel of the Palace. Together they had fourteen children. Mumtaz Mahal died while giving birth to the fourteenth child. Shah Jahan was very much in love with her and apparently very grief stricken over her death.

As a memorial he had the Taj Mahal constructed, a mausoleum made of white marble. It took twenty years to complete. After his death Shah Jahan was buried in the mausoleum as well. As a patron of architecture, he was responsible for many of the buildings in Agra and other Indian cities. In 1983 the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Answer: If he would cut his hair

Samson is one of the judges of the Israelites. He was given supernatural strength by God to be able to rid the Israelites of the Philistines. In return he was to become a Nazarite, meaning he should never shave or cut his hair. In the valley of Sorek Samson meets the lovely Delilah and falls in love with her. The lords of the Philistines offer Delilah a lot of money, if she finds out the source of Samson's strength.

At first Samson gives Delilah false reasons, for instance suggesting he could only be bound by seven green withes that were never dried. Eventually he does reveal that he will lose his strength, if he cuts his hair. When he is asleep Delilah alerts the lords and they cut his hair. As a result God leaves him and he loses his strength. The Philistines put out his eyes and set him to work on the treadmill grinding grain. When the Philistines gather at the temple of Dagan, Samson prays to God to allow him to avenge the Philistines. He is given his strength back and makes the temple collapse by pulling two pillars together. He dies in the process. It is not clear what happened to Delilah.

Answer: He has him castrated

Peter Abelard was a French philosopher from the 12th century. He once sought a place to live in the house of canon Fulbert and so met his niece Heloise. Her uncle asked him to tutor Heloise, because Abelard had taken a vow of celibacy as a thelogian, so it was safe. Abelard fell madly in love with the beautiful Heloise however. When Fulbert found out, he tried to separate them, but to no avail. The pair met each other in secret. Heloise became pregnant and delivered their son Astrolabe in Brittany. Later they married in secret.

When Fulbert finds out about the marriage he publicly announces it. Abelard then asks Heloise to go to a convent in Argenteuil. Fulbert felt that Abelard wanted to get rid of Heloise and had him castrated. Some accounts of the story suggest however that the Parisian mob was responsible. Heloise was now forced to become a nun. She would later go to become an abbess.