Assorted Literature Quiz | Mixed Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales ironically preaches the virtuousness of silence through the story of a talking crow who has its white feathers plucked and its ability to speak destroyed as punishment for telling the truth?

Answer: The Manciple's Tale

Based on Ovid's "Metamorphoses," Chaucer's "The Manciple's Tale" tells the story of a jealous husband named Phebus, who owns a unique talking white crow that he loves and treats as part of his family. However, when the crow witnesses Phebus' wife committing adultery, and then tells his owner about it, Phebus becomes enraged, stripping the bird of all of its feathers and its ability to sing or speak.

He throws the bird out of his house, and when its feathers finally grow back, they are black.

2. Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three different Shakespeare plays. He can be found in "Henry IV, Part One," "Henry IV, Part Two," and which other play?

Answer: The Merry Wives of Windsor

Falstaff is the highly amusing (and often crude) character who first appears in "Henry IV" Parts 1 & 2 as Prince Hal's troublemaking companion. He is also in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," as the man who tries to court Mistresses Ford and Page as a means of obtaining money. However, his plans are ultimately foiled and he is left ridiculed and none the richer.

3. Henry Fielding wrote a short comical satire in response to Samuel Richardson's famous epistolary novel "Pamela." What was it called?

Answer: Shamela

Fielding felt that Richardson's tale about a young servant girl who protects her chastity above all else, and is rewarded through an unlikely marriage to her master (Mr. B.) was completely ridiculous. He questions Pamela's innocence and motives, as well as Richardson's naivete, in his short, mocking parody with characters named Shamela and Squire Booby.

4. Which fictional character often uses the term "old sport" when speaking to his friends?

Answer: Jay Gatsby

As recalled by narrator Nick in "The Great Gatsby," Jay often used this expression as a casual term for many of his friends. Although he tried to portray himself as affluently carefree, his story is ultimately a tragic one that leads us all to question the validity of the so-called "American Dream."

5. In George Orwell's "1984," which room contains "the worst thing in the world"?

Answer: Room 101

In his brilliantly terrifying account of the potential future of a totalitarian state, Orwell tells the story of a seemingly ordinary man named Winston Smith. After having been found guilty by the Thought Police of committing crimes against Big Brother, Winston must face his greatest fear in Room 101.

6. "The wine was red wine, and had stained the ground of the narrow street in the suburb of Saint Antoine, in Paris, where it was spilled. It had stained many hands, too, and many faces, and many naked feet, and many wooden shoes. The hands of the man who sawed the wood, left red marks on the billets; and the forehead of the woman who nursed her baby, was stained with the stain of the old rag she wound about her head again. Those who had been greedy with the staves of the cask, had acquired a tigerish smear about the mouth; and one tall joker so besmirched, his head more out of a long squalid bag of a nightcap than in it, scrawled upon a wall with his finger dipped in muddy wine-lees--BLOOD." Which novel is this from?

Answer: A Tale of Two Cities

In a very memorable scene near the beginning of the novel, Dickens creates a desperate, chaotic image of starving French peasants struggling to drink any one drop of the wine that has fallen into the street outside of Defarge's wine shop. Of course, this scene is also a foreshadowing of the bloodshed that comes later in the novel with the French revolts.

7. Which Jane Austen novel is set primarily at Hartfield?

Answer: Emma

"Emma" tells the story of Emma Woodhouse, a well-to-do young lady who insists on playing matchmaker for nearly everyone in her life. Although she is apparently a stickler for social propriety, many of her attempted matches are quite inappropriate (socially speaking). Austen once referred to Emma as "a character whom no one but me will much like," which proved anything but true once the wildly popular novel was published.

8. In "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," what is the order of animals hunted during the hunting sequence?

Answer: Deer, boar, fox

In this epic poem by an unknown author, a young knight named Gawain is tested by a mysterious and enigmatic figure: the Green Knight. While staying at Lord Bertilak's castle, Gawain makes a deal with his host that the two will exchange anything they earn that day.

While the host goes hunting, Gawain stays at the castle with the host's wife. This continues for 3 days, without Gawain knowing that Bertilak is actually the Green Knight, and that he was being tested all along. The hunting sequence parallels the scenes of seduction occurring simultaneously at the castle, and the order of animals hunted proves significant to the inner challenges being faced by Gawain.

9. In Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene," the Redcrosse Knight is later revealed to be whom?

Answer: St. George

Spenser's epic poem, which addresses questions of goodness, evil, chastity, truth, and salvation, is rich with allegorical meaning. Redcrosse (who goes on to become St. George) represents holiness, and the church of England. Una represents truth, while her foil Duessa represents falsehood. Britomart represents chastity, and Florimell represents beauty. Finally, Gloriana (the Faerie Queene) primarily represents Queen Elizabeth, though she never actually appears in the poem.

10. Which novel tells the story of a family with children named Andrew, Jasper, Roger, James, Prue, Rose, Nancy, and Cam?

Answer: To the Lighthouse

Woolf's unique stream-of-consciousness style help set the tone for her story about the Ramsay family, who are on summer vacation just before the start of World War I. The Ramsays entertain a diverse group of guests over the course of the summer, as Woolf examines the great mysteries behind all human interaction, as well as the innate human desires to feel satisfied and accepted.

Source: Author PrincessJoey

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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Assorted Literature Trivia Quiz

Calling all bookworms! From the mind of an Honours English student, here's a general quiz about some of the greatest authors, characters, and pieces of literature of all time (in my humble opinion). Some are well-known, and others less so. Good luck!

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