Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. One of the earliest prose works in English is the anonymous work 'Ancrene Riwle', the title of which can be translated to modern English as 'Rule for _____'. What does 'Ancrene' mean?
2. A strange piece of prose is to be found at the very end of 'The Canterbury Tales'. In his so-called 'Retraction', the author abandons verse and turns to prose to excuse himself for what he has written (as if there's any need to do that). Who wrote 'The Canterbury Tales'?
3. 'The Book of Showings', also called 'The Book of Revelations', is a collection of 16 mystical visions written by a woman who was born in 1342 and died in 1416. She was a religious recluse, confined to a cell attached to the church of St. Julian in Norwich. By what name is this woman still known?
4. Who wrote the famous 15th century King Arthur story 'Le Morte D'Arthur'?
5. Who wrote the early 16th century prose work 'Utopia'?
6. One of the most influential books of the Renaissance was 'Il Cortegiano' by an Italian writer. It was translated into all the major European languages. The English translation, 'The Courtier', was made by Sir Thomas Hoby (yet another Sir Thomas). Which Italian author wrote 'Il Cortegiano'?
7. I'm looking for the man who wrote 'Adventures of Master F.J.', one of the first novel-like prose narratives in English. The man lived between 1539 and 1578 and also wrote a lot of poetry ('A Hundreth Sundrie Flowers') and translated some plays. His poem 'The Still Glass' was the first original poem in blank verse in English literature. What is the name of this man?
8. Also plays can incorporate some prose, which gives me a good excuse to sneak Shakespeare into this little quizzy. In Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' there are 4 groups of characters, each of which have their own style of speaking. One group speaks in blank verse (a kind of verse without a rhyme), another group combines blank verse and rhyming couplets. A third group speaks in rhyme. But which group speaks in prose?
9. Who wrote 'The Anatomy of Melancholy'?
10. Who wrote 'Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners' and 'The Pilgrim's Progress'?
11. Which extraordinary woman wrote 'Oroonoko' and the unfinished epistolary novel 'Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister'?
12. Time for an easy one: who wrote 'Gulliver's Travels'?
13. In 'Gulliver's Travels', what are Houyhnhnms?
14. Which of the following novels is NOT by Daniel Defoe?
15. Who wrote 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy' (1760-1767)?
Source: Author
marienbart
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
bullymom before going online.
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