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Quiz about First Lines from Famous Works of Literature

First Lines from Famous Works of Literature Quiz

Here's a pretty easy quiz for all you literature fans. I will provide the first line from a famous work of literature (novel, poem, or short story), and you decide where it comes from. Have fun and good luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by saturnchick23. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
saturnchick23

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
123,862

Updated
Jun 13 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
1105

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. "Sing goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians..." Hint

"The Iliad"

"Prometheus Bound"

"The Odyssey"

"Oedipus the King"

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. "Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York." Hint

"A Streetcar Named Desire"

" A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"

"The Age of Innocence"

"The Great Gatsby"

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. "It was five o'clock on a winter's morning in Syria. Alongside the platform at Aleppo stood the train grandly designated in the railway guides as the Taurus express." Hint

"The Invisible Man"

"Dracula"

"Murder on the Orient Express"

"For Whom the Bell Tolls"

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. "Amerigo Bonasera sat in New York Criminal Court Number 3 and waited for justice; vengeance on the men who so cruelly hurt his daughter, who had tried to dishonor her." Hint

"Wise Guy"

"The Godfather"

"Sleepers"

"Omerta"

5. "Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, yet somehow lovable." Hint

"Hard Times"

"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle"

"The Firm"

"Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. "Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton." Hint

"The Sun Also Rises"

"An American Tragedy"

"The Beautiful and the Damned"

"The Most Dangerous Game"

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could: but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge." Hint

"The Merchant of Venice"

"The Jungle"

"The Godfather"

"The Cask of Amontillado"

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. "On the 24th of February, 1815, the watch-tower of Notre Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three master Pharaon, from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples." Hint

"The Count of Monte Cristo"

"Les Miserables"

"A Tale of Two Cities"

"The Awakening"

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. "(September 16) Yesterday I remember thinking I was the happiest person in the whole earth, in the whole galaxy, in all of God's creation." Hint

"The Basketball Diaries"

"The Diary of Anne Frank"

"Go Ask Alice"

"Black Boy"

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. "The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call 'out there'." Hint

"The Wizard of Oz"

"In Cold Blood"

"The Catcher in the Rye"

"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Sing goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians..."

Answer: "The Iliad"

"The Iliad", an epic poem written by Homer, centers around the Trojan War between the Achaians (Greeks) and the Trojans. Although the poem is most widely known for its plot revolving around the abducted Helen of Troy, it is really a story about how Achilleus struggles to overcome his anger and fulfill his duties to the Achaian state.

2. "Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York."

Answer: " A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", written by Betty Smith, is a coming of age tale about the book's central character, Francie Nolan. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" was the first book I ever loved, and I recommend it to anyone that has not yet read it.

3. "It was five o'clock on a winter's morning in Syria. Alongside the platform at Aleppo stood the train grandly designated in the railway guides as the Taurus express."

Answer: "Murder on the Orient Express"

Agatha Christie's novel, "Murder on the Orient Express", is one of dozens of Christie novels to feature her Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Albert Finney portrayed Poirot in the film adaptation of "Murder on the Orient Express".

4. "Amerigo Bonasera sat in New York Criminal Court Number 3 and waited for justice; vengeance on the men who so cruelly hurt his daughter, who had tried to dishonor her."

Answer: "The Godfather"

Interestingly enough, Mario Puzo's novel, "The Godfather", has in many ways been overshadowed by the success of its hit movie adaptation and the subsequent sequels. Although the movie fails to include some key elements featured in its written counterpart, I do agree that it is one of the finest film adaptations ever created.

Answer: "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"

"Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", written by Robert Louis Stevenson, and published in 1886, is considered to be a predecessor to the contemporary mystery novel. Other Stevenson novels include "Kidnapped", and "Treasure Island".

6. "Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton."

Answer: "The Sun Also Rises"

"The Sun Also Rises", written by Ernest Hemingway, tells the story about a group of American and British ex-patriates living in Paris, France post-WWI. In 1957, the novel was adapted into a movie starring Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, and Errol Flynn.

7. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could: but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge."

Answer: "The Cask of Amontillado"

"The Cask of Amontillado", a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, features a recurring Poe theme - being buried alive. Strangely enough, this theme evolved from Poe's own fears about being buried alive. In fact, legend has it that Poe stipulated he wanted to be buried with a rope that was attached to an above-ground bell, just in case he awoke after his burial.

8. "On the 24th of February, 1815, the watch-tower of Notre Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three master Pharaon, from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples."

Answer: "The Count of Monte Cristo"

Alexandre Dumas pere, author of "The Count of Monte Cristo", wrote over 90 plays in his lifetime. Dumas is best known for his literary trilogy, "The Three Musketeers".

9. "(September 16) Yesterday I remember thinking I was the happiest person in the whole earth, in the whole galaxy, in all of God's creation."

Answer: "Go Ask Alice"

"Go Ask Alice" is the actual diary of an anonymous 15 year old drug user. The title of the book references a line from the Jefferson Airplane song "White Rabbit" (and the song actually refers to Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice in Wonderland").

10. "The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call 'out there'."

Answer: "In Cold Blood"

"In Cold Blood", written by Truman Capote, is a true account of the 1959 slaying of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. Aside from "In Cold Blood", Capote is best known for his novel "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

Source: Author saturnchick23

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