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Literary Lines Trivia Quiz

Here's a look at some memorable literary lines - placed in context.

A multiple-choice quiz by robert362. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
robert362

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
108,544

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
1242

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The opening line to "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens is well-known, beginning with "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..." What words immediately follow? Hint

It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness

It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity

It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness

It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair

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Question 2 of 10

2. "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe may be the most famous American poem. The raven speaks one word in response to assorted questions and comments that are posed by the narrator. What is the first question asked by the narrator that elicits the famous "nevermore" response? Hint

He asks the birds name.

He asks if the bird will ever leave him.

He asks if he will ever again see Lenore.

He asks what the bird is doing outside on such a difficult night.

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Question 3 of 10

3. Everyone has heard John Donne's line: "Never send to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee." The preceding line states that "any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in ...? Hint

Humanity

The World

Love

Mankind

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Question 4 of 10

4. "He did not wear his scarlet coat, for blood and wine are red ..."
It's a good opening line for a poem. Who wrote it? Hint

Lord Byron

Oscar Wilde

Robert Frost

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Question 5 of 10

5. "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" begins a well-known speech in Shakespeare's "Macbeth". Who speaks these famous lines? Hint

Macduff

Lady Macbeth

Banquo

Macbeth

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Question 6 of 10

6. In one of his plays, Tennessee Williams has a character ask: "what's the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?" What is the answer? Hint

Finding another cat with a worse problem

Pretending the pain doesn't exist

Staying on as long as she can

Being content

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Question 7 of 10

7. The narrator in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" tells his story to
an individual who is attending a ... ? Hint

Funeral

Wedding

Christening

Childbirth

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Question 8 of 10

8. In what play does Shakespeare observe that "conscience does make cowards of us all"? Hint

Hamlet

Julius Caesar

Othello

King Lear

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Question 9 of 10

9. "Please sir, I want some more" is a line from what work? Hint

Oliver Twist

Great Expectations

Bleak House

David Copperfield

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Question 10 of 10

10. Reference is sometimes made to "the playboy of the western world". Who wrote the play of that title? Hint

Elmer Rice

George Bernard Shaw

John Millington Synge

Clifford Odets

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The opening line to "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens is well-known, beginning with "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..." What words immediately follow?

Answer: It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness

The poem begins with the reference to best and worst, then goes to wisdom and foolishness, belief and incredulity, light and darkness, hope and despair - in that order.

Answer: He asks the birds name.

The first time the Raven speaks is in response to the narrator's inquiry about the bird's name.

Answer: Mankind

Good line. It's endured for centuries.

4. "He did not wear his scarlet coat, for blood and wine are red ..." It's a good opening line for a poem. Who wrote it?

Answer: Oscar Wilde

It opens "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", Wilde's lengthy prison poem.

5. "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" begins a well-known speech in Shakespeare's "Macbeth". Who speaks these famous lines?

Answer: Macbeth

Macbeth himself is the speaker of these famous words.

6. In one of his plays, Tennessee Williams has a character ask: "what's the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?" What is the answer?

Answer: Staying on as long as she can

The problem of Maggie the Cat in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".

7. The narrator in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" tells his story to an individual who is attending a ... ?

Answer: Wedding

The listener is identified as a "Wedding Guest". One minute he's minding his own business, looking forward to a pleasant event. Then, from out of nowhere ...

8. In what play does Shakespeare observe that "conscience does make cowards of us all"?

Answer: Hamlet

From Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy.

9. "Please sir, I want some more" is a line from what work?

Answer: Oliver Twist

Poor hungry little ragamuffin.

10. Reference is sometimes made to "the playboy of the western world". Who wrote the play of that title?

Answer: John Millington Synge

Synge also wrote "Riders to the Sea".

Source: Author robert362

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor nerthus before going online.
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