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Quiz about Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers novels

Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers' novels Quiz

Dorothy L. Sayers' novels are full of quotes from beautiful and interesting poems. This quiz tests your knowledge of the poems and the novels in which they appear.

A multiple-choice quiz by rosC. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
rosC

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
178,904

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
513

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. 'Towery city, and branchy between towers.
Cuckoo-echoing, bell swarmed, lack-charmed, rock-racked, river-rounded,
The dapple-eared lily below.'
Oxford is described thus at the end of which novel? Hint

Unnatural Death

Gaudy Night

Clouds of Witness

The Nine Tailors

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Question 2 of 10

2. 'So here I'll watch the night and wait
To see the morning shine
When he will hear the stroke of eight
And not the stroke of nine.'
Who wrote these words which begin the final chapter of "Busman's Honeymoon"? Hint

A. E. Housman

Walter De La Mare

Shakespeare

John Betjeman

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Question 3 of 10

3. And which is the character who will not hear that 'stroke of nine'in "Busman's Honeymoon"? Hint

Frank Crutchley

Aggie Twitterton

Joe Sellon

Mr Noakes

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Question 4 of 10

4. 'Bredon went to Balliol
And sat at the feet of Gamaliel.
And just as he ought
He cared for nought
And his language was sesquipedalial!'
Characters from which novel write this limerick? Hint

Murder Must Advertise

Striding Folly

Five Red Herrings

Lord Peter Views the Body

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Question 5 of 10

5. 'Here, then, at home, by no more storms distrest,
Folding laborious hands we sit, wings furled.'
This poem was written by Dorothy L. Sayers herself. True or false?

True

False

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Question 6 of 10

6. In "Gaudy Night" Lord Peter completes Harriet's sonnet for her. What is his comment on the completed poem? Hint

A very conceited, metaphysical conclusion!

A delightful exercise in co-operative harmony!

A monstrously self-important conclusion!

Will you marry me?

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Question 7 of 10

7. 'By the pricking of my thumbs, something evil this way comes.' These lines are used by Sayers at the start of Chapter 2 of "Unnatural Death". Which Shakespearean character originally spoke them? Hint

Lear

Hamlet

Lady Macbeth

Second Witch

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Question 8 of 10

8. Dorothy L. Sayers spent many years producing a highly regarded English translation of which mediaeval poem? Hint

Carmina Burana

The Canterbury Tales

Beowulf

The Divine Comedy

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Question 9 of 10

9. The chapter headings in "Have His Carcase" are taken from the poems of Thomas Lovell Beddoes. "The Bride's Tragedy" is one, which is the other? Hint

Song of the Stygian Naiades

Wolfram's Dirge

Death's Jestbook

A Clock Striking Midnight

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Question 10 of 10

10. "'...and he himself has said it,' muttered Freddy, 'and it's greatly to his credit.'" Whose lines is Freddy Arbuthnott remembering in "Strong Poison"? Hint

Hilaire Belloc

Edward Lear

W.S.Gilbert

Alfred Lord Tennyson

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 'Towery city, and branchy between towers. Cuckoo-echoing, bell swarmed, lack-charmed, rock-racked, river-rounded, The dapple-eared lily below.' Oxford is described thus at the end of which novel?

Answer: Gaudy Night

From Gerard Manley Hopkins' wonderful poem "Duns Scotus' Oxford". The sonnet begins with the lines quoted above which should have the characteristic Hopkins' accents.

2. 'So here I'll watch the night and wait To see the morning shine When he will hear the stroke of eight And not the stroke of nine.' Who wrote these words which begin the final chapter of "Busman's Honeymoon"?

Answer: A. E. Housman

They are taken from Housman's famous work, "A Shropshire Lad".

3. And which is the character who will not hear that 'stroke of nine'in "Busman's Honeymoon"?

Answer: Frank Crutchley

Frank Crutchley murdered Mr Noakes hoping that his fortune would go to Aggie Twitterton whom he would then marry. When Frank discovered that Noakes had left behind no money, only debts, he promptly dumped Miss Twitterton and went back to his other girlfriend, Polly Mason.

He was a sullen prisoner, refusing to admit his crime which made Lord Peter's nervous reaction at the conviction even worse. Harriet ends by cradling Peter's head in her arms in the hope that he will not hear the hour strike.

4. 'Bredon went to Balliol And sat at the feet of Gamaliel. And just as he ought He cared for nought And his language was sesquipedalial!' Characters from which novel write this limerick?

Answer: Murder Must Advertise

Mr Garrett produced the first two lines, Miss Meteyard added the next two, challenging Garrett to find a further rhyme for Balliol. Unfortunately, she points out, 'It isn't sesquipedalial, it's sesquipedalian.' The subject of the rhyme is, of course, Peter Wimsey, masquerading as Mr Death Bredon, advertising copywriter.

5. 'Here, then, at home, by no more storms distrest, Folding laborious hands we sit, wings furled.' This poem was written by Dorothy L. Sayers herself. True or false?

Answer: True

Although, of course, in "Gaudy Night" these are Harriet Vane's words.

6. In "Gaudy Night" Lord Peter completes Harriet's sonnet for her. What is his comment on the completed poem?

Answer: A very conceited, metaphysical conclusion!

The sonnet is left by mistake in Harriet's dossier which she hands to Peter. He says nothing to her about it, but adds the final sestet of lines, with this comment, before handing the file back to her. His completion of the poem helps Harriet to understand how he views life and love and is influential in her finally agreeing to marry him.

This is practically the only letter he writes Harriet which doesn't contain a proposal!

Answer: Second Witch

From "Macbeth". "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" is also the title of an excellent Agatha Christie novel.

8. Dorothy L. Sayers spent many years producing a highly regarded English translation of which mediaeval poem?

Answer: The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" was written in the 14th century in Latin. Its three parts follow Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, guided by the poet Virgil. "Carmina Burana" is a twelfth century poem, made famous by Carl Orff's setting of it to music. "The Canterbury Tales" were the fourteenth century work of England's Geoffrey Chaucer whose most famous modern translation is by Nevill Coghill. "Beowulf" is considered the first work in English.

9. The chapter headings in "Have His Carcase" are taken from the poems of Thomas Lovell Beddoes. "The Bride's Tragedy" is one, which is the other?

Answer: Death's Jestbook

The quotes are all suitably gory and atmospheric for this novel about the murder of a haemophiliac Russian dancer.

10. "'...and he himself has said it,' muttered Freddy, 'and it's greatly to his credit.'" Whose lines is Freddy Arbuthnott remembering in "Strong Poison"?

Answer: W.S.Gilbert

From "H.M.S. Pinafore."

Source: Author rosC

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