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Quiz about Ten Famous Epitaphs
Quiz about Ten Famous Epitaphs

Ten Famous Epitaphs Trivia Quiz


Ten memorable inscriptions on the graves of famous people (and one fictional character's).

A multiple-choice quiz by tjoebigham. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
tjoebigham
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
77,893
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
2663
Last 3 plays: adam36 (8/10), GBfan (7/10), Triviaballer (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. What English poet wrote his epitaph thus: "When I am dead, I hope it will be said: His sins were scarlet, but his books were read"? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. What two-time Oscar-winning English actress has lines from Shakespeare inscribed on a church plaque dedicated to her? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What polar explorer has a line of Tennyson over him? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote this line as part of his own epitaph: "Home is the sailor, home from the sea..."


Question 5 of 10
5. What fellow Scot has a line of Stevenson's over him? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What English poet wrote this epitaph for himself: "Here lies one whose words were writ in water"? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. What fellow poet chose from Shakespeare's "Tempest" for his? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What famed American compared himself in his own epitaph to an old book ready to return in a new edition? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What 20th century Irish poet gave his epitaph at the end of a long poem of his? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What fictional woman had a Latin epitaph? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Nov 15 2024 : adam36: 8/10
Oct 29 2024 : GBfan: 7/10
Oct 16 2024 : Triviaballer: 5/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What English poet wrote his epitaph thus: "When I am dead, I hope it will be said: His sins were scarlet, but his books were read"?

Answer: Hillaire Belloc

Hood loved puns, but it's Belloc who penned the phrase.
2. What two-time Oscar-winning English actress has lines from Shakespeare inscribed on a church plaque dedicated to her?

Answer: Vivien Leigh

Best known for her Oscar roles in "Gone With The Wind" and "A Streetcar Named Desire", Leigh's first love was the stage. Her epitaph is from Shakespeare's "Anthony and Cleopatra: 'Now, death, can thou boast in thy possession a lass unparallel'd..." Leigh played Cleo.

"A private funeral was held on Wednesday the 12th at St. Mary's surrounded by hundreds of flower arrangements with tributes from family and peers. All of London's theatres switched off their marquees at 10pm for an hour of respect and requiem masses were arranged in New York. A memorial service was held at St Martin's in the Fields on August 14th, attended by her many friends and famous stars. Many felt, for her to die while she was still performing and beautiful, was how she would have wished it. Her ashes were scattered at Lake Tickerage on October 8th." (http://www.dycks.com/vivienleigh/life/grace.htm)
3. What polar explorer has a line of Tennyson over him?

Answer: Robert Falcon Scott

Scott lost to Amundsen in the race for the South Pole and he and his comrades lost their lives. But his heroic spirit in the face of death is summed up by the line from Tennyson's "Ulysses": "To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield."
4. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote this line as part of his own epitaph: "Home is the sailor, home from the sea..."

Answer: False

It should read "...home from sea..." but the misquotation still stands on Stevenson's grave in Samoa. "Requiem" is one of Stevenson's most loved works and I recited it (in its correct version) over my late father's grave.
5. What fellow Scot has a line of Stevenson's over him?

Answer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"Steel true, Blade straight" is the line from Stevenson's "My Wife" that is on the grave of the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
6. What English poet wrote this epitaph for himself: "Here lies one whose words were writ in water"?

Answer: John Keats

Keats' words appear on a cenotaph (tablet) near his grave. He obviously thought his works wouldn't last. Happily, he was wrong!
7. What fellow poet chose from Shakespeare's "Tempest" for his?

Answer: Percy Shelley

From Ariel's famed words: "Nothing from him doth fade, but suffer a sea-change, into something rich and strange..." Very apt, since Shelley died by drowning.
8. What famed American compared himself in his own epitaph to an old book ready to return in a new edition?

Answer: Ben Franklin

"The body of Benj. Franklin, printer, lies here... but the work will not be lost, but, it is believed, appear in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author." Ben's words, though, appear on a plaque near his Philadelphia grave.
9. What 20th century Irish poet gave his epitaph at the end of a long poem of his?

Answer: William Butler Yeats

"Cast a cold eye on life, on death, Horseman, Pass By!" From Yeats, "Under Ben Bulben."
10. What fictional woman had a Latin epitaph?

Answer: Emma Bovary

At least Flaubert gave Emma these words: Sta viator: amabilen conuglor calcas ("Stay travelor, for you tread on a beloved wife.")
Source: Author tjoebigham

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