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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 50 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Literature Before 1900
Matthew Lewis. Matthew Lewis wrote this novel in six weeks --- when he was only 19 years old!
King Arthur. From 'Le Morte D'Arthur'
| Witch 1: 'When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?' Witch 2: 'When the hurlyburly's done, When the battle's lost and won.' | English Literature Before 1800
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Macbeth (by William Shakespeare).
| The last question is slightly different. Can you tell me who wrote the play 'The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus'? Only the surname suffices. | English Literature Before 1800
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| In Sophocle's "Antigone," who, because of his pride, repents too late and must endure the deaths of those closest to him? | Great Literature Miscellany
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Creon. Creon must ultimately suffer for his own flaw, and in this sense he could be viewed as the tragic hero of the play. Antigone, on the other hand, triumphs even in death. Oedipus is a character appearing in two other plays by Sophocles.
| What title character lamented, "I have nothing but grief upon grief to feed on; and I have fed on it. I've lived to be humiliated and insulted...that was the price I had to pay for the little shamefaced joy [my daughters] allowed me...I've given them my life. Today, they won't give me one hour"? | Great Literature Miscellany
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Pere Goriot. Honore de Balzac's novel tells of a man who is utterly destroyed by his daughters due to his own self-denial. Lear has trouble with his daughters in Shakespeare's play, as well, but he is not the speaker in question.
Henry Tilney. Neither Austen's hero nor heroine are typical in "Northanger Abbery"; the book, after all, is a parody of the gothic romance genre.
historians cannot agree on the identity of Mother Goose. According to the Mother Goose society, Mother Goose was "many she's and he's—different writers—in different times" (http://www.librarysupport.net/mothergoosesociety/who.html). The earliest recorded reference to Mother Goose was in Jean Loret's "La Muse Historique" (1650) which contained the line "Comme un conte de la Mere Oye" ("Like a Mother Goose story"). Charles Perrault also referred to Mother Goose in his book of fairy tales published in 1697 and this marks the beginning of Mother Goose's rise to fame. The claim that Elizabeth Goose or Vergoose was the original Mother Goose is largely disputed by historians and there is no supportive documentary evidence.
May 1. Gloria Delamar founded the Mother Goose Society and Mother Goose Day (May 1) in 1987. At the same time she launched her book "Mother Goose: From Nursery to Literature". September 30 is my birthday (I'd love to give you a point for this answer but I can't!). October 31 is Halloween and April 1 is April Fools Day of course. Mother Goose Day is now celebrated in many kindergarten and elementary schools across America.
Maurice Ravel. Maurice Ravel is probably more well-known for his composition "Bolero" (featured in the movie "10" starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek). Originally he wrote "Ma Mere L’Oye" ("My Mother Goose") as a suite of five piano duets for Mimi and Jean Godebski (the children of his friends). He then composed a full ballet by adding a prelude and interludes to link the five pieces.
| Mother Goose became popular in England when John Newbery published "Mother Goose’s Melody" in 1765. The editor of this book is widely believed to have been an Irish writer, the author of "The Vicar of Wakefield" and "She Stoops to Conquer". Who was he? | MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz
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Oliver Goldsmith. John Newbery was Oliver Goldsmith's friend and publisher. According to some Irish sources, when Goldsmith finished compiling the book for Newbery, he discovered he was two rhymes short of the required number so he passed off two of his own compositions as traditional Mother Goose nursery rhymes. The two rhymes attributed to Goldsmith are "Hickory, Dickory, Dock" and "Jack and Jill".
| Nursery rhymes are often thinly disguised descriptions of real people and historical events. "The Grand Old Duke of York" is commonly believed to relate to the War of the Roses – the struggle for the English crown between the Houses of York and Lancaster. Who was the Duke of York? | MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz
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Richard Plantagenet. Richard Plantagenet was the Duke of York referred to in the rhyme. Henry VI was a Lancastrian king. Edward IV was the son of Richard, Duke of York, who was crowned king in 1461 after Richard was killed at the Battle of Wakefield. The Duke of York is a title bestowed on the second son of the reigning monarch of Britain. Queen Elizabeth II's second son Andrew was given the title upon his marriage in 1986.
| Some scholars have claimed that "Little Miss Muffet" represents a particular queen and the spider represents John Knox, a Scottish religious reformer and founder of Presbyterianism. Which queen is said to be "Little Miss Muffet"? | MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz
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Mary Queen of Scots. Many historians have tried to determine who Little Miss Muffet really was but there is no evidence for any of the theories. Mother Goose scholars generally disagree with the theory that she was Mary Queen of Scots. It has claimed that "Little Bo Peep" and "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" also represent Mary, Queen of Scots.
| One of the most common "urban legends" is that the nursery rhyme "Ring Around the Rosey" or "Ring-a-Ring o' Roses" is about an epidemic of which disease? | MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz
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bubonic (black) plague. There is some debate as to whether this nursery rhyme really is about the plague. If you are interested in the details, the Snopes website has an excellent discussion about this theory (http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/rosie.htm). Contrary to popular belief, plague is not a disease of the past. It is still with us today in many parts of the world, even in America.
| Which of King Henry VIII's ministers is said to be immortalised in the nursery rhyme "Little Boy Blue" because of his failure to secure Henry's divorce from his first wife? | MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz
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Thomas Wolsey. Thomas must have been a popular name in that era. All four were advisers to Henry VIII at one time or another, but "Little Boy Boy" is said to refer to Archbishop Wolsey. Wolsey fell into disfavour when he was unable to secure Henry's divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Wolsey’s failure is referred to in the line "he's under the haycock fast asleep". Wolsey was dismissed in 1529 and died the following year after being charged with high treason.
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