Index : L : Literature Before 1900

Structure Sub-topic of: Literature Other encyclopedia entries of interest: Alcott, Louisa May | Austen, Jane | Boccaccio, Giovanni | Bronte Sisters | Carroll, Lewis | Chaucer, Geoffrey | Conrad, Joseph | Dante | Dickens, Charles | Dostoyevsky, Fyodor | Dumas, Alexandre | Eliot, George | Gaskell, Elizabeth | Hardy, Thomas | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | Homer | Hugo, Victor | Kipling, Rudyard | London, Jack | Marlowe, Christopher | Melville, Herman | Poe, Edgar Allan | Shelley, Mary | Stevenson, Robert Louis | The Classics | Twain, Mark | Verne, Jules | Virgil | Wilde, Oscar | Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 65 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display. Frequently Asked Questions & Answers There are 30 user-asked question matches ( goto ) Special Topics English Literature Through the Ages Mixed Literature Rather Tough But ? A Challenge in Lit Who Wrote This Classic? Mixed Literature Who Wrote Those Great Books? College Literature Exam British Literature of the Restoration Classic Books Great Romantic Books and Authors Eminent Victorians General Literature Romanticism Who Wrote What?-Part 3 English Literature Made Simple - No. 1 Which Novel Am I From? More Literature, Generally Speaking They Were Poets and They Knew it. Literature, generally Gothic Literature

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Literature Before 1900

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 (marienbart)


Macbeth (by William Shakespeare).



Who wrote 'The Monk'?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


Matthew Lewis. Matthew Lewis wrote this novel in six weeks --- when he was only 19 years old!



Who wrote 'The Faerie Queene'?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


Spenser.



Who wrote 'The Aeneid'?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


Virgil.



Who wrote 'Don Juan'?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


Lord Byron.



Who wrote 'Doctor Zhivago'?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


Boris Pasternak.



Who wrote 'Anna Karenina'?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


Leo Tolstoy.



Who was the original Mother Goose?

MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz (MotherGoose)


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.



Who is the hero of 'The Iliad'?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


Achilles.



Which poem did John Keats NOT write?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


Ode to the West Wind.



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 (MotherGoose)


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.



Which famous Impressionistic composer wrote the ballet music "Mother Goose"?

MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz (MotherGoose)


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.



Where did Calliope's mother come in from to visit him? (This is also from 'Dog Days'.)

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


Alabama. Calliope changed his ways so his mama wouldn't be ashamed of him.



When is Mother Goose Day?

MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz (MotherGoose)


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.



What was the jester's name in 'Ivanhoe'?

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


Wamba. Wamba was the jester in Wishbone's version of "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott.



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 (skylarb)


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.



What Jane Austen hero is described by the naïve heroine as "strange"?

Great Literature Miscellany (skylarb)


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.



What are the two cities for which 'A Tale of Two Cities' is named?

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


London and Paris . Charles Evremonde moved from his home and changed his name to Charles Darnay.



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 (marienbart)


Marlowe .



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 (MotherGoose)


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.



Sir Thomas Malory wrote about what legendary figure?

Literature Quiz for English Majors (scottm)


King Arthur. From 'Le Morte D'Arthur'



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 (MotherGoose)


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.



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 (MotherGoose)


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.



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 (MotherGoose)


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".



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 (skylarb)


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.



In 'Treasure Island' what did Ben Gunn ask for?

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


cheese. "My heart is sore for cheese!"



In 'The Red Badge of Courage' which side is Henry fighting for?

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


Union. "Even one war is too many." -Henry's mother. I agree!



In 'The Purloined Letter' what was the man who Dupin hired waving?

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


pistol. Dupin hired the man to wave around a pistol as a distraction, so Dupin could snatch the letter.



In 'The Inspector General' who did the fake Inspector General call "as vain as a peacock"?

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


the wife. The Fake Inspector General wrote this in a letter to a friend.



In 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' what was the name of the man who made the hound attack?

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


Hugo Baskerville. He made a starved, vicious hound attack his family members. That way, if they died, he would be next in line to inherit a fortune.



In 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn' what did Tom and Huck pretend to be when they went to Jackson Island?

Fun 'Wishbone' Quiz 2 (24girl)


pirates. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn loved to go to Jackson Island and play for long periods of time. Once, they were gone for so long, everyone thought they were dead.

• In literature, who is M's secretary? ( goto )



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• In literature, Which clergyman venerates Rosings? ( goto )



• For which field of literature are 'Hugos' awarded? ( goto )



• Who said, "All literature is gossip."? ( goto )



• This work of literature has been translated from Latin and was written almost half a century after the main storyteller's death. Although rather sketchy, it holds accounts of a famous adventure, which some believe the sea-dweller discovered a well known place nearly a thousand years before a well known explorer. Involving a big fish and a crystal tower, what was the name of this publication, and who was the main protagonist? ( goto )



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• In literature where was crime treated as a disease and disease as a crime? ( goto )



• In literature who was forced to wear a colourful letter of the alphabet? ( goto )



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• The Nobel Prize for literature is traditionally awarded on which day? ( goto )



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• Which Russian writer declined the 1958 Nobel prize for literature? ( goto )



• What are the "seven seas" so often mentioned in literature? ( goto )



• Are living Unicorns mentioned in any respected works of authoritative literature? ( goto )



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• In literature which soldier's bride-to-be turns up at the wrong church? ( goto )



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• In 1981 a student of English Literature at the Sorbonne achieved notoriety for what act? ( goto )



• Which city is the birthplace of three Nobel literature laureates and who are they? ( goto )



• Who was the first African-American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature? ( goto )



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• In literature, Who travels on the back of a hoopoe bird a big as a double bed? ( goto )



• In literature,who had a brother named Robert and a sister named Ethel.? ( goto )



• In Literature who put a smile on the face of corpses to attract a colleague's interest ? ( goto )



• In literature, Who puts a smile on the face of corpses to attract a colleague's interest? ( goto )



• In literature, Which drably coloured cleric sleuthed around in Edwardian England? ( goto )