French Literature 842 - 1980

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. It may not be a literary work in the strict sense of the word, but what is generally regarded as the first piece of writing in French? The Song of Roland The Sequence of St Eulalia The Strasbourg Oaths The Life of Saint Alexis

2. Which celebrated medieval poem is the work of the Norman poet Béroul? Le Roman de Tristan Aucassin et Nicolette La Chanson de Roland Renaud de Montauban

3. Born in Paris in 1431, he became a Master of Arts of the university. He was pardoned for the manslaughter of a cleric in 1455, and left Paris in 1456 after being involved in a robbery. Returning to the city about 1462, after various scrapes in the provinces, he was soon in trouble again, and was sentenced to death in 1463 for involvement in the killing of a notary. He was reprieved and exiled, after which we hear no more of him. His most notable poems are the "Lais" and the "Testament". What was his name? Eustache Deschamps Jean de Meung Guillaume de Lorris François Villon

4. In the works of François Rabelais, what is the name of the giant who is the son of Grandgousier and the father of Pantagruel? Alcofribas Nasier Gargamelle Gargantua Picrochole

5. Generally regarded as the leading poet of the school known as the Pléiade, this man is perhaps best remembered for the poem "À Cassandre", beginning "Mignonne, allons voir si la rose". Who was he? Étienne Jodelle Joachim du Bellay Pierre Ronsard Pontus de Tyard

6. Which of the following plays is not by Pierre Corneille? Horace Le Cid Phèdre Cinna

7. Jean Racine is celebrated for his tragedies, but he also produced a comedy satirizing the law. What was it called? Les Avocats Le Procès Les Juges Les Plaideurs

8. Which of Molière's plays is an attack on religious hypocrisy? Tartuffe L'École des Femmes L'École des Maris Le Misanthrope

9. "We are all strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others". "The only thing that should surprise us is that we can still be surprised". "We are never so fortunate nor so unfortunate as we think we are". These are among the 600-odd "Maxims" of which 17th-century writer? La Rochefoucauld Descartes La Fontaine Pascal

10. What is the title of Voltaire's satire on the philosophy of optimism, i.e. the doctrine that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds"? Zadig Candide Zaire Micromégas

11. Which of Victor Hugo's plays has a preface which has been described as the manifesto of Romanticism? Hernani Le Roi s'amuse Cromwell Ruy Blas

12. "Vingt Ans Après" By Alexandre Dumas the Elder is a sequel to which of his other novels? La Dame de Monsoreau La Reine Margot Les Trois Mousquetaires Le Collier de la Reine

13. Prosper Mérimée wrote a novella set in Spain which was the inspiration for an opera by Bizet. The novella and the opera have the same title, which is ...? Answer: (One Word - 6 letters)

14. In the title of Stendhal's novel "Le Rouge et le Noir", what do red and black symbolize? Hope and despair The army and the church Day and night Life and death

15. Who was the author of "Les Fleurs du Mal", a collection of poems which enjoyed a "succès de scandale" when it was published in the 1850s? Théophile Gautier Charles Baudelaire Alfred de Vigny Alfred de Musset

16. Colette's earliest novels, the "Claudine" tetralogy, were written in collaboration with her husband and originally published under his pen-name. What was the pen-name? Wally Guillaume Trilby Willy

17. Which is the first volume in Proust's "roman-fleuve" "À la recherche du temps perdu"? "À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs" "Sodome et Gomorrhe" "Le côté de Guermantes" "Du côté de chez Swann"

18. In one of Ionesco's plays the central character, Bérenger, has to defend his humanity in a world in which everyone is turning into a particular species of animal. Which animal? Elephant Rhinoceros Monkey Sheep

19. What was the nationality of Georges Simenon, the creator of the Parisian detective Maigret? French Canadian Swiss Belgian

20. Which writer was the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française? Françoise Sagan Nathalie Sarraute Marguerite Yourcenar Simone de Beauvoir