MotherGoose's "Mother Goose" Quiz

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Who was the original Mother Goose? Charles Perrault of France Jean Loret of France Elizabeth Goose of Boston historians cannot agree on the identity of Mother Goose

2. When is Mother Goose Day? April 1 September 30 October 31 May 1

3. Which famous Impressionistic composer wrote the ballet music "Mother Goose"? Maurice Ravel Richard Wagner Frederick Chopin Johann Sebastian Bach

4. 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? Oscar Wilde Jonathon Swift WIlliam Butler Yeats Oliver Goldsmith

5. 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? Henry VI Richard Plantagenet Edward IV Andrew I

6. 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"? Mary Queen of Scots Elizabeth I of England Mary I of England (“Bloody Mary”) Lady Jane Grey

7. 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? malaria cholera smallpox bubonic (black) plague

8. Which of the following nursery rhymes is said to have been written as a protest against an export tax on fleece imposed in Britain? Little Bo Peep Sing a Song of Sixpence Mary had a Little Lamb Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

9. In 1714 George I ascended the throne of England. However, a political group called the Jacobites supported the son of the deposed James II's claim to the throne. Which of the following nursery rhymes is NOT a political commentary of (alleged) Jacobite origin? There was a Crooked Man Jim and George were Two Great Lords Hark, Hark, the Dogs do Bark Georgey Porgey, Pudding and Pie

10. 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? Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cromwell Thomas Wolsey Thomas More