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Quiz about Dying is Easy  Comedy Is Hard
Quiz about Dying is Easy  Comedy Is Hard

Dying is Easy - Comedy Is Hard Quiz


For playwrights throughout the ages, "Make 'Em Laugh" has always been good advice.

A multiple-choice quiz by astorian. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
astorian
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
149,528
Updated
Oct 21 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
1806
Last 3 plays: AliTob (7/10), Guest 80 (8/10), Guest 62 (7/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. In Aristophanes' "Lysistrata," how do the women of Athens attempt to end the war with Sparta? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Which Neil Simon play was based on his own marriage to actress Marsha Mason? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Which supporting character from Shakespeare's "Henry IV" is the lead role in the comedy "The Merry Wives of Windsor"? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. In the morbidly funny "Arsenic and Old Lace," to what actor is evil brother Jonathan said to bear an uncanny resemblance? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which of the following best describes Moliere's character Tartuffe? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Which George Bernard Shaw comedy was the basis of the musical "My Fair Lady"? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," who is Mr. Bunbury? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Who wrote the absurdist comedy "Rhinoceros," in which only one man on Earth resists becoming a rhinoceros? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What's funny about the character Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's play "The Rivals"? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," does Godot ever show up?



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 24 2024 : AliTob: 7/10
Mar 21 2024 : Guest 80: 8/10
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 62: 7/10
Mar 17 2024 : dellastreet: 10/10
Mar 15 2024 : Guest 161: 8/10
Mar 08 2024 : Guest 161: 8/10
Mar 06 2024 : Guest 161: 8/10
Feb 17 2024 : Guest 24: 10/10
Feb 11 2024 : Guest 77: 7/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In Aristophanes' "Lysistrata," how do the women of Athens attempt to end the war with Sparta?

Answer: Withholding sex from their husbands

The Pentagon is undoubtedly working to suppress this play!
2. Which Neil Simon play was based on his own marriage to actress Marsha Mason?

Answer: Chapter Two

Before becoming a playwright, Neil Simon was a comedy writer for Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows," along with Woody Allen, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks.
3. Which supporting character from Shakespeare's "Henry IV" is the lead role in the comedy "The Merry Wives of Windsor"?

Answer: Falstaff

"The Merry Wives of Windsor" was adapted into the comic opera "Falstaff" by Giuseppe Verdi.
4. In the morbidly funny "Arsenic and Old Lace," to what actor is evil brother Jonathan said to bear an uncanny resemblance?

Answer: Boris Karloff

When "Arsenic and Old Lace" debuted on Broadway, this joke was heightened by the fact that the role of Jonathan was actually played by the real Boris Karloff.
5. Which of the following best describes Moliere's character Tartuffe?

Answer: Hypocrite and charlatan

Tartuffe poses as the model of religious rectitude, while secretly attempting to steal his benefactor's money and seduce his wife.
6. Which George Bernard Shaw comedy was the basis of the musical "My Fair Lady"?

Answer: Pygmalion

George Bernard Shaw won a Best Screenplay Oscar for adapting his own play "Pygmalion" into a film. That makes him the only man to win both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize.
7. In Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," who is Mr. Bunbury?

Answer: A non-existent friend

Whenever the character Algernon wishes to get out of an unpleasant social obligation, he claims he must pay a visit to his sick, dying friend Bunbury.
8. Who wrote the absurdist comedy "Rhinoceros," in which only one man on Earth resists becoming a rhinoceros?

Answer: Eugene Ionesco

Berenger's resistance to becoming a rhinoceros, when everyone around him accepts the transformation happily, may symbolize the struggle of idealistic Europeans to resist the seemingly inevitable victory of fascism.
9. What's funny about the character Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's play "The Rivals"?

Answer: She always uses the wrong word

Mrs. Malaprop made such an impression that her name made it into the dictionary: a malapropism is defined as "humorous misapplication of a word."
10. In Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," does Godot ever show up?

Answer: no

At the end of the play, a little boy informs Vladimir and Estragon that Godot can't make it, but will surely come tomorrow. (Or will he?)
Source: Author astorian

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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