Literary Lapses Trivia Quiz

Answer: Absolutely

Lord John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton was born in 1834 while his parents lived in Naples, Italy. In a letter to Archbishop Mandela Creighton from 1887, Lord Acton wrote, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely". What Lord Acton meant was that all men should be held at the same standards, no matter who they are or what their occupation is. People that have much power tend to be corrupt and the more power a person gets can lead that person to be more corrupt.

Answer: Wife

Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" was written in 1797 and published in 1813. The opening line of the novel quickly became one of the most recognizable lines in literature. It is the line that rules over the entirety of the book. Mrs. Bennett takes the line to heart as she tries to set each one of her marriageable daughters up with the first single and wealthy man of whom she learns.

Ironically, Jane Austen remained single for her entire life.

Answer: People

Dale Carnegie had "How to Win Friends and Influence People" published in 1936. In the book's first year, it was reprinted seventeen times. In Dale Carnegie's book, he wrote down six different sections with step-by-step directions on how to be a good friend, an effective leader, and a happy house owner. Dale led conferences on his book that were widely attended.

Answer: self-evident

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the opening line of "The Declaration of Independence" he wanted citizens to know that it should be obvious that everyone is created the same and are allowed to live their life freely and happily.

Thomas Jefferson wrote "The Declaration of Independence" upon the separation of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain's rule. The thirteen colonies celebrated this freedom and this document on July 4, 1776.

Answer: Annabel Lee

"Annabel Lee" was the last poem Poe wrote before his death in 1849. It wasn't published until after Mr. Poe died. The narrator of the poem is waxing poetical about his love for a woman named Annabel Lee with whom he grew up and fell in love. Even after her death, the narrator can't stop talking about his love for her.

Allegedly, Vladimir Nabokov used "Annabel Lee" as an inspiration when writing his 1955 novel "Lolita".

Answer: Rabbits

"The Tale of Peter Rabbit" was Beatrix Potter's first book published in 1902. After Beatrix successfully self-published "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", she began writing and illustrating her own books. With sixty books in her repertoire, Beatrix's most popular with fans were the twenty-three children's books she wrote about animals.

Beatrix's Peter Rabbit became the first fictional character sold as a stuffed animal.

Answer: Weep

Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote "Solitude" and had it published in 1883. With the three stanza poem, Ella Wilcox shares how the world would react if a person showed different emotions. The first line of "Solitude" is the most recognized line in the poem.

Answer: Lady

Lord Tennyson had "The Lady of Shallot" published in 1891. In Tennyson's poem, the Lady of Shallot is trapped in a tower unable to ever live in the outside world. The men who are harvesting the barley are the ones that hear the Lady of Shallot singing from her tower. The men have never seen her, so they are referring to her as a fairy.

Answer: Man's

"Paradise Lost" contains over ten thousand lines of verse that tells the story of Genesis. It was first published in 1667. With his opening line, Milton is exposing the sin of Adam and Eve as described in the bible, and the effects it had on the world after the sin was discovered.

Answer: Suffer

Hamlet's popular speech is a cry for help that takes place in the first scene of Act Three. Hamlet's speech comes because has lost his father and the man who killed his father has married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Hamlet is now asking out loud if it is better to be alive or dead or if there is something worse in death than there is in living.

"Hamlet", written by William Shakespeare was first published in 1603.