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Varied Liberal Arts Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Varied Liberal Arts Quizzes, Trivia

Varied Liberal Arts Trivia

Varied Liberal Arts Trivia Quizzes

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More concentrated and focused topic choices for the more selective Liberal Arts aficionado.
15 quizzes and 155 trivia questions.
1.
  A Nose for the Liberal Arts   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In honour of the UK charity event "Red Nose Day", and in celebration of the nose everywhere - here's a bouquet hand picked for your delight from the fields of the traditional Liberal Arts. If the answers escape you, just follow your nose!
Tough, 10 Qns, Mistigris, Jan 02 12
Tough
Mistigris
2710 plays
2.
  Crooked House    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Come walk a meandering path through campus to discover a few ways in which the word "house" can be applied in some of the Liberal Arts disciplines.
Average, 10 Qns, Jakeroo, Jan 21 20
Average
Jakeroo
Jan 21 20
1414 plays
3.
  What'd They Say?!: The Rhetorics of Ancient Greece   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Effective speaking is a major part of life; the Ancients Greeks knew that well. They studied how they said what they said and why they said it.
Average, 10 Qns, trident, Dec 22 08
Average
trident editor
1631 plays
4.
  Art And Music 1    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Lets try this one for a change of pace.
Average, 10 Qns, steiny1, Aug 29 18
Average
steiny1
Aug 29 18
5417 plays
5.
  I Hated that Subject in College    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
These are 10 questions from various disciplines you may have heard about while you were ditching class.
Tough, 10 Qns, DougMa, Sep 16 09
Tough
DougMa
2955 plays
6.
  Rhetoric: For Intellectuals    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Every one of us has engaged in rhetorical discourse at some stage of our lives. How much about rhetoric do you really know? Take this brief but provocative quiz that will be sure to engage your mind.
Average, 10 Qns, manofrhetoric, May 31 11
Average
manofrhetoric
3734 plays
7.
  Greek Arts and Literature   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Sample some questions from ancient Greece that cover literature, art and the like. Good luck!
Difficult, 10 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Apr 02 04
Difficult
thejazzkickazz gold member
2341 plays
8.
  Drinks and Art   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
From water to whiskey, potable liquids find their way into the titles of great works of art. Take a swig of this quiz!
Difficult, 10 Qns, WiseTao, Apr 16 21
Difficult
WiseTao
Apr 16 21
3024 plays
9.
  Fishing for Titles    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Our scaled friends appear in the title of many works of art -- how many can you identify?
Tough, 10 Qns, WiseTao, Jul 04 16
Tough
WiseTao
2281 plays
10.
  Basic Miscellanea    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
You don't need to be a dictionary to know this stuff.
Very Difficult, 20 Qns, asquare, Jan 28 23
Very Difficult
asquare
Jan 28 23
4449 plays
trivia question Quick Question
The opening line of a play by which playwright reads: 'Ismene, dear sister, You would think that we had already suffered enough...'?

From Quiz "Greek Arts and Literature"




11.
  The Italian Renaissance    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The Italian Renaissance quickly spread to Northern Europe as well.
Average, 10 Qns, charlemagne, Dec 01 19
Average
charlemagne
Dec 01 19
4866 plays
12.
  Ancient and Early Pagan Days    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This consists of some easy ones and some tough ones, and I tried to mix quite a few traditions in so that it has some interest for most people.
Tough, 10 Qns, socratessoul, May 20 21
Tough
socratessoul
May 20 21
3107 plays
13.
  Myth and History    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
If you love myth and history, you should enjoy this quiz!
Very Difficult, 10 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Dec 07 12
Very Difficult
thejazzkickazz gold member
5741 plays
14.
  Women in Italian Renaissance    
Multiple Choice
 5 Qns
What do you know about women of Italian Art and Literature in the Renaissance?
Tough, 5 Qns, maria36, Oct 13 15
Tough
maria36
1223 plays
15.
  Renaissance Odds and Ends    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
If you love the Renaissance, perhaps this is the quiz for you...
Very Difficult, 10 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Mar 25 02
Very Difficult
thejazzkickazz gold member
2325 plays

Varied Liberal Arts Trivia Questions

1. Rhetoric is best described as what?

From Quiz
Rhetoric: For Intellectuals

Answer: The study of the use of language to produce a desired effect

Rhetoric can refer both to the study of the ways in which language is used to produced a desired effect and to the actual language used in that process.

2. A Schubert piano quintet is nicknamed after this fish. What is it?

From Quiz Fishing for Titles

Answer: Trout

In German it's the "Forellenquintett", but it's known more formally as D667. "Die Forelle" is the German word for Trout.

3. The real name of this 1732 Bach cantata is "Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht" What beverage is named in the common title of this cantata?

From Quiz Drinks and Art

Answer: Coffee

The real title translates to "Be still, stop chattering." The text was by Picander and refers to the craze for coffee in the 18th century. Even if there were no Starbucks.

4. Who was the first female Italian painter with international fame in the late 16th and early 17th century?

From Quiz Women in Italian Renaissance

Answer: Sofonisba Anguissola

It was Sofonisba Anguissola, Renaissance painter,(b. c.1530 Cremona - d.1625 Palermo), who was employed as a court portraitist for Philip II of Spain. She was also praised by Michelangelo, with whom she was in contact when she went to Rome in 1554. The Renaissance biographer Giorgio Vasari wrote that she "has created rare and very beautiful paintings." Veronica Franco (c.1546-1591)was a poet and courtesan of Venice. Eleonora Duse(1858-1924)was a famous actress. Sibilla Aleramo(1876-1960)was a writer.

5. Which author is considered the father of the 'Ecole Naturaliste' (literature, mainly)?

From Quiz Basic Miscellanea

Answer: Zola

For those who answered Balzac: Zola is considered the author who pushed Balzac's realism to its limits.

6. The opening line of a play by which playwright reads: 'Ismene, dear sister, You would think that we had already suffered enough...'?

From Quiz Greek Arts and Literature

Answer: Sophocles

This is the opening line of 'Antigone'. Greek drama developed from celebrations honoring Dionysus...(it says 'interesting info'...this isn't interesting is it?)

7. Who painted 'The Last Supper'?

From Quiz Art And Music 1

Answer: Leonardo

Leonardo da Vinci was a Florentine artist who painted the portrait around 1495-1497.

8. Which man of the Renaissance wrote 'On the Ascent of Mt. Ventoux', a famous work of nature writing?

From Quiz Renaissance Odds and Ends

Answer: Petrarch

9. After which Greek goddess is the month 'April' thought by some to have been named?

From Quiz Ancient and Early Pagan Days

Answer: Aphrodite

April was Eastremonath to the Anglo-Saxons, Aibrean to the Irish, Ostarmanoth to the Franks. The Romans may have used the Latin word 'aperire' (to open) as the inspiration for the name of the month in which flowers first start to open in the spring. They may also have used Aphrodite, the Greek form of the name of their goddess who has a number of festivals during that month, Venus.

10. What is the accepted Western definition of renaissance?

From Quiz The Italian Renaissance

Answer: rebirth

This is a direct translation of the French word.

11. History: Of whom was it said that if her nose had been shorter the history of the world would have been different?

From Quiz A Nose for the Liberal Arts

Answer: Cleopatra VII of Egypt

"Cleopatra's nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed." Thus wrote the multi-talented Blaise Pascal in his 17th century work, "Pensées" ("Thoughts"). At the time, facial features were thought to reflect character traits: a prominent nose indicated dominance and strength of character, very necessary for a ruler dealing with the might of the Roman Empire. Pascal's comment perhaps meant that, with a smaller nose, the ingenuity and audacity of Cleopatra's interaction with Rome would have been absent, so changing the course of history. Contemporary, or near-contemporary, sculptures of Cleopatra VII suggest a straight, longish, narrow nose; coins of the period also show a prominent nose. Belle Starr (Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr) was a female outlaw of America's Old West. She lived from 1848 to 1889, and contemporary images suggest that her nose was a little above average size and slightly tip-tilted. Portraits of the Austrian-born Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), wife of Louis XVI of France, show a long, thin, prominent nose, but there is no mention that I can find of any variation in its size potentially changing history. Wu Zetian (625-705) was a concubine of two successive Chinese Emperors, Taizong and Gaozong. After the death of Gaozong in 683, she deposed her son Emperor Zhongzhong and placed another son, Ruizong, on the Imperial throne. She finally took the throne from Ruizong in 690 to rule as Empress herself. By all accounts she was a ruthless and very capable ruler; images of Wu Zetian show a largish nose. Hmmm, perhaps Pascal's observation has some general application, after all...

12. Logos, ethos and pathos are examples of what?

From Quiz Rhetoric: For Intellectuals

Answer: Types of appeals

When utilizing rhetorical discourse, logos, ethos and pathos are the types of arguments one wants to make. Using these three appeals are effective because they provoke three different aspects for individuals to internalize. Aristotle is credited for creating these categories.

13. Which fish is featured in the title of Ngaio Marsh's detective novel which begins, "A Surfeit of"?

From Quiz Fishing for Titles

Answer: Lampreys

The 1941 novel featured the cash-strapped Lamprey family. The lamprey is a parasitical and jawless fish.

14. In this 1859 painting by Manet, an unshaven young man is in an alley. What is he drinking?

From Quiz Drinks and Art

Answer: Absinthe

Absinthe was a very popular drink in 19th century France. Its alcohol content is 68 percent. 'The Absinthe Drinker' was controversial,and was not hung in the 1859 Salon.

15. What did Max Brod do?

From Quiz Basic Miscellanea

Answer: Disobey Kafka

Who could blame him? (For those who might not know, he was told to burn all of Kafka's unpublished fiction by the author himself)

16. Which poet wrote: 'Water is best, and gold, like a blazing fire in the night, stands out supreme of all lordly wealth.'?

From Quiz Greek Arts and Literature

Answer: Pindar

This is from 'Olympian Odes'.

17. Who painted 'Blue Boy'?

From Quiz Art And Music 1

Answer: Gainsborough

He was a English painter. It is now in the Huntington collection.

18. Which Renaissance man wrote about the genealogy of the Greek gods, the first modern study of Greek myth?

From Quiz Renaissance Odds and Ends

Answer: Boccaccio

19. Who created the Vietnamese Romanized script known as 'Quoc Ngu'?

From Quiz Myth and History

Answer: Alexander of Rhodes

20. Into how many general sections is the Celtic tree calendar separated?

From Quiz Ancient and Early Pagan Days

Answer: Fourteen

The fourteen sections are named after various sacred trees and plants: Rowan, Ash, Alder, Willow, Hawthorn, Oak, Holly, Hazel, Vine, Ivy, Reed, Elder, and {Birch;} the day of December 23 made up the fourteenth, but lacked a single name (it was more mystical).

21. What city-state of Italy is generally considered by historians to be the most influential Renaissance location?

From Quiz The Italian Renaissance

Answer: Florence & Firenze

22. "The Silver Darlings" is a 1941 novel by Neil Gunn. Okay, what fish are nicknamed "silver darlings?"

From Quiz Fishing for Titles

Answer: Herring

Gunn is a Scottish writer and the novel is set in Caithness in the far northeast corner of Scotland in the early 19th century. Herring is a dietary staple in that part of the world.

23. In this 1930 novel by Somerset Maugham, what drink does the title refer to?

From Quiz Drinks and Art

Answer: Ale

"Cakes and Ale" satirizes the British literary establishment. The actual title comes from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night."

24. Who was the Italian poetess that developed a deep friendship with Michelangelo?

From Quiz Women in Italian Renaissance

Answer: Vittoria Colonna

This Italian poetess is Vittoria Colonna(1490-1547), marchioness of Pescara, daughter of Fabrizio Colonna, lord of various Roman fiefs and grand constable of Naples. She had a peculiar genius for friendship, and the sonnets and madrigals that Michelangelo wrote for Vittoria Colonna between 1538 and 1547 are characterized by a great admiration of a superior woman. She wrote amatory and elegiac poems. Isabella Morra (c.1515-c.1545) was a poet, while Isabella Andreini(1562-1604) was an actress and poet.

25. Where is 'The Lady and The Unicorn' displayed?

From Quiz Basic Miscellanea

Answer: Musee Cluny, Paris

Lovely set of paintings, wonderful wonderful museum.

26. In which of his plays did Aristophanes write: 'Well. I'm afraid you've come a fool's errand. Your wives have gone.'?

From Quiz Greek Arts and Literature

Answer: Lysistrata

This is probably the source of the phrase 'fool's errand'.

27. What famous artist is said to have founded the Cubist movement?

From Quiz Art And Music 1

Answer: Pablo Picasso

He was a Spanish painter whose style of painting was described as being made of little cubes.

28. Which early civilization celebrated the festival of Luna in her temple on the Aventine hill?

From Quiz Ancient and Early Pagan Days

Answer: Roman

Celebrated at the end of March.

29. Which Proto-Renaissance artist painted the Arena Chapel (also known as the Scrovegni Chapel) in Padua, Italy?

From Quiz The Italian Renaissance

Answer: Giotto

This is category 218
Last Updated Dec 07 2024 5:44 AM
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