FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about French Literature 842  1980
Quiz about French Literature 842  1980

French Literature 842 - 1980 Trivia Quiz


When I took some of the quizzes in the "Literature by Region" sub-category, I was surprised to see that there was very little material on French literature. So I've tried to produce a quiz, if only to encourage someone else to do better.

A multiple-choice quiz by TabbyTom. Estimated time: 7 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Literature Trivia
  6. »
  7. Literature by Region
  8. »
  9. French Literature

Author
TabbyTom
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
103,998
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
11 / 20
Plays
2264
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: Guest 176 (16/20), Guest 103 (11/20), Guest 182 (11/20).
Question 1 of 20
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? Hint


Question 2 of 20
2. Which celebrated medieval poem is the work of the Norman poet Béroul? Hint


Question 3 of 20
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? Hint


Question 4 of 20
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? Hint


Question 5 of 20
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? Hint


Question 6 of 20
6. Which of the following plays is not by Pierre Corneille? Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. Jean Racine is celebrated for his tragedies, but he also produced a comedy satirizing the law. What was it called? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. Which of Molière's plays is an attack on religious hypocrisy? Hint


Question 9 of 20
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? Hint


Question 10 of 20
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"? Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. Which of Victor Hugo's plays has a preface which has been described as the manifesto of Romanticism? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. "Vingt Ans Après" By Alexandre Dumas the Elder is a sequel to which of his other novels? Hint


Question 13 of 20
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)
Question 14 of 20
14. In the title of Stendhal's novel "Le Rouge et le Noir", what do red and black symbolize? Hint


Question 15 of 20
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? Hint


Question 16 of 20
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? Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. Which is the first volume in Proust's "roman-fleuve" "À la recherche du temps perdu"? Hint


Question 18 of 20
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? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. What was the nationality of Georges Simenon, the creator of the Parisian detective Maigret? Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. Which writer was the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française? Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 176: 16/20
Mar 20 2024 : Guest 103: 11/20
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 182: 11/20
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 103: 6/20
Mar 18 2024 : Guest 14: 14/20
Mar 15 2024 : Guest 103: 8/20
Mar 15 2024 : Guest 106: 8/20
Mar 14 2024 : Guest 152: 11/20
Mar 10 2024 : Guest 176: 16/20

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
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?

Answer: The Strasbourg Oaths

These oaths of mutual support were sworn in 842 by Louis the German and Charles the Bald, who were at war with their brother Lothair for the throne. Beginning "Pro deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament",("for the love of God and for the common salvation of the Christian people and ourselves"), they are of obvious linguistic interest.
2. Which celebrated medieval poem is the work of the Norman poet Béroul?

Answer: Le Roman de Tristan

Béroul's is not the first treatment of the legend of Tristan and Iseult, but it is undoubtedly one of the greatest.
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?

Answer: François Villon

The "Lais" (written when he was leaving Paris in 1456) and the "Testament" (written in 1461, when he probably knew he hadn't long to live) are mock wills. Various bequests - some touching, some satirical - are made to friends and enemies. Some of the bequests are poems, many in ballade form, which can stand independently of the main text.

These include the famous "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" with its refrain "Mais où sont les neiges d'antan?".
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?

Answer: Gargantua

"Gargantua" was published after "Pantagruel", though it precedes it in the chronological order of the story. Gargamelle is Gargantua's mother, Picrochole is a neighbour with whom he goes to war, and Alcofribas Nasier is the pseudonym (an anagram of Rabelais' own name) under which the book was published.
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?

Answer: Pierre Ronsard

The other poets mentioned were also members of the Pléiade. The name was taken from the name given to a group of seven Greek tragic poets in Alexandria in the third century BC: this is turn was of course inspired by the group of seven stars in the constellation Taurus.
6. Which of the following plays is not by Pierre Corneille?

Answer: Phèdre

Phèdre is by Racine.
7. Jean Racine is celebrated for his tragedies, but he also produced a comedy satirizing the law. What was it called?

Answer: Les Plaideurs

The central idea of a judge with a mania for judging comes from the "Wasps" of Aristophanes. The now proverbial expression "point d'argent, point de Suisse" comes from this play.
8. Which of Molière's plays is an attack on religious hypocrisy?

Answer: Tartuffe

Tartuffe is a "faux dévôt" who introduces himself into the house of a credulous bourgeois named Orgon. Tartuffe lives at Orgon's expense, persuades Orgon to make over all his property to him, tries to seduce his wife and even has him arrested. He gets his deserts in the end only through the intervention of the king.

The play raised a storm of protest from various religious interests, and was twice banned between 1664 and 1669.
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?

Answer: La Rochefoucauld

La Rochefoucauld is sometimes thought of as a mere cynic, but his maxims (especially those about "amour-propre") show a great deal of psychological insight. The originals of the maxims quoted are "Nous avons tous assez de force pour supporter les maux d'autrui", "On ne devrait s'étonner que de pouvoir encore s'étonner" and "On n'est jamais si heureux ni si malheureux qu'on s'imagine".
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"?

Answer: Candide

The ingenuous Candide is accompanied on his journey through the world by his tutor Pangloss, an irredeemable optimist who assures his pupil, in spite of the direst catastrophes, that "tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes possibles"
11. Which of Victor Hugo's plays has a preface which has been described as the manifesto of Romanticism?

Answer: Cromwell

The preface, with its plea for "freedom for art in the face of the tyranny of systems, codes and rules", certainly had the influence that Hugo hoped for. But the play, a very long work with a great number of characters, was never produced in his lifetime and has rarely been staged since.
12. "Vingt Ans Après" By Alexandre Dumas the Elder is a sequel to which of his other novels?

Answer: Les Trois Mousquetaires

A further sequel was "Le Vicomte de Bragelonne".
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: Carmen

The opera is one of the most popular in the standard repertoire, but the book on which it is based is virtually forgotten.
14. In the title of Stendhal's novel "Le Rouge et le Noir", what do red and black symbolize?

Answer: The army and the church

This is the usual explanation: another is that black symbolizes clerical reaction and red symbolizes republicanism or liberalism.
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?

Answer: Charles Baudelaire

Baudelaire was prosecuted and fined for offences against public morals, and six of the poems in the collection were officially banned. The ban was not officially lifted until 1949, though the poems had in fact been appearing in print for decades before that.
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?

Answer: Willy

The collaboration, in which Colette must have done most if not all of the work, ended in 1904 and the marriage in 1906.
17. Which is the first volume in Proust's "roman-fleuve" "À la recherche du temps perdu"?

Answer: "Du côté de chez Swann"

First published as a single volume in 1917; re-issued in two volumes in 1919.
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?

Answer: Rhinoceros

"Rhinocéros" is perhaps the best-known work of the "theatre of the absurd".
19. What was the nationality of Georges Simenon, the creator of the Parisian detective Maigret?

Answer: Belgian

Simenon was born in Liège in 1903.
20. Which writer was the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française?

Answer: Marguerite Yourcenar

Mme Yourcenar, whose real name was Marguerite de Crayencour, was elected in 1980, 345 years after the Academy was founded. She is probably best known outside France for her historical novel "Les Mémoires d'Hadrien". Since then the classical scholar Jacqueline Worms de Romilly, the historian Hélène Carrère d'Encausse and the novelist and playwright Florence Delay have also joined the ranks of the "Immortals".
Source: Author TabbyTom

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/28/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us