Quizology.Online

Tag: literature

  • Poetic Licence — Answers

    Here are the answers to today’s questions.

    H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor, theatrical poster.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    All of these questions are related to today’s date, May 25th.

    One

    What was the first X-rated film to win the Academy Award for best picture?

    Midnight Cowboy.

    Released on this day in 1969, Midnight Cowboy, directed by John Schlesinger, stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight as New York hustlers. It won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and is the only X-rated film to do so. Ranked 36th and 43rd on AFI’s lists, it was preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry in 1994.
    X-certification has been renamed in some domains; for example, in the U.K., it is now an 18 certificate, which is suitable only for persons aged 18 years and over, and in the U.S., NC-17, No one 17 and under admitted.

    Two

    He did not wear his scarlet coat,
    For blood and wine are red,
    And blood and wine were on his hands
    When they found him with the dead,
    The poor dead woman whom he loved,
    And murdered in her bed.

    The above lines are the opening verse of an 1897 poem which was published under the pseudonym C.3.3. What is the poem, and who wrote it?

    Answer: The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde.

    On 25 May 1895, Wilde had been convicted of ‘committing acts of gross indecency with certain male persons’, sentenced to two years’ hard labour; he served the majority of his sentence in Reading Gaol. His poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, which was written after his release from prison, narrates the execution of Charles Thomas Wooldridge. It highlights the brutalisation of punishment and Wilde’s identification with prisoners. Published in 1898, under the pseudonym C.3.3. — his prison identification by which he was addressed — it remained anonymous until Wilde’s identity as author was revealed in 1899. The poem, which sold well, provided Wilde with an income for life.

    Three

    The author who created the character Jason Bourne in a 1980 novel was born in 1927. Who was this author?

    Answer: Robert Ludlum.

    Robert Ludlum, an American author known for his spy thrillers, wrote best-sellers like The Bourne Identity and The Scarlatti Inheritance. Despite criticism of his plots and prose, his fast-paced espionage novels were immensely popular. He authored 27 thriller novels, including the Jason Bourne series, which have been published in 33 languages and sold an estimated 300-500 million copies.

    Four

    An actor, born in 1939, links the roles of John Profumo in 1989, Mithrandir (2001), and Leigh Teabing (2006). What actor?

    Answer: Ian McKellen.

    Ian McKellen, who was born in England on this day in 1939, played John Profumo in Scandal (1989). In 2001, he took on the role of Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — Mithrandir is how Gandalf is known by the Elves in their Sindarin language. He portrayed Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code (2006).

    Five

    …; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor, a comic opera, debuted in London in 1878. What has been omitted from the beginning of the opera’s title?

    Answer: H.M.S. Pinafore.

    H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor, a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, premiered in 1878, running for 571 performances. Set on a Royal Navy ship, it humorously critiques the British class system and authority. Its success led to other popular works, influencing modern musical theatre.

  • Poetic Licence

    …; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor, theatrical poster (cropped). See question five.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    All of these questions are related to today’s date, May 25th.

    One

    What was the first X-rated film to win the Academy Award for best picture?

    Two

    He did not wear his scarlet coat,
    For blood and wine are red,
    And blood and wine were on his hands
    When they found him with the dead,
    The poor dead woman whom he loved,
    And murdered in her bed.

    The above lines are the opening verse of an 1897 poem which was published under the pseudonym C.3.3. What is the poem, and who wrote it?

    Three

    The author who created the character Jason Bourne in a 1980 novel was born in 1927. Who was this author?

    Four

    An actor, born in 1939, links the roles of John Profumo in 1989, Mithrandir (2001), and Leigh Teabing (2006). What actor?

    Five

    …; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor, a comic opera, debuted in London in 1878. What has been omitted from the beginning of the opera’s title?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • Initial Answers — Answers

    Here are the answers to today’s questions   Initial Answers.

    Today the first question relates to today’s date, May 23rd. The following questions follow a theme which is explained here. 

    Theme

    • The gist of today’s quiz is that the first question results in you having three five-letter words in the answer.
    • One of those words supplies the initial letters for the remaining questions. 
    • Firstly, discount the initial letter as it has already been used. The remaining four letters supply the initial letters to the answers to the remaining questions but they will not necessarily be in the correct order. 
    • Once you have answered all the questions you should be able to take the initial letters of the five answers, rearrange and have one of the words from the answer to question one.
    Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet.
    Image Encyclopædia Britannica

    One

    The country that is home to the building in the image above was annexed by a neighbour on this day in 1951. In what city is the building, and what two neighbouring countries are referred to?

    Answers: Lhasa; Tibet and China.

    The Potala Palace, pictured, in Lhasa, Tibet, served as the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959. Built in the dzong style, it’s named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical dwelling of Avalokiteśvara.  Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, stands at 11,995 feet (3,656 m), making it one of the world’s highest cities. The incorporation of Tibet into China in 1950 remains a contentious issue. While China considers it a rightful part of its territory, many Tibetans and the international community view it as an occupation.

    Two

    In what film from the 1990s is El Toro air base destroyed?

    Independence Day.

    Independence Day is a 1996 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich. The film, which focuses on a worldwide attack by extraterrestrials, was a significant turning point in the history of the Hollywood blockbuster and grossed over $817.4 million worldwide.

    Three

    What explorer, in c.986 CE, was the founder of the first European settlement on Greenland?

    Answer: Erik the Red.

    While exiled, Erik the Red explored a land later known as Greenland, which he named to attract settlers. He returned to Iceland, successfully recruiting colonists, and in c.986 CE, established two settlements on Greenland’s southwest coast, the Eastern and Western Settlements.

    Four

    Who in The Lord of the Rings is described by Gandalf as ‘the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth’?

    Answer: Treebeard.

    Treebeard, an Ent, recounts to Merry and Pippin how the Ents were created to protect trees and how he remembers the vast forests of Middle-earth. He learns of Saruman’s treachery and, realising the danger he poses, rallies the Ents to attack Isengard, destroying it and trapping Saruman in his tower. After the war, Treebeard remains at Isengard, now called the Treegarth of Orthanc, and is entrusted with its care by the king, Elessar (Aragorn).

    Five

    The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open-ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
    — Wikipedia 

    What body of water is missing from this quote?

    Answer: Beagle Channel.

    The channel was named after HMS Beagle, which surveyed South America’s coasts from 1826 to 1830. During a second voyage, captain FitzRoy took Charles Darwin, who saw glaciers for the first time in the channel, and noted

    It is scarcely possible to imagine anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers, and especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper expanse of snow.
    — Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle

    Explanation

    Answers

    1. Lhasa; Tibet and China = T
    2. Independence Day = I
    3. Erik the Red = E
    4. Treebeard = T
    5. Beagle Channel = B
      T I E T B 🔄 TIBET

  • Initial Answers

    Today the first question relates to today’s date, May 23rd. The following questions follow a theme which is explained here. 

    Theme

    • The gist of today’s quiz is that the first question results in you having three five-letter words in the answer.
    • One of those words supplies the initial letters for the remaining questions. 
    • Firstly, discount the initial letter as it has already been used. The remaining four letters supply the initial letters to the answers to the remaining questions but they will not necessarily be in the correct order. 
    • Once you have answered all the questions you should be able to take the initial letters of the five answers, rearrange and have one of the words from the answer to question one.
    Image Encyclopædia Britannica

    One

    The country that is home to the building in the image above was annexed by a neighbour on this day in 1951. In what city is the building, and what two neighbouring countries are referred to?

    Two

    In what film from the 1990s is El Toro air base destroyed?

    Three

    What explorer, in c.986 CE, was the founder of the first European settlement on Greenland?

    Four

    Who in The Lord of the Rings is described by Gandalf as ‘the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth’?

    Five

    The … …, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open-ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
    — Wikipedia 

    What body of water is missing from this quote?

  • The Game is Afoot — Answers

    Here are the answers to today’s questions.

    Arthur Conan Doyle.
    Image Wikimedia Commons


    The first of today’s questions relates to the date, May 22nd. The remainder follow on a theme.

    One

    The writer who created Sherlock Holmes was born on this day in 1859. Who was he, and in what city was he born?

    Answers: Arthur Conan Doyle; Edinburgh, Scotland.

    Arthur Conan Doyle, a Scottish writer, is best known for creating the detective Sherlock Holmes, inspired by his medical professor, Dr. Joseph Bell. Conan Doyle’s medical background influenced his writing, evident in both his Sherlock Holmes stories and his semi-autobiographical novels. Despite the popularity of Holmes, Conan Doyle believed his other works, particularly historical fiction, deserved more recognition.

    Two

    In the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, who played the role of Dr. Watson, and who directed the film?

    Answers: Jude Law; Guy Ritchie.

    Sherlock Holmes (2009), directed by Guy Ritchie, stars Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. Set in 1890, they investigate Lord Blackwood, played by Mark Strong, who seems resurrected. The screenplay, by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, and Simon Kinberg, is based on a story by Wigram and Johnson. Released by Warner Bros. on 25—26 December 2009, it grossed $525 million, earning Downey a Golden Globe and two Academy Award nominations.

    Three

    Who was Sherlock Holmes’ elder brother, and by how many years is he older? (FYI, the answer to the age gap part of the question is one of the first five prime numbers.)

    Answers: Mycroft Holmes; Seven years.

    Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother, is a government official with a unique role, described as a ‘central exchange’ for information across departments. He appears in several stories, including The Greek Interpreter and The Bruce-Partington Plans, where his superior deductive abilities are noted. Mycroft’s exact position is not named, but it is implied to be highly influential and essential to the British government.

    Four

    The day that Sherlockians celebrate as Sherlock Holmes’s ‘birthday’ has both a Shakespearean and religious festival connection. What is that date?

    Answer: 6 January.

    Sherlock Holmes’s birth date is celebrated on 6 January, a date chosen by readers and scholars, known as Sherlockians, as it aligns with the character’s symbolic nature of revealing hidden truths. Although Arthur Conan Doyle never explicitly stated Holmes’s birth date, clues in the canon suggest he was born around 1854. The connection is that Twelfth Night is the only Shakespeare play Holmes quotes twice, and Twelfth Night, the religious feast of the Epiphany, is on 6 January.

    Five

    In the world of Sherlock Holmes, which street urchin gang is led by a boy named Wiggins?

    Answer: Baker Street Irregulars.

    The Baker Street Irregulars are a group of street boys employed by Sherlock Holmes as intelligence agents. Led by Wiggins, they run errands and gather information for Holmes, who values their sharp minds and ability to gather information. The group appears in three Sherlock Holmes stories, including the novels A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four, and the short story The Adventure of the Crooked Man.

    The Game is Afoot

    The post title is a quote by Sherlock Holmes from the short story Adventure of the Abbey Grange by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was originally used in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1.

  • The Game is Afoot

    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    The writer who created Sherlock Holmes was born on this day in 1859. Who was he, and in what city was he born?

    Two

    In the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, who played the role of Dr. Watson, and who directed the film?

    Three

    Who was Sherlock Holmes’ elder brother, and by how many years is he older? (FYI, the answer to the age gap part of the question is one of the first five prime numbers.)

    Four

    The day that Sherlockians celebrate as Sherlock Holmes’s ‘birthday’ has both a Shakespearean and religious festival connection. What is that date?

    Five

    In the world of Sherlock Holmes, which street urchin gang is led by a boy named Wiggins?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • It Puzzles the Will, part 2

    William Shakespeare.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    These questions build on yesterday’s theme and are all connected to Shakespeare.

    One

    Which Shakespeare play is named after a medieval royal who, in 1050, made a pilgrimage to Rome?

    Two

    Which final novel by John Steinbeck derives its title from a quote in Shakespeare’s Richard III?

    Three

    The Tragedy of … is a Shakespeare play which is set during the Trojan War. Complete the title?

    Four

    Which 1948 Shakespeare adaptation became the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture?

    Five

    An album by Mumford and Sons is named after a song in Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing. Which album?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • It Puzzles the Will — Answers

    Here are the answers to today’s questions.

    The unaltered title page from 1609 edition of Shake-Speares Sonnets.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    The first question concerns an event that happened on May 20th and, like the others, is connected to ‘Shakespeare’. 

    One

    On this day, Shakespeare’s sonnets were first published. In what town or city, and in which century, was this?

    Answer: London; 17th century.

    In London on 20 May 1609, Thomas Thorpe produced the first publication of Shakespeare’s Sonnets — with the hyphen in the name. It’s unclear whether Thorpe used an authorised manuscript of Shakespeare as his source or an unauthorised copy. This publication is the primary source of the sonnets and contains 154 sonnets and the poem A Lover’s Complaint. The sonnets explore themes like time, love, and mortality, with the first 126 addressed to a young man and the last 28 to a woman.

    Two

    Who portrayed Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love?

    Answer: Judi Dench.

    Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 romantic comedy film about a fictional love affair between William Shakespeare and Viola de Lesseps during the writing of Romeo and Juliet. The film received critical acclaim, grossed $289 million, and won seven Oscars, including Best Picture.

    Three

    Falstaff is a comic opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play … and scenes from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare. 

    This quote from the text of the Wikipedia article about Verdi’s Falstaff has had a Shakespeare play removed from it. What play?

    Answer: The Merry Wives of Windsor.

    Falstaff is a comic opera by Giuseppe Verdi, based on Shakespeare’s works. Though not as popular as his earlier operas, it is now part of the standard repertory, championed by conductors like Toscanini, Karajan, Solti, and Bernstein.

    Four

    In Julie Taymor’s 2010 film adaptation of which Shakespeare play did Helen Mirren play Prospera, Duchess of Milan?

    Answer: The Tempest.

    The Tempest (2010) is a fantasy comedy-drama film based on Shakespeare’s 1611 play. Written and directed by Julie Taymor, who deviates from the original by changing the main character, Prospero, into a female, Prospera, played by Helen Mirren.

    Five

    The port-city of Messina is the setting for a Shakespeare comedy. What comedy, and on what island is the port-city of Messina?

    Answers: Much Ado About Nothing; Sicily.

    Much Ado About Nothing, a Shakespearean comedy, centres on two Messina romances. Claudio and Hero’s love faces challenges from Don John, while Benedick and Beatrice’s witty banter drives the humour.

    It Puzzles the Will

    It Puzzles the Will.
    — Hamlet

    The title seemed fitting as it’s a Shakespearean quote for a Will-themed puzzle.

  • It Puzzles the Will

    The amended title page from first edition of Shake-Speares Sonnets.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    The first question concerns an event that happened on May 20th and, like the others, is connected to ‘Shakespeare’. 

    One

    On this day, Shakespeare’s sonnets were first published. In what town or city, and in which century, was this?

    Two

    Who portrayed Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love?

    Three

    Falstaff is a comic opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play … and scenes from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare. 

    This quote from the text of the Wikipedia article about Verdi’s Falstaff has had a Shakespeare play removed from it. What play?

    Four

    In Julie Taymor’s 2010 film adaptation of which Shakespeare play did Helen Mirren play Prospera, Duchess of Milan?

    Five

    The port-city of Messina is the setting for a Shakespeare comedy. What comedy, and on what island is the port-city of Messina?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • In the Beginning II — Answers

    Here are today’s answers.

    Each question refers to a quote from the beginning of a novel and has some questions about the quote.

    One

    Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of … on which a … and a … lay crossed.

    The opening words of Ulysses by James Joyce are quoted above. What three words have been omitted?

    Answers: Lather; mirror; razor.

    Ulysses, set in Dublin on 16 June 1904, parallels Homer’s Odyssey and Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It explores themes like antisemitism, sexuality, and Irish nationalism through its allusive and stylised narrative.

    Two

    Once there were four children whose names were Peter, …, Edmund, and ….

    What are the two girls’ names missing from these opening lines?

    Answer: Susan; Lucy.

    The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, published in 1950, is the first part of the seven part The Chronicles of Narnia. It tells the story of four children who discover Narnia through a wardrobe. They help Aslan defeat the White Witch and establish the Golden Age of Narnia.

    Three

    It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a … man in possession of a good …, must be in want of a ….

    What three words are omitted from the opening words of an 1813 English novel, and what is that novel?

    Answers: Single; fortune (and) wife. Pride and Prejudice.

    Pride and Prejudice, a novel of manners by Jane Austen, follows Elizabeth Bennet’s character development as she learns about hasty judgements and the difference between superficial and actual goodness. The novel explores the societal pressures faced by the Bennet family, particularly the need for their daughters to marry well to secure their future.

    Four

    The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and … rode among them, nervous with excitement. This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of …’s life.

    The same name has been omitted twice from the above opening quote. What is that name, and what 1996 novel is the quote from?

    Answers: Bran; A Game of Thrones.

    A Game of Thrones, the first novel in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, is an epic fantasy set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The novel, praised for its political intrigue and historical influences, won the 1997 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was later adapted into the HBO television series Game of Thrones.

    Five

    Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own. 

    What novel, published in 2000, opens with the above quote? Who wrote it, and what recurring protagonist is introduced in it?

    Answers: Angels & Demons; Dan Brown (and) Robert Langdon.

    Angels & Demons, a 2000 mystery-thriller novel by Dan Brown, introduces Robert Langdon and features conspiracies, secret societies, and the Catholic Church.