# Literature Trivia

Updated October 9, 2026

Twenty original literature questions from Shakespeare to modern dystopias. Play in quiz mode with answers, explanations, and score tracking.

Famous first lines, beloved characters, and the authors behind them. Great for book clubs and English class review.

**Question 1.** Who wrote Romeo and Juliet?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** William Shakespeare

Shakespeare wrote the tragedy around 1595.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 2.** Which novel opens with the line Call me Ishmael?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Moby-Dick

Herman Melville published Moby-Dick in 1851.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 3.** Who wrote the Harry Potter series?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** J.K. Rowling

The series spans seven books published from 1997 to 2007.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 4.** What is the wizard's name in The Lord of the Rings?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Gandalf

Gandalf the Grey returns as Gandalf the White.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 5.** Who wrote Pride and Prejudice?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Jane Austen

Austen published the novel in 1813.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 6.** Which author created Sherlock Holmes?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Arthur Conan Doyle

Holmes first appeared in print in 1887.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 7.** Which dystopian novel features Big Brother?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell published it in 1949.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 8.** Who wrote The Great Gatsby?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** F. Scott Fitzgerald

The novel was published in 1925.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 9.** Which children's book features a very hungry insect?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Eric Carle published it in 1969.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 10.** Who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Harper Lee

The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 11.** What is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Through the Looking-Glass

Lewis Carroll published it in 1871.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 12.** Which epic poem begins Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** The Iliad

Homer's Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 13.** Who wrote Frankenstein?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Mary Shelley

Shelley wrote it at age 18; it was published in 1818.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 14.** Who wrote The Old Man and the Sea?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Ernest Hemingway

The novella won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 15.** Which play contains the line To be, or not to be?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Hamlet

Hamlet speaks the famous soliloquy in Act 3.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 16.** Who wrote The Odyssey?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Homer

The Odyssey follows Odysseus's long journey home from Troy.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 17.** What is the first book of the Bible?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Genesis

Genesis tells the creation story.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 18.** Who wrote The Tell-Tale Heart?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Edgar Allan Poe

Poe published the short story in 1843.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 19.** Who wrote Little Women?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Louisa May Alcott

The novel was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869.

          **I got it right
          I got it wrong

Question 20.** Which novel is about a fireman who burns books?

      **Reveal answer

Answer:** Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury published the dystopia in 1953.

          I got it right
          I got it wrong

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I play the quiz?

Read each question, say your answer out loud, then press Reveal answer. Mark whether you got it right and move to the next question. Your score is tracked to the end.

### What kinds of books are covered?

Classics, children's books, plays, poetry, and modern bestsellers, from Shakespeare and Homer to contemporary novels.

### How many questions are in this quiz?

20, each with an answer and a one-line explanation.

### Can I reuse these questions?

Yes. All questions are original and free to use for quizzes, classrooms, and trivia nights.