Shakespeare
Iambic pentameter is a type of metric line used in English verse, most famously by William Shakespeare. While "iambic" describes the unstressed/stressed pattern of each two-syllable "foot," the word "pentameter" indicates that there are how many feet within a given line?
Five
In what classic work of children's literature do the characters Mike, Veruca, Violet, Augustus, and Charlie get a tour of a confectionery manufacturing facility?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
What 1897 novel sees Abraham Van Helsing chasing down the title character in his namesake castle in modern-day Romania?
Dracula
Although her life tragically ended at the age of 30, what American poet and short-story writer is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for collections such as "The Bell Jar?" She posthumously won a Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for her collected poems.
Sylvia Plath
This author wrote "The Song of Achilles" and "Circe", as well as the short story "Galatea".
Madeline Miller
What Shakespearean play, in which two couples wind up marrying, coined a modern day term for an unnecessary dispute?
Much Ado About Nothing
At the conclusion of an 1835 literary fairy tale, a small object is placed in a museum because of its critical role in finding a suitable princess to marry a prince. What is this object that was placed under dozens of mattresses earlier in the tale?
Pea
Two displaced migrant ranch workers are the dual protagonists of what 1937 novella with a title that starts with a preposition?
Of Mice and Men
What New England-born poet was famously prolific, but having written nearly 1,800 poems had fewer than a dozen published during her lifetime? Famous poems include "Because I could not stop for Death" and "Tell all the truth but tell it slant."
Emily Dickinson
According to ancient Greek literature, Argos, the dog of what wayward king of Ithaca, died of joy after seeing his master for the first time in decades?
Odysseus
The impolite, unpleasant Katherina is referred to metaphorically by the name of a small mammal in the name of what Shakespeare play?
The Taming of the Shrew
Although he published over 60 books under a different name, who published 13 books under the name Theo LeSieg and one book under the name Rosetta Stone?
Dr. Seuss
Henry David Thoreau wrote about life in the woods in Massachusetts in what iconic 1854 work of nonfiction literature?
Walden
You get a book! You get a book! You get a book! For 15 years, starting in 1996, what daytime talk show megastar’s book club recommended a total of 70 books leading to total sales of over 55 million copies?
Oprah Winfrey
The 1999 novel "Girl With a Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier was inspired by a painting with the same title by what Dutch artist?
Johannes Vermeer
Agatha Christie's "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" and Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" are two novels who take their titles from lines in what Shakespeare play?
Macbeth
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was an animal character created by Rudyard Kipling in his anthology "The Jungle Book." What type of animal is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi?
Mongoose
What language, in which "doubleplusungood" means "very bad," does the government of Oceania use to establish thought control in George Orwell's novel "1984?"
Newspeak
In 1993, who became the first African-American woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature?
Toni Morrison
Is she smiling or not? What mystery-thriller book's title features the name of the painter of the Mona Lisa?
The Da Vinci Code
Honorificabilitudinitatibus, the longest word mentioned in any of Shakespeare’s plays, is spoken in which play?
Love's Labor's Lost
First appearing in the children's book "Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys", what is the most famous character created by H. A. and Margaret Rey?
Curious George
What 1995 coming-of-age comedy set in California is loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma?
Clueless
Which author wrote all her books (including “Mrs. Dalloway”) while standing?
Virginia Woolf
The first mention of dragons in Greek literature can be found in this epic poem, which describes Agamemnon wearing a blue dragon design on his sword belt and a three-headed dragon seal on his breastplate.
The Iliad