Valentine’s
Day Quiz
Here are the answers to the Valentine
Day’s Quiz, with explanations should you need them.
Best
entry: Mick and Pat
- Adam
and Eve (biblical: first humans
and first alphabetically)
- Antony
and Cleopatra (theatrical:
subjects of play All for Love by John Dryden)
- Beatrice
and Benedict (theatrical:
characters in Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare)
- Bonnie
and Clyde (historical: bank robbers
perhaps better known through the film)
- Daphnis
and Chloe (musical: ballet by
Maurice Ravel based on a pastoral myth)
- David
and Bathsheba (biblical:
Bathsheba, whom David admired bathing, was the wife of Uriah, whom
David had killed in battle in order to marry her)
- Dido
and Aeneas (mythical: Dido, Queen
of Carthage, killed herself when deserted by Aeneas, future founder of
Rome, perhaps best known through Virgil’s epic poem and Purcell’s opera)
- Edward
and Mrs Simpson (historical:
Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, an
American divorcee)
- Harlequin
and Columbine (theatrical:
pantomime characters originating in the Italian Commedia Dell'arte)
- Heloise
and Abelard (historical: Abelard,
a prominent French philosopher, was disgraced after a secret marriage to
his pupil, Heloise, and withdrew to a monastery, while Heloise also took
vows and became an abbess)
- Hero
and Leander (mythical: Leander
swam the Hellespont daily to meet Hero, until he was drowned in a storm)
- Hiawatha
and Minnehaha (poetical: in the
poem The Song of Hiawatha by Longfellow, Hiawatha takes his bride,
Minnehaha, from a rival tribe)
- John
Smith and Pocahontas (historical:
Pocahontas allegedly saved Captain Smith from her father’s warriors
and later married an English colonist, securing peace for several years)
- Judith
and Holofernes (biblical:
Holofernes was an Assyrian general seduced and beheaded by the
Jewish patriot, Judith)
- Lancelot
and Guinevere (mythical: in the
court of King Arthur at Camelot, Lancelot was Guinevere’s secret lover,
until exposed and forced into exile)
- Napoleon
and Josephine (historical:
Napoleon married Josephine in 1796, divorcing her in 1809, in order
to marry into the Austrian royal family)
- Orpheus
and Eurydice (musical: in the
light opera, Orpheus in the Underworld, by Jacques Offenbach,
Orpheus, son of Apollo, the god of music, attempts unsuccessfully to bring
back his dead wife, Eurydice, from the underworld)
- Porgy
and Bess (musical: in the opera, Porgy
and Bess, by George Gershwin, Bess runs off with Sportin’ Life while
the crippled Porgy is in jail)
- Pyramus
and Thisbe (mythical: the young
lovers speak through the wall between their houses and arrange to meet at
Ninus’ tomb, where, under a mulberry tree, after a tragic sequence of misunderstandings,
they both commit suicide)
- Robin
Hood and Maid Marian (historical:
legendary outlaw operating in Sherwood Forest near Nottingham and
his lover)
- Romeo
and Juliet (theatrical: described as
‘star-crossed’ in the play by William Shakespeare)
- Samson
and Delilah (biblical: famed for
his strength, Samson was seduced and betrayed by Delilah)
- Solomon
and Sheba (biblical: Solomon, the
son of David and Bathsheba, was visited by the Queen of Sheba)
- Tristan
and Isolde (musical: in the opera
by Richard Wagner, Tristan was bringing Isolde from Ireland to marry King
Mark of Cornwall, but Tristan and Isolde fell in love with tragic results)
- Venus
and Adonis (poetical: in the poem
by William Shakespeare, the goddess of love falls for the handsome
shepherd, Adonis)
Quiz Results