Pandosto: The Triumph of Time MCQs

Author's Photo
Have a specific topic you'd like me to cover? Feel free to contact me with your suggestions.
Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Pandosto The Triumph of Time MCQs
Updated on: October 29, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 11 min

Pandosto: The Triumph of Time MCQs

1. Who is the King of Bohemia in the story?

A. Egistus
B. Dorastus
C. Pandosto
D. Franion

C. Pandosto
Pandosto is introduced at the beginning as the King of Bohemia and the story’s central protagonist.

2. What passion is stated as being the “infectious soare” that torments Pandosto?

A. Pride
B. Ambition
C. Jealousy
D. Grief

C. Jealousy
The story states that Pandosto became “a prey to that infectious soare of jealousy,” which is the driving force of the plot.

3. What quality did Bellaria, Pandosto’s wife, possess?

A. Royal birth and famous virtues
B. Immense wealth only
C. Only cunning wit
D. Great skill in warfare

A. Royal birth and famous virtues
She is described as being the daughter of the Emperor of Russia, “a Princess of incomparable beauty,” and renowned for her virtues.

4. Egistus, King of Sycilia, visited Pandosto to renew their former:

A. Political alliance
B. Military contract
C. Youthful friendship
D. Trade agreement

C. Youthful friendship
They had been “trained up together in their youth,” and Egistus visited to “renew their old friendship.”
5. What action of Bellaria towards Egistus increased Pandosto’s suspicion?

A. She refused to speak to him
B. She used overly familiar courtesy
C. She insulted his wife
D. She gave him rich jewels

B. She used overly familiar courtesy
Pandosto’s jealousy was fed by observing her innocent, but “too private familiarity” and courteous entertainment of his friend.

6. What did Pandosto initially conclude was the best way to eliminate Egistus?

A. Challenge him to a duel
B. Hire assassins
C. Poison him secretly
D. Banish him

C. Poison him secretly
Consumed by jealousy, Pandosto resolved “to dispatch Egistus by poison” as the “shortest way” to end his supposed rivalry.

7. Who was Pandosto’s cupbearer, whom he commanded to commit the murder?

A. Porrus
B. Capnio
C. Garinter
D. Franion

D. Franion
Pandosto trusted his cupbearer, Franion, with the secret task of poisoning Egistus.

8. Why did Franion ultimately decide to warn Egistus?

A. He feared Pandosto’s wrath
B. Conscience bit him severely
C. Bellaria offered him money
D. Egistus forced him

B. Conscience bit him severely
Franion, “bitten with remorse of conscience,” could not bring himself to murder an innocent king and betray his trust.

9. What did Egistus promise Franion if they successfully returned to Sycilia?

A. A large sum of gold
B. The rank of Knight
C. The title of Duke
D. The King’s daughter

C. The title of Duke
To secure his escape, Egistus promised to “make him a Duke in Sycilia” for his loyalty and help.
10. When Egistus fled, where did Pandosto command Bellaria to be taken?

A. To a hidden cave
B. To straight prison
C. To a nunnery
D. To Sycilia

B. To straight prison
Furious that Egistus escaped, Pandosto turned his rage on his wife and “commanded her to be carried to straight prison.”

11. What crime, besides adultery, was Pandosto’s proclamation against Bellaria alleging?

A. Theft of jewels
B. Conspiracy to poison the King
C. Inciting rebellion
D. Practicing witchcraft

B. Conspiracy to poison the King
He publicly accused her of adultery and of conspiring with Egistus to “commit a most horrible parricide” (murder of a ruler).

12. While imprisoned, what significant physical change did Bellaria discover about herself?

A. She fell seriously ill
B. She was with child
C. She lost her memory
D. She found Franion’s confession

B. She was with child
While in prison, Bellaria “felt her selfe quicke with childe” and soon gave birth.

13. After Bellaria gave birth to a daughter, what was Pandosto’s first intended punishment for mother and child?

A. Execution by hanging
B. To be burnt with fire
C. Permanent exile
D. Life imprisonment

B. To be burnt with fire
His initial, cruel judgment was that “she and the babe should be burnt with fire.”

14. How did Pandosto ultimately decide to dispose of the infant daughter?

A. Throw her off a tower
B. Give her to beggars
C. Commit her to the mercy of the seas
D. Send her to Egistus

C. Commit her to the mercy of the seas
Persuaded by his nobles not to burn the child, he instead “commanded that… she should be put in a boat” and left to the seas.
15. What item did Bellaria fasten around the infant’s neck before she was carried away?

A. A locket
B. A silver ring
C. A golden chaine
D. A small sword

C. A golden chaine
Bellaria “hanged a rich chain of gold about the neck of the child” as a token of her high birth.

16. What was Bellaria’s final request before her trial in open court?

A. That she be granted a priest
B. That Pandosto abdicate
C. That the case be settled by Apollo’s Oracle
D. That she might see her son

C. That the case be settled by Apollo’s Oracle
Protesting her innocence, she insisted that the “sacred Oracle of Apollo” at Delphos be consulted to prove the truth.

17. According to the Oracle of Apollo, what was the status of Bellaria and Egistus?

A. Bellaria was found guilty but Egistus was blameless
B. Both were guilty of conspiracy
C. Both were chaste and blameless
D. Only the King was found guilty

C. Both were chaste and blameless
The Oracle’s message read: “Bellaria is chaste, Egistus blameless, Franion a true subject, Pandosto timerous and jealous…”

18. What specific tragedy happened immediately after the Oracle confirmed Bellaria’s innocence?

A. Pandosto suffered a stroke
B. Her young son, Garinter, died suddenly
C. Egistus invaded Bohemia
D. Franion was captured and tortured

B. Her young son, Garinter, died suddenly
As Pandosto was realizing his error, an attendant ran in to report that the prince, Garinter, “was suddenly dead.”

19. What happened to Queen Bellaria immediately after hearing the news about Garinter?

A. She fled Bohemia
B. She was sentenced to exile
C. She fell down suddenly dead
D. She murdered Pandosto

C. She fell down suddenly dead
Overcome with the “double sorrow” of her trial and her son’s death, Bellaria’s heart broke, and she died in the courtroom.
20. What warning was engraved on Bellaria’s tomb?

A. Here lies Pandosto’s victim
B. Curse him that causde this Queene to die
C. Suspicion is no proofe
D. Death ends all sorrow

B. Curse him that causde this Queene to die
The epitaph Pandosto ordered for her tomb ended with this line, serving as a permanent reminder of his own guilt.

21. On what coast did the boat carrying the infant girl eventually land?

A. Italy
B. Sycilia
C. Trapalonia
D. Denmarke

B. Sycilia
The boat drifted from Bohemia and, ironically, landed on the coast of Sycilia, the kingdom of Egistus, the man Pandosto falsely accused.

22. What was the name of the poor shepherd who found the child?

A. Capnio
B. Dorastus
C. Porrus
D. Meleagrus

C. Porrus
Porrus, a shepherd, found the boat and the infant child and decided to raise her as his own.

23. What additional valuable item did the shepherd find hidden in the infant’s mantle?

A. A royal crest
B. A scepter
C. A great summe of gold
D. A deed to a farm

C. A great summe of gold
Along with the infant, Porrus discovered “a purse wherin he found a great summe of gold,” which greatly enriched him.

24. The shepherd and his wife, Mopsa, named the foundling child:

A. Bellaria Jr.
B. Euphrania
C. Fawnia
D. Sabella

C. Fawnia
They named the child Fawnia, and she grew up believing she was a simple shepherdess.
25. Dorastus, son of King Egistus, disguised himself to woo Fawnia as a:

A. Poacher
B. Shepherd
C. Priest
D. Sailor

B. Shepherd
The prince Dorastus fell in love with Fawnia and disguised himself as a shepherd to be able to court her.

26. To what region did Dorastus and Fawnia plan to escape to avoid Egistus’s disapproval?

A. Bohemia
B. Trapalonia
C. Italy
D. Denmarke

C. Italy
Knowing his father would never approve a match with a shepherdess, Dorastus planned for them to flee to Italy.

27. Who was the old servant Dorastus confided in to help arrange their escape?

A. Franion
B. Porrus
C. Capnio
D. Meleagrus

C. Capnio
Dorastus enlisted his servant Capnio to arrange the ship and provisions for their secret escape.

28. When they landed in Bohemia, Dorastus changed his name to:

A. Meleagrus
B. Capnio
C. Philador
D. Mison

A. Meleagrus
A storm blew their ship to Bohemia, where Dorastus, fearing Pandosto, disguised his name as Meleagrus, a knight of Trapalonia.

29. How did Pandosto react when he discovered that “Meleagrus” was Dorastus, the son of his old friend Egistus?

A. He immediately freed and honored them
B. He still insisted on punishing Fawnia
C. He exiled both immediately
D. He murdered Dorastus

B. He still insisted on punishing Fawnia
Even after learning Dorastus’s identity, Pandosto was enraged and “vowed… that Fawnia should be.. put to death.”
30. What was the ultimate fate of King Pandosto after the identity of Fawnia was revealed and the marriage celebrated?

A. He retired to a monastery
B. Egistus imprisoned him
C. He fell into a melancholy fit and slew himself
D. He was pardoned and lived happily

C. He fell into a melancholy fit and slew himself
Overcome with joy at finding his daughter, but also with “shame and sorrow” for his past crimes against his wife and son, he fell into despair and “slew himself.”

Brief Overview

Pandosto: The Triumph of Time is a prose romance written by Robert Greene. It was first published in 1588. The story is famous because it served as the main source material for William Shakespeare’s later play, The Winter’s Tale.

The story is about Pandosto, the King of Bohemia. He becomes consumed by a terrible, unfounded jealousy toward his pregnant wife, Bellaria. He falsely suspects that she has been having an affair with his childhood friend, Egina, the King of Sicilia.

Pandosto brutally punishes his wife and imprisons her. Bellaria gives birth to a daughter, Fawnia. Pandosto cruelly orders that the infant girl be abandoned at sea to die. Bellaria tragically dies from grief.

Fawnia drifts to the coast of Sicilia and is found and raised by a poor shepherd. Years later, Fawnia grows into a beautiful young woman. She falls in love with Dorastus, the son of King Egina.

The young lovers run away together to avoid Egina’s disapproval. They eventually land in Bohemia, where the now-repentant King Pandosto rules. Pandosto immediately falls in love with the beautiful Fawnia, not knowing she is his own daughter. The truth is eventually revealed.

The story ends with King Pandosto, horrified by his wicked jealousy and unknowingly incestuous desire for his own daughter, committing suicíde. Fawnia and Dorastus are then free to marry, bringing the two kingdoms together.

Related Posts

Leave a comment