George Peele

The Old Wives’ Tale

The Old Wives’ Tale MCQs

Facts about George Peele

➾ He was rumored to be short-legged, dark-complexioned, red-haired, and squinting, though sources are deemed unreliable.

➾ His sister, Isabel Peele, married Mathew Shakespeare, creating a suggested link to William Shakespeare.

➾ Governors of Christ’s Hospital requested his father to officially “discharge his son, George Peele, from his house” in 1579.

➾ Peele married 16-year-old heiress Ann Cooke, but ensuing lawsuits over her father’s estate drained the inheritance.

➾ The dramatist Robert Greene exhorted Peele to repent, stating both had been driven to “extreme shifts for a living”.

➾ Anecdotes about his reckless and dissipated life circulated posthumously in the apocryphal Merrie conceited Jests.

➾ He was entrusted with arranging two elaborate Latin plays for a visiting Polish nobleman at Christ Church in 1583.

➾ Peele fought a lengthy legal battle trying to collect the uncollected military wages of his potential second wife’s first husband.

➾ Edward I included a fictitious scene, ironic given Elizabeth’s policy, establishing a college for wounded soldiers.

➾ His play Arraignment of Paris concluded strangely by giving the golden apple to Queen Elizabeth I, called ‘Eliza’.

➾ Francis Meres reported that George Peele died “of the pox” at the age of forty in London in 1596.

George Peele MCQs

1. In what approximate year was the English dramatist George Peele baptized?

A. 1556
B. 1577
C. 1580
D. 1596

A. 1556.
George Peele, the noted English dramatist, was officially baptized on the 25th of July, in the year 1556.

2. Which city and country is specified as the birthplace of the dramatist George Peele?

A. Oxford, Ireland
B. London, England
C. Dover, France
D. Bristol, Wales

B. London, England.
George Peele was christened at St James Garlickhythe, confirming his birthplace as London, England.

3. What was George Peele’s primary occupation, alongside being a poet and translator?

A. Dramatist
B. Bookkeeper
C. Physician
D. Soldier

A. Dramatist.
George Peele is primarily known and remembered today as a versatile English dramatist, poet, and translator.

4. What administrative position did George Peele’s father, James Peele, hold in London?

A. St James’s Church
B. Lincoln’s Inn
C. Christ’s Hospital
D. Broadgates Hall

C. Christ’s Hospital.
James Peele, George’s father, served as the clerk responsible for the administration of the famous Christ’s Hospital school.

5. Which non-literary subject did James Peele write two published treatises about in the 1550s and 1560s?

A. Bookkeeping
B. Astronomy
C. Military Tactics
D. Legal Codes

A. Bookkeeping.
George Peele’s father, James Peele, was an author who published two treatises focusing on the subject of bookkeeping.

6. Which sister of George Peele was married to a man named Mathew Shakespeare?

A. Anne
B. Isabel
C. Judith
D. Christian

B. Isabel.
Isabel Peele married Mathew Shakespeare, creating a suggested link possibly connecting George to William Shakespeare.

7. Which specific educational institution did George Peele enter at Oxford University in 1571?

A. Lincoln’s Inn
B. Trinity College
C. Broadgates Hall
D. Magdalen Hall

C. Broadgates Hall.
Peele began his university education in 1571 when he entered Broadgates Hall at Oxford before removing to Christ Church.

8. In what year did George Peele receive his Master of Arts (M.A.) degree from Oxford?

A. 1577
B. 1579
C. 1571
D. 1583

B. 1579.
After receiving his B.A. in 1577, Peele proceeded to achieve his M.A. degree from Oxford in 1579.

9. Who formally requested that Christ’s Hospital “discharge his house” of their son George Peele in 1579?

A. James Peele
B. Queen Elizabeth
C. Albertus Alasco
D. Governors

D. Governors.
The governors of Christ’s Hospital formally requested the clerk, James Peele, to discharge George from the premises.

10. George Peele married his first wife, the 16-year-old heiress Ann Cooke, in approximately what year?

A. 1579
B. 1583
C. 1580
D. 1591

C. 1580.
Peele moved up to London around 1580, the same year he married the 16-year-old heiress Ann Cooke.

11. What type of financial issues dramatically drained the inheritance of Peele’s first wife?

A. Freebooting Voyages
B. Lawsuits Estate
C. Gambling Debts
D. Unpaid Wages

B. Lawsuits Estate.
Lawsuits relating to her deceased father’s estate were unresolved for years, ultimately draining Ann Cooke’s inheritance.

12. Peele was entrusted with arranging two Latin plays for which visiting Polish nobleman in 1583?

A. Sir William Webbe
B. Woolston Dixie
C. Albertus Alasco
D. Lord Burghley

C. Albertus Alasco.
Peele oversaw the arrangement of two Latin plays presented for Albert Laski, a Polish nobleman, in 1583.

13. Peele was complimented by William Gager for an English verse translation of whose classical tragedies?

A. Euripides
B. Seneca
C. Sophocles
D. Homer

A. Euripides.
Peele received praise from Gager for translating an English verse version of one of the Iphigenias by Euripides.

14. Peele devised two pageants celebrating the inauguration of which specific London civic official?

A. Sheriff
B. Bishop
C. Governor
D. Lord Mayor

D. Lord Mayor.
George Peele wrote the pageants presented before the Lord Mayor’s Woolston Dixie (1585) and Sir William Webbe (1591).

15. Which reigning queen was honored as Astraea in Peele’s 1591 pageant, Descensus Astraeae?

A. Queen Mary
B. Queen Elizabeth
C. Queen Anne
D. Queen Victoria

B. Queen Elizabeth.
Peele’s pageant, Descensus Astraeae, honored the reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, by calling her Astraea.

16. What author, in his pamphlet Greene’s Groats-Worth of Wit, exhorted George Peele to repent his life?

A. Thomas Nashe
B. Robert Greene
C. Ben Jonson
D. Francis Meres

B. Robert Greene.
Greene’s pamphlet urged Peele, who had faced “extreme shifts for a living,” to seek repentance.

17. Anecdotes about Peele’s perceived “reckless life” were later circulated in what posthumously printed jest book?

A. Groats Wit
B. Pathe Waye
C. Merrie Jests
D. Ironmongers Pageants

C. Merrie Jests.
The apocryphal Merrie conceited Jests of George Peele circulated stories emphasizing his alleged reckless behavior.

18. The Merrie conceited Jests of George Peele provided source material for which play of the Shakespeare Apocrypha?

A. Locrine
B. The Puritan
C. Edward III
D. Doctor Dodypoll

B. The Puritan.
The anecdotes collected in the jest book about Peele were adapted as source material for the play The Puritan.

19. Biographer David H. Horne argued that the accounts of Peele’s dissipation are based on what faulty logic?

A. Historical Fact
B. Primary Evidence
C. Circular Reasoning
D. Legal Precedent

C. Circular Reasoning.
Horne suggested that the belief in Peele’s dissipation arose from unconsciously linking his death cause to the jest book hero.

20. According to David H. Horne, Peele was superior to all but three specific poets in what particular quality?

A. Technical Skill
B. Moral Purity
C. Sweetness Piping
D. Political Insight

C. Sweetness Piping.
Horne praised Peele’s aesthetic perception, noting his superior “sweetness of his piping” compared to his contemporaries.

21. Which play attributed to Peele contains a fictitious scene about establishing a “colledge” for wounded soldiers?

A. Edward I
B. David Bethsabe
C. Old Wives
D. Alcazar

A. Edward I.
Edward I features a scene where the king establishes a hospital for soldiers, which was historically inaccurate.

22. This college scene in Edward I is noted for its ironic contrast to the treatment of soldiers under whose rule?

A. Edward’s Army
B. Elizabeth’s Government
C. Spanish Forces
D. Polish Nobility

B. Elizabeth’s Government.
The scene contrasts bitterly with the actual deplorable treatment of wounded veterans under Elizabeth.

23. Peele’s potential second wife, Mary Gates, was the widow of a former Master-Gunner stationed in which area?

A. London
B. France
C. Berghen-op-Zoom
D. South America

C. Berghen-op-Zoom.
Mary Gates was the widow of Lawrence Gates, the former Master-Gunner of Berghen-op-Zoom.

24. The legal battle involving George and Mary Peele was an effort to collect which specific type of payment?

A. Estate Inheritance
B. Play Royalties
C. Debt Payments
D. War Widow Salary

D. War Widow Salary.
The Peeles entered litigation for three years, attempting to collect Mary’s salary as a war widow.

25. Who was the contemporary writer who reported that George Peele died “of the pox” in 1596?

A. Robert Greene
B. David H. Horne
C. Francis Meres
D. William Gager

C. Francis Meres.
Francis Meres explicitly stated that George Peele died “of the pox,” aged forty, in 1596.

26. In what month and year was George Peele buried in St James’s Church, Clerkenwell?

A. July 1556
B. November 1596
C. December 1585
D. January 1568

B. November 1596.
George Peele died and was buried on the 9th of November, 1596, in St James’s Church, Clerkenwell.

27. Which of Peele’s noted plays is famous for its supposed collaboration with William Shakespeare?

A. Edward I
B. David Bethsabe
C. Titus Andronicus
D. Arraignment Paris

C. Titus Andronicus.
Peele is noted for his supposed, though not universally accepted, collaboration with Shakespeare on Titus Andronicus.

28. On which five specific plays does George Peele’s literary reputation mainly rest?

A. Old Wives, Alcazar
B. David and Bethsabe
C. Edward I, Paris
D. All of these

D. All of these.
His reputation rests mainly on Edward I, The Old Wives’ Tale, Alcazar, Paris, and David and Bathsheba.

29. Which attributed play of Peele served as the immediate source for Shakespeare’s King John?

A. Troublesome Reign
B. Sir Clyomon
C. Mucedorus
D. Locrine

A. Troublesome Reign.
The Troublesome Reign of John, King of England is cited as the direct source used for Shakespeare’s King John.

30. What specific genre is The Arraignment of Paris (1581), Peele’s earliest known play, classified as?

A. Pastoral Comedy
B. Bloody Tragedy
C. Chronicle History
D. Moralizing Pamphlet

A. Pastoral Comedy.
The Arraignment of Paris is described as Peele’s pastoral comedy, presented before Queen Elizabeth I.

31. In The Arraignment of Paris, which figure is asked by Jupiter to decide which goddess should receive the golden apple?

A. Jupiter
B. Paris
C. Diana
D. Eliza

B. Paris.
Jupiter initially asked Paris to arbitrate and decide which of the three goddesses should receive the golden apple.

32. To whom did the goddess Diana ultimately give the golden apple in The Arraignment of Paris?

A. Venus
B. Juno
C. Eliza
D. Pallas

C. Eliza.
Diana, to whom the case was referred, gave the golden apple not to a goddess but to a nymph named Eliza.

33. The nymph ‘Eliza’ in The Arraignment of Paris is an unmistakable reference to whom?

A. Ann Cooke
B. Mary Gates
C. Isabel Peele
D. Queen Elizabeth

D. Queen Elizabeth.
The character Eliza in the play is specifically identified as ‘our Zabeta fayre’, referring to Queen Elizabeth I.

34. Which of Peele’s chronicle history plays marked an important step toward Shakespearean historical drama?

A. Titus Andronicus
B. Battle Alcazar
C. Edward I
D. David Bethsabe

C. Edward I.
The Famous Chronicle of King Edward the First represents an important advancement toward Shakespeare’s historical plays.

35. Peele’s supposed involvement in Titus Andronicus is supported by his noted preference for what theatrical characteristic?

A. Predilection Gore
B. Blank Verse
C. Moralizing
D. Political Satire

A. Predilection Gore.
Peele’s reputation for highly bloody scenes, evident in Alcazar, supported the theory of his work on Titus Andronicus.

36. Which of Peele’s attributed plays is notable for being drawn entirely from Scriptural sources?

A. Edward I
B. David Bethsabe
C. Old Wives
D. Alcazar

B. David Bethsabe.
The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe is distinct for its drama being wholly derived from Scriptural references.

37. F. G. Fleay viewed David and Bethsabe as a political satire, identifying Queen Elizabeth I with which biblical figure?

A. Bathsheba
B. Absalom
C. David
D. Oenone

C. David.
Fleay speculated that David and Bethsabe was political satire, equating Elizabeth with David and Leicester with Bathsheba.

38. The Old Wives’ Tale, one of Peele’s most noted works, was first printed in what specific year?

A. 1581
B. 1588
C. 1599
D. 1595

D. 1595.
The play The Old Wives’ Tale, essential to Peele’s reputation, was published in the year 1595.

39. Which critic attributed the entire play Edward III to George Peele in 1908?

A. David H. Horne
B. W.M. Creizenach
C. Tucker Brooke
D. Duncan Salkeld

C. Tucker Brooke.
The attribution of the entire play Edward III to George Peele was made specifically by scholar Tucker Brooke in 1908.

40. Sir Brian Vickers suggested Peele was responsible for the first act and first two scenes in Act II of which play?

A. Edward I
B. Henry VI
C. Titus Andronicus
D. The Puritan

C. Titus Andronicus.
Vickers’ analysis indicated that Peele contributed the first act and the opening scenes of the second act of Titus Andronicus.

41. Besides Titus Andronicus, which other Shakespearean historical work has been assigned to Peele by scholars?

A. King John
B. Richard III
C. Henry VI
D. Hamlet

C. Henry VI.
Scholars have assigned or blamed Peele for Parts 1 and 2 of Shakespeare’s historical drama Henry VI trilogy.

42. What specific negative characteristic did critic W.M. Creizenach attribute to Peele’s David and Bethsabe?

A. Technical Skill
B. Sweetness Piping
C. Crapulous Morality
D. Political Satire

C. Crapulous Morality.
Creizenach called David and Bethsabe the “product of a crapulous morality” dating from Peele’s last years.

43. Peele biographer Horne countered critics by noting Ben Jonson’s poor reputation did not suffer despite what crime?

A. Dissipated Life
B. Killed Man
C. Wrote Jest Books
D. Collected Wages

B. Killed Man.
Horne noted that Jonson, despite killing a man and serving time in prison, maintained a relatively stable reputation.

44. What name is given to the boarding house at the modern Christ’s Hospital campus named after the author?

A. James
B. Isabel
C. George
D. Peele

D. Peele.
One of the eight boarding houses at Christ’s Hospital is now named Peele, honoring George and his family.

45. What was the title of the pageant Peele devised for Lord Mayor Sir William Webbe in 1591?

A. Descensus Astraeae
B. Ironmongers Pageant
C. Device Pageant
D. Arraignment Paris

A. Descensus Astraeae.
The pageant Peele devised in 1591 for Sir William Webbe was titled Descensus Astraeae, honoring Queen Elizabeth.

46. Which play is cited as the earliest attributed work of George Peele, tentatively dated around 1577?

A. The Puritan
B. Edward III
C. Sir Clyomon
D. Wily Beguiled

C. Sir Clyomon.
Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes, although attributed, is dated earliest among his known plays, around 1577.

47. What is the latest printed work of George Peele listed, though written earlier (ca. 1588)?

A. Old Wives
B. Battle Alcazar
C. David Bethsabe
D. Edward I

C. David Bethsabe.
The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe, written around 1588, was printed posthumously in 1599.

48. According to Francis Meres, approximately how old was George Peele when he died in 1596?

A. Fifty
B. Thirty
C. Sixty
D. Forty

D. Forty.
Francis Meres reported that George Peele died “of the pox” at the relatively young age of forty.

49. What specific, though unreliable, physical description of Peele circulated among contemporaries?

A. Tall
B. Short-legged
C. Strong-built
D. Fair-haired

B. Short-legged.
Peele was rumored, although not definitively proven, to have been short-legged, dark complected, red-haired, and squinting.

50. Peele’s work is celebrated primarily for the “sweetness of his piping” in comparison to which other Elizabethan playwrights?

A. Jonson Greene
B. Shakespeare Nashe
C. Gager Alasco
D. Marlowe Spenser

D. Marlowe Spenser.
Horne argued Peele was superior in “sweetness of his piping” to all except Marlowe, Spenser, and Shakespeare.

The Old Wives’ Tale MCQs

The Old Wive’s Tale MCQs

1. Where do the three travelers (Antic, Frolic, Fantastic) lose their way?

A. Deep forest
B. Wide wood
C. Rocky hills
D. Dark swamp

B. Wide wood.
Antic, Frolic, and Fantastic confirm they have lost their way in the woods.

2. Who warrants Frolic’s life until the next day?

A. Clunch the smith
B. Antic and Fantastic
C. Madge, the wife
D. Cupi,d the god

B. Antic and Fantastic.
Antic tells Frolic that Fantastic and he will guarantee his life for twenty in a hundred.

3. What sound comforts Fantastic as they wander?

A. A bird’s song
B. A dog’s bark
C. A church bell
D. A running stream

B. A dog’s bark.
Fantastic hears a dog in the woods, and he says that this noise is a comforting hearing.

4. The man who appears with a lantern and candle is named what?

A. Fantastic
B. Clunch
C. Frolic
D. Antic

B. Clunch.
The smith who appears with a lantern and candle immediately introduces himself as Clunch.

5. What does Clunch offer the lost men, other than house-room?

A. Fresh supper
B. Warm bedding
C. Good fire
D. Strong drink

C. Good fire.
Clunch offers a house-room and a good fire, but says they have no bedding.

6. What food does Madge offer her new guests?

A. Meat pudding
B. Cheese and pudding
C. Roast lamb
D. Bread and wine

B. Cheese and pudding.
Madge welcomes the guests and offers them a piece of cheese and a pudding.

7. To pass the time, which game does Clunch suggests?

A. Ruff or trump
B. Dice or cards
C. Chess or draughts
D. Hide or seek

A. Ruff or trump.
Clunch suggests playing a game at Trump or ruff to help pass the time.

8. Madge agrees to tell a story called an old wife’s what?

A. Summer poem
B. Winter’s Tale
C. Heroic song
D. Sad history

B. Winter’s tale.
Madge agrees to drive away the time by telling an old wife’s winter tale.

9. Madge demands the listeners say “hum” and “ha” to show they are what?

A. Still hungry
B. Awake
C. Listening closely
D. Contented

B. Awake.
Madge asks them to say “hum” and “ha” to let her know that they are awake.

10. Delia was said to be as white as snow and as red as what?

A. A ruby
B. Fresh blood
C. Roses
D. A cherry

B. Fresh blood.
Madge says the duke’s daughter was as white as snow and as red as blood.

11. Who stole the king’s fair daughter, Delia, away?

A. A dragon
B. A wicked knight
C. A conjurer
D. A thief

C. A conjurer.
The conjurer turned himself into a dragon and carried the king’s daughter away.

12. The conjurer built a castle for Delia, made out of what?

A. Iron
B. Stone
C. Wood
D. Gold

B. Stone.
The conjurer carried the king’s daughter to a castle that he had made of stone.

13. Who went to seek Delia after all the king’s men failed?

A. Two friends
B. Her two brothers
C. Her father
D. One loyal knight

B. Her two brothers.
All the king’s men went out, so Delia’s two brothers then went to seek her.

14 At which chalky cliffs the brothers arrive?

A. Thessaly
B. Albion
C. Saba
D. Catita

B. Albion.
The First Brother states that they have arrived upon the chalky cliffs of Albion.

15. What is the Old Man gathering other than at the cross hips haws, sticks?

A. Berries
B. Stones
C. Feathers
D. Straws

D. Straws.
The Old Man tells the brothers he is gathering hips and haws, and sticks and straws.

16. What good thing does the First Brother promise the Old Man?

A. A gold staff
B. An ivory staff
C. A silver cup
D. A new gown

B. An ivory staff.
The First Brother promises the Old Man a palm’s staff made of ivory and a gold shell.

17. What does the riddle tell the brothers not to be afraid of?

A. Danger
B. Stranger
C. Whisper
D. Shadow

B. Stranger.
The Old Man’s spell warns the brothers: Be not afraid of every stranger.

18. Who told the brothers the good advice?

A. The Smith
B. The Old Man
C. The White Bear
D. The sorcerer

C. The White Bear.
If anyone asks who told them the riddle, they must say the White Bear of England’s wood.

19. The Old Man sitting at the cross is actually a man turned into what?

A. Wild boar
B. Dragon
C. Ugly bear
D. Cowardly lion

C. Ugly bear.
Sacrapant used his spells to turn the Old Man straight into an ugly bear.

20. Who is the Old Man’s true love, running mad in the woods?

A. Delia
B. Meroe
C. Venelia
D. Dionora

C. Venelia.
The Old Man calls Venelia, who runs mad about the woods, his true betrothed love.

21. Lampriscus brings the Old Man a pot filled with what item?

A. Wine
B. Honey
C. Water
D. Ale

B. Honey.
Lampriscus brings the Old Man a pot of honey to help mend his poor fare.

22. For what Lampriscus, celebrates the holy days of Saint Andrew and Saint Luke?

A. Married his wives
B. Buried his wives
C. Fought his wives
D. Met his wives

B. Buried his wives.
Lampriscus keeps holy the day of the year wherein he buried both his wives.

23. Lampriscus describes his first daughter (Zantippa) as being as proud as what?

A. Wild swan
B. Peacock
C. Queen
D. Lioness

B. Peacock.
Lampriscus says his poor daughter is as proud of her hopes as a peacock of its tail.

24. Lampriscus’s daughters were sent to the well to find which water?

A. Riches
B. Life
C. Beauty
D. Fortune

B. Life.
The Old Man tells Lampriscus to send his daughters to the well for the water of life.

25. What type of working men pass by and sing a song about sowing?

A. Harvest-men
B. Fishermen
C. Smiths
D. Shepherds

A. Harvest-men.
Madge says the people who enter singing are the harvestmen, who sing of mowing and sowing.

26. To what Huanebango claims he is the only one who can tame monsters and murder?

A. Conjuring
B. Villains
C. Magic
D. Sorcerers

C. Magic.
Huanebango claims he can lose enchantments, murder magic, and kill conjuring.

27. Who follows Huanebango and tries to ask the Old Man for directions?

A. Calypha
B. Booby the Clown
C. Corebus
D. Wiggen

B. Booby the Clown.
Booby the Clown follows Huanebango and asks the gaffer where the wise man conjurer dwells.

28. What kind of food does Huanebango refuse to share with the Old Man?

A. Roast meat
B. A cake
C. Some money
D. A pudding

B. A cake.
Huanebango asks if a piece of his cake might serve the Old Man’s turn, then refuses to give it.

29. Sacrapant says he was born and brought up in what location?

A. Catita
B. Albion
C. Thessaly
D. Devonshire

C. Thessaly.
Sacrapant states that he was born and brought up in Thessaly.

30. Sacrapant learned his magic from his mother, who was famous for what?

A. Lady
B. Priestess
C. Sorcerer
D. Witch

D. Witch.
Sacrapant’s mother, named Meroe, was a famous witch.

31. What did Delia fetch for Sacrapant from the foot of the rock?

A. Sweet wine
B. Running water
C. Fresh fruit
D. Soft moss

B. Running water.
Delia says she was at the foot of the rock to get running water for him.

32. What meat does the Friar bring to Delia and Sacrapant’s meal?

A. A fat goose
B. A chunk of beef
C. A roast chicken
D. A wild turkey

B. A chunk of beef.
A Friar enters with a chine of English beef, which is called meat for a king.

33. The Friar says the most greedy Englishman is the miserable, and what covetous?

A. Gentleman
B. Usurer
C. Friar
D. King

B. Usurer.
The Friar names the miserable and most covetous usurer as the greediest Englishman.

34. When the Conjurer appears against the two brothers, what phenomena occur?

A. Snow and hail
B. Fire and wind
C. Lightning and thunder
D. Rain and fog

C. Lightning and thunder.
When the Conjurer appears, lightning and thunder occur, causing the brothers to fall.

35. After capturing the brothers, Sacrapant sends them to his cell to dwell in despair and in what additional suffering?

A. Hunger
B. Darkness
C. Torture
D. Madness

C. Torture.
The Furies are told to carry the brothers straight to Sacrapanto’s cell to dwell in despair and torture.

36. Sacrapant’s magical skill lasts only as long as a little light stays lit in what?

A. Glass
B. Jar
C. Candle
D. Bowl

A. Glass.
Sacrapant shows the light in a glass; as long as it is lit, his skill endures.

37. Who is prophesied to break the glass and put out the light?

A. A true maid
B. A wise man
C. Wife, widow, or maid
D. An ugly bear

C. Wife, widow, or maid.
Never shall anyone break this little glass, but she that is neither wife, widow, nor maid.

38. Who does Eumenides, the Wandering Knight, seek?

A. Venelia
B. Delia
C. Meroe
D. Zantippa

B. Delia.
Eumenides asks when he will see Delia, the lodestar of his life.

39. The Old Man tells Eumenides to give away more than all he has until dead men’s bones come at his…

A. Command
B. Call
C. Death
D. Door

B. Call.
The Old Man advises Eumenides to give more than all, till dead men’s bones come at his call.

40. Who scolds the Sexton and Churchwarden for leaving a poor man unburied?

A. Corebus
B. Jack
C. Wiggen
D. Eumenides

C. Wiggen.
Wiggin calls the Sexton and Churchwarden shameless for letting a poor man lie unburied.

41. What was the name of the pòor man who died and needed burial?

A. Loach
B. Jack
C. Corebus
D. Wiggen

B. Jack.
The companions argue that Jack, the frolic’st franion, must have a proper burial.

42. How much money did Eumenides spend to bury the poor man?

A. Fifteen shillings
B. Three half-pence
C. All he had
D. Twenty pounds

C. All he had.
Eumenides gives the money for burial, noting that it is all he has left.

43. By robbing Booby, Sacrapant deprives him of what?

A. Courage
B. Voice
C. Sense of smell
D. Sight

D. Sight.
Sacrapant strikes Booby blind, making him wander up and down in darkness.

44. What new name does Sacrapant give Delia after she forgets her identity?

A. Venelia
B. Meroe
C. Berecynthia
D. Calypha

C. Berecynthia.
Sacrapant changes her name after forgetting she was Delia, calling herself Berecynthia.

45. When the brothers find Delia, what does she call them after pricking them?

A. Cowards
B. Slaves
C. Prating swains
D. Weak fools

C. Prating swains.
Delia, under the potion, asks the brothers what they mean, calling them prating swains.

46. What does the Voice offer Zantippa when she tries to dip her pitcher into the well?

A. Money
B. Cockle-bread
C. Jewels
D. A husband

B. Cockle-bread.
A voice from the well offers Zantippa cockle-bread if she combs and strokes the head.

47. What does Celanta receive when she combs the head in the well?

A. Golden trees
B. Golden shoes
C. Silver cups
D. Ruby leaves

A. Golden trees.
When Celanta combs the head, every hair shall be a sheaf, and every sheaf a golden tree.

48. What does Eumenides put in his ears to avoid the Conjurer’s spells?

A. Wax
B. Wool
C. Dirt
D. Sticks

B. Wool.
Jack stops Eumenides’ ears with wool so enchanting speeches won’t tempt him.

49. When Jack appears to Eumenides, he demands what share of his fortunes?

A. Half
B. A third
C. All
D. Nothing

A. Half.
Jack reminds Eumenides of their bargain to be halves in everything he gets.

50. What does Jack confirm he is the ghost of, and what does he say he helped the Eumenides pay for?

A. Journey
B. Burial
C. Food
D. Fortune

B. Burial.
Jack confirms he is the ghost of the poor man and helped Eumenides pay for his burial.

Brief Overview

The Old Wives’ Tale is a play by George Peele, published in 1595. It is a whimsical comedy that uses a play-within-a-play structure. The central story is a traditional folk tale narrated by a woman to lost travelers, blending reality and fantasy.

The play’s framework is an old story told by Madge, the smith’s wife, to her guests. The tale is about a very fair lady named Delia. A conjurer named Sacrapant used magic to steal Delia away. He took her to a castle he made of stone. Sacrapant gave Delia a potion so she would forget her own name and her brothers.

Delia’s two brothers went looking for her. A knight named Eumenides also searched for his steadfast love, Delia. Eumenides met an Old Man who told him to give away everything he had. Eumenides spent his last money to bury a poor man named Jack.

Because of this good deed, Jack’s ghost came back to help Eumenides. Jack led the knight toward the conjurer’s lair. Sacrapant’s magic skill lasted only as long as a bit of light in a glass stayed lit. Jack secretly took away the conjurer’s wreath and sword, which made Sacrapant weak.

Eumenides blew a horn, and a lady named Venelia came to break the glass and put out the light. Sacrapant died, and all his spells were broken. Delia immediately remembered Eumenides. Jack then tested Eumenides’ honesty by demanding half of the lady.

Eumenides was willing to divide Delia to keep his word. Jack saw that Eumenides was faithful and then left, allowing Eumenides to take Delia, her brothers, and others to Thessaly.