William Congreve

Study questions William Congreve

Facts about William Congreve

➾ Congreve published Incognita, a light parody of fashionable romance, using the pseudonym Cleophil in 1692.

➾ Though he entered law studies at the Middle Temple, Congreve was never a serious reader of the legal texts.

➾ His friend, the great writer Jonathan Swift, was also tutored by his elder schoolfellow, St. George Ashe.

➾ Congreve wrote his first enormous success, The Old Bachelor, in 1690 to simply amuse himself during convalescence.

➾ The Old Bachelor, praised by John Dryden, ran for the time’s unprecedented length of a fortnight.

➾ Congreve was rewarded for his literary merit with a sinecure post, licensing five London hackney coaches.

➾ His tragedy, The Mourning Bride (1697), became his most popular play, though now his least regarded drama.

➾ Congreve’s theatrical masterpiece, The Way of the World, despite a brilliant cast, shockingly failed with the audience.

➾ He stopped writing plays after 1700, partly due to Jeremy Collier’s attack on stage immorality and profaneness.

➾ He held the lucrative post of secretary of the island of Jamaica, improving his civil service position.

➾ Upon his death, Congreve left almost all of his large fortune to the second Duchess of Marlborough.

William Congreve MCQs

1. When was William Congreve born?

A. January, 1670
B. March, 1693
C. November, 1696
D. January, 1729

A. January, 1670.
William Congreve was born on January 24, 1670, in Yorkshire, England, before moving to Ireland.

2. Where was William Congreve born?

A. Kilkenny, Ireland
B. Bardsey, Yorkshire, Eng.
C. London, England
D. Stretton, Staffordshire, Eng.

B. Bardsey, Yorkshire, Eng.
Congreve was born in Bardsey, located near Leeds in Yorkshire, England, before his family relocated to Ireland.

3. What was the title of Congreve’s first published literary work in 1692?

A. The Double-Dealer
B. Incognita
C. The Old Bachelor
D. Love for Love

B. Incognita.
Incognita: or, Love and Duty reconcil’d was Congreve’s first published work, appearing in 1692 under the name Cleophil.

4. Under what pseudonym did Congreve publish his first prose work, Incognita?

A. Junius
B. Cleophil
C. Philander
D. Astrophel

B. Cleophil.
Congreve used the pseudonym Cleophil when publishing his early, skilful near-parody of a fashionable romance in 1692.

5. What was the title of Congreve’s first play produced on stage?

A. The Way of the World
B. The Double-Dealer
C. The Old Bachelor
D. The Mourning Bride

C. The Old Bachelor.
The Old Bachelor was produced in March 1693, bringing Congreve sudden and enormous fame as a playwright.

6. What was Congreve’s final play written and produced for the stage in 1700?

A. The Double-Dealer
B. Love for Love
C. The Way of the World
D. The Mourning Bride

C. The Way of the World.
The Way of the World (1700) was Congreve’s final attempt to write a play, despite being his dramatic masterpiece.

7. What was the genre in which William Congreve chiefly excelled and shaped?

A. Ballad Opera
B. Sentimental Drama
C. Comedy of Manners
D. Heroic Tragedy

C. Comedy of Manners.
Congreve is recognised as the outstanding writer who profoundly shaped the English Restoration comedy of manners.

8. Which of Congreve’s plays, staged in 1697, was his most popular during his lifetime?

A. The Old Bachelor
B. The Way of the World
C. The Mourning Bride
D. The Double-Dealer

C. The Mourning Bride.
The tragedy The Mourning Bride (1697) significantly swelled his reputation and became his most popular play.

9. When did William Congreve die?

A. January, 1729
B. March, 1700
C. April, 1696
D. December 1705

A. January, 1729.
William Congreve died in London on January 19, 1729, shortly before his 59th birthday, after a carriage accident.

10. What caused the ultimate death of William Congreve?

A. Gout complications
B. A long illness
C. Carriage accident
D. Duel injury

C. Carriage accident.
Congreve, suffering from gout and poor health, died after being involved in a severe carriage accident.

11. In what city did Congreve attend university, receiving his M.A. in 1696?

A. Kilkenny
B. London
C. Dublin
D. Youghal

C. Dublin.
Congreve attended Trinity College, Dublin, enrolling in 1686 and completing his Master of Arts degree in 1696.

12. Who served as Congreve’s literary patron early in his career?

A. Jonathan Swift
B. John Gay
C. John Dryden
D. Sir Richard Steele

C. John Dryden.
Dryden became Congreve’s influential literary protégé, collaborating on translations and warmly praising his first play.

13. Which major play of Congreve’s, a tragic work, was produced in 1697?

A. The Way of the World
B. Love for Love
C. The Mourning Bride
D. The Double-Dealer

C. The Mourning Bride.
The Mourning Bride (1697) was Congreve’s only tragedy, though now it is his least critically regarded drama.

14. What specific characteristic of Congreve’s dialogue led to his fame?

A. Naturalistic staging
B. Brilliant comic dialogue
C. Philosophical depth
D. Political allegory

B. Brilliant comic dialogue.
Congreve shaped the comedy of manners genre through his notable use of brilliant and skillfully refined comic dialogue.

15. What specific social dynamic did Congreve’s satire often focus on?

A. Political corruption
B. War of the sexes
C. Financial markets
D. Religious morality

B. War of the sexes.
His work often featured a satirical portrayal of the “war of the sexes,” reflecting the social customs of his time.

16. Which famous Restoration play, written in 1690, brought Congreve immediate success in 1693?

A. The Double-Dealer
B. The Old Bachelor
C. The Mourning Bride
D. The Way of the World

B. The Old Bachelor.
The Old Bachelor, written for amusement during convalescence, achieved an enormous and unprecedented success when produced.

17. What unprecedented run length did The Old Bachelor achieve upon its debut?

A. One week
B. A full fortnight
C. Two months
D. Only three nights

B. A full fortnight.
The play ran for the then remarkable length of a fortnight, securing Congreve’s rapid rise to fame.

18. Which of Congreve’s plays, initially less successful, is now critically admired?

A. The Way of the World
B. The Double-Dealer
C. Love for Love
D. The Old Bachelor

B. The Double-Dealer.
The Double-Dealer (1693) was less applauded upon its premiere but is now appreciated more critically.

19. Who provided a panegyrical introduction to the published form of The Double-Dealer?

A. Jonathan Swift
B. John Dryden
C. Alexander Pope
D. Jeremy Collier

B. John Dryden.
Dryden continued his patronage by writing a highly praising introduction for the published edition of The Double-Dealer.

20. Where did Congreve’s play Love for Love premiere in April 1695?

A. Theatre Royal
B. Queen’s Theatre
C. Lincoln’s Inn Fields
D. Dorset Garden

C. Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Love for Love was the inaugural production staged for the newly opened theatre in Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

21. What role did Congreve take on at the new Lincoln’s Inn Fields theatre?

A. Actor
B. Manager
C. Proprietor
D. Playwright-in-residence

B. Manager.
Following the successful opening of Love for Love, Congreve joined the management team of the new theatre.

22. What promise did Congreve make to the Lincoln’s Inn Fields theatre management?

A. Write a tragedy
B. Provide a new play yearly
C. Avoid controversy
D. Manage finances

B. Provide a new play yearly.
As part of his managerial role, Congreve promised to write and deliver one new play every year.

23. What genre dominated the plays Congreve wrote after 1695, besides plays?

A. Translations
B. Occasional verse
C. Comic librettos
D. Prose fiction

B. Occasional verse.
After 1695, Congreve began writing public occasional verse, such as his pastoral on Queen Mary II’s death.

24. What famous tragedy by Congreve became his most frequently revived piece currently?

A. The Mourning Bride
B. The Double-Dealer
C. The Way of the World
D. The Old Bachelor

C. The Way of the World.
Although it failed with its initial audience, The Way of the World is now his only play frequently revived.

25. Why was The Way of the World a failure with its original audience?

A. Poor cast
B. Lengthy running time
C. Unpopular subject
D. Sources do not specify

D. Sources do not specify.
The sources state that The Way of the World was a failure with the audience, but do not elaborate on the specific reasons.

26. What was the subject of Jeremy Collier’s influential 1698 tract?

A. Whig politics
B. Immorality of the stage
C. The Pindarique Ode
D. Comic dialogue

B. Immorality of the stage.
Collier’s tract, A Short View… of the English Stage, heavily criticised the immorality and profaneness of contemporary comedies.

27. Who did Jeremy Collier specifically censure in his attack on the stage?

A. Gay and Pope
B. Swift and Steele
C. Congreve and Dryden
D. Ashe and Vanbrugh

C. Congreve and Dryden.
Collier’s famous tract, published in 1698, specifically criticised both John Dryden and William Congreve among other dramatists.

28. What was the title of Congreve’s reply to Jeremy Collier’s accusation?

A. The Way of the World
B. A Short View Answered
C. Amendments
D. Pindarique Discourse

C. Amendments.
Congreve responded to Collier’s attack by writing Amendments of Mr. Collier’s False and Imperfect Citations in 1698.

29. What literary work did Congreve write a libretto for after his retirement from stage writing?

A. An opera
B. A comedy
C. A tragedy
D. A poem

A. An opera.
After 1700, Congreve did not leave the theatre entirely, writing librettos for two separate operas.

30. With which playwright did Congreve collaborate in managing the Queen’s theatre in 1705?

A. John Gay
B. Jonathan Swift
C. Sir John Vanbrugh
D. John Dryden

C. Sir John Vanbrugh.
In 1705, Congreve briefly associated himself with the architect and playwright Sir John Vanbrugh at the Queen’s theatre.

31. What was the Queen’s Theatre also known as during the time Congreve was associated with it?

A. Drury Lane
B. Italian Opera house
C. Lincoln’s Inn Fields
D. Covent Garden

B. Italian Opera house.
The Queen’s theatre, co-managed by Vanbrugh and Congreve for a short period, was also known as the Italian Opera house.

32. What was Congreve’s initial sinecure position, rewarding literary merit?

A. Customs Commissioner
B. Commissioner for wines
C. Secretary of Jamaica
D. Licensing hackney coaches

D. Licensing hackney coaches.
Congreve was first appointed as one of the five commissioners responsible for licensing hackney coaches.

33. What government position did Congreve retain thanks to Jonathan Swift’s intervention in 1710?

A. Hackney coach licensing
B. Commissioner for wines
C. Customs service
D. Jamaica secretaryship

B. Commissioner for wines.
Swift’s good offices during a change of government ensured Congreve retained his post as a commissioner for wines.

34. What prestigious post did Congreve gain at the end of 1714?

A. Customs commissioner
B. Commissioner for wines
C. Secretary of Jamaica
D. Theatre manager

C. Secretary of Jamaica.
His civil service position was improved with the addition of the highly desirable secretaryship of the island of Jamaica.

35. What specific poetry collection did Congreve publish a timely ‘Discourse on’ in 1706?

A. The Pastoral
B. The Love Poem
C. The Pindarique Ode
D. The Satire

C. The Pindarique Ode.
Congreve’s Discourse on the Pindarique Ode (1706) sought to restore order to this specific poetic form.

36. Which philosophical term did Congreve oppose applying to the concept of love?

A. Lust
B. Gratification
C. Rationalizing
D. Sentimentality

C. Rationalizing.
Congreve was philosophically averse to “rationalising” love, believing it transcended mere appetite or lust.

37. How did Congreve’s attitude toward love compare to his contemporaries?

A. Less subtle
B. More cynical
C. More feeling for individual
D. More focused on lust

C. More feeling for individual.
Congreve is noted for going deeper than his contemporaries, showing more genuine feeling for the individual in love.

38. Who was Congreve’s tutor at Trinity College, Dublin, who also tutored Swift?

A. John Dryden
B. St. George Ashe
C. John Gay
D. Jeremy Collier

B. St. George Ashe.
Congreve studied under St. George Ashe, a respected philosopher and mathematician who also tutored his friend Jonathan Swift.

39. Who was Congreve’s lifelong friend, his elder schoolfellow at Kilkenny?

A. John Gay
B. Alexander Pope
C. Jonathan Swift
D. Sir Richard Steele

C. Jonathan Swift.
Jonathan Swift was Congreve’s elder schoolfellow at Kilkenny, and their friendship remained constant and affectionate.

40. Which famous poet dedicated his translation of the Iliad to William Congreve?

A. John Dryden
B. John Gay
C. Alexander Pope
D. Homer

C. Alexander Pope.
Alexander Pope, a close literary friend, demonstrated his respect by dedicating his translation of Homer’s Iliad to Congreve.

41. What did John Gay affectionately call William Congreve?

A. The Gentleman
B. The unreproachful man
C. The Great Wit
D. Honest John

B. The unreproachful man.
John Gay referred to Congreve, due to his constant friendships and lack of quarrels, as the “unreproachful man”.

42. Which actress, who played his female leads, was Congreve closely attached to?

A. Duchess of Marlborough
B. Lady Mary Godolphin
C. Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle
D. Queen Mary II

C. Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle.
Congreve maintained a known, close friendship with actress Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle, who performed most of his female leads.

43. Who was the primary heiress of almost all of William Congreve’s fortune?

A. Mrs. Bracegirdle
B. His sister
C. Duchess of Marlborough
D. Lady Mary Godolphin

C. Duchess of Marlborough.
Congreve left almost his entire substantial fortune to the second duchess of Marlborough, to whom he was devoted.

44. What is the potential familial relationship linking Congreve and Lady Mary Godolphin?

A. Uncle/niece
B. Father/daughter
C. Tutor/student
D. Manager/actress

B. Father/daughter.
It is almost certain, based on the sources, that Congreve was the biological father of Lady Mary Godolphin.

45. What was the description of Congreve’s character given in Giles Jacob’s Poetical Register (1719)?

A. Puffed up with vanity
B. Abounds with humility
C. Cynical and ruthless
D. Ambitious and driven

B. Abounds with humility.
Jacob described Congreve as “so far from being puff’d up with Vanity…that he abounds with Humility and good Nature”.

46. What did Giles Jacob state Congreve showed less of than “the Gentleman”?

A. The manager
B. The pundit
C. The poet
D. The scholar

C. The poet.
Jacob’s remark noted that Congreve displayed “so much the Poet as the Gentleman,” focusing on his character.

47. What title did Congreve prefer to discuss literature “on the footing of” during his notorious meeting with Voltaire?

A. A scholar
B. A gentleman
C. A dramatist
D. A pundit

B. A gentleman.
Congreve informed Voltaire he would only discuss general subjects, “on the footing of a gentleman,” avoiding literary minutiae.

48. What quality did William Hazlitt praise Congreve for in his sentences?

A. Sense and satire
B. Humour and wit
C. Feeling and morality
D. Cadence and music

A. Sense and satire.
Hazlitt wrote that Congreve’s sentences are “replete with sense and satire,” conveyed in polished and pointed terms.

49. What did George Meredith praise about Congreve’s dialogue, comparing him to Molière?

A. Musicality
B. Precision and volume
C. Sentimentality
D. Polished terms

B. Precision and volume.
Meredith praised Congreve, stating he is “at once precise and voluble,” qualifying him as a classic worthy of Molière.

50. What quality did Congreve rise above other contemporary dramatists in?

A. Political awareness
B. Perfection of phrasing
C. Financial management
D. Audience appeal

B. Perfection of phrasing.
Congreve distinguished himself from his peers through both the delicacy of his feeling and the perfection displayed in his phrasing.

The Mourning Bride MCQs

1. Almeria acknowledges that music has charms capable of soothing what kind of temperament?

A. Sàvage mind
B. Sàvage Breast
C. Gentle heart
D. Knotted oak

B. Sàvage Breast.
Almeria opens the play by noting that music possesses charms that can “soothe a sàvage Breast”.

2. What specific event happened last night that has brought King Anselmo peace?

A. The war’s end
B. Silent Tomb
C. Father’s death
D. Captivity ended

B. Silent Tomb.
Anselmo, the good Old King, was received safely within the “silent Tomb” last night and is now at peace.

3. Leonora often crept to Anselmo’s prison when all had been retired, checking his health through what structure?

A. The walls
B. The Great
C. His door
D. Dark window

B. The Great.
Leonora went to Anselmo’s prison, whispering softly through the grate to inquire about his health.

4. Leonora admits she compassionated Anselmo’s fortune because Almeria’s father kept him in what state?

A. Hard Exile
B. Heavy Chains
C. Sad Prison
D. Fearful sight

B. Heavy Chains.
Leonora wept because Almeria’s father cruelly kept his fellow King restricted in chains and misery.

5. Anselmo hoped to end the inherited feud between Valentia and Granada by matching Alphonso with whom?

A. Leonora
B. Almeria
C. Queen’s daughter
D. Zara

B. Almeria.
Anselmo proposed that a match between his son Alphonso and Almeria would end the long dissension.

6. Almeria states that the cruel Ocean would deprive Alphonso of a tomb, but where is he interred instead?

A. On Earth
B. In my Heart
C. In waves
D. In Memory

B. In my Heart.
Almeria vows to live as Alphonso’s monument, stating that in her heart, he is forever interred.

7. Almeria compares the comfort of having an unsuspected hoard of darling grief to what kind of behaviour?

A. Glutton-like
B. Wretch’s misery
C. Solitude’s peace
D. Constant weeping

A. Glutton-like.
She describes the pleasure of misery as a small reserve of woe that wretches “Glutton-like alone devour.”

8. Almeria refers to Alphonso’s worth, truth, and tenderness of what, which Leonora did not fully know?

A. His virtue
B. His deeds
C. His Love
D. His father

C. His Love.
Almeria explains that Leonora could not know her loss fully because she did not know Alphonso’s great tenderness.

9. Almeria describes her father Manuel’s conquering troops reaching whose palace gates in rage and revenge?

A. The Moor’s
B. King Anselmo’s
C. Valentia’s
D. Granada’s

B. King Anselmo’s.
Manuel led his conquering troops up to King Anselmo’s Palace gates, which he then set on fire.

10. Alphonso, foreseeing Manuel’s cruelty, took Almeria and the Queen on board a ship ready to sail when what news arrived?

A. The fire
B. Captivity news
C. The war’s end
D. The storm

A. The fire.
They put to sea when the news was brought that Manuel had fired Anselmo’s palace.

11. Almeria recounts that a sudden storm drove their ship and their pursuers onto what specific shore?

A. African Coast
B. Spanish beach
C. Rock Shore
D. Valentia land

A. African Coast.
The storm drove both their vessel and the ships following them onto the Coast of Africa.

12. Alphonso feared that death or victory might take Almeria from him, so he urged marriage to defeat what force?

A. Future Fate
B. Cruel Ocean
C. The King
D. War’s chance

A. Future Fate.
He wanted to be married immediately so she would be his “beyond the Power of future Fate.”

13. Almeria mourns that the circling hours come heavy-laden with the oppressing weight of collected what?

A. Restless Cares
B. All the Woes
C. Groans tears
D. Damps grief

B. All the Woes.
She says the hours gather “all the Woes” diffused through the year, bringing them to her.

14. Leonora warns Almeria to moderate her grief because the distant shouts proclaim whose triumph?

A. Her father’s
B. The army’s
C. The King’s
D. The foe’s

A. Her father’s.
Leonora urges calm because the shouts signal the King’s approach and triumph, fearing his reaction.

15. Almeria predicts that her father’s return brings joy to others, but double weight of woe to her because of whom?

A. Gonsalez
B. Anselmo
C. Garcia
D. Alphonso

C. Garcia.
Garcia accompanies the King, and Almeria knows she must be “sacrific’d” to him immediately.

16. Almeria makes a sacred vow never to wed another lord, asking Alphonso to behold this act from what location?

A. The Heav’n
B. Eternal Bliss
C. The Earth
D. The ocean

B. Eternal Bliss.
Almeria asks Alphonso to leave his “Eternal Bliss” for a moment to witness her solemn promise.

17. Almeria wishes to visit Anselmo’s tomb to repeat her vow there with what type of enhanced feeling?

A. Great emotion
B. More solemnly
C. Deep despair
D. Final meaning

B. More solemnly.
She admits her goal is to repeat her marriage vow at the tomb, perhaps “more solemnly.”

18. Gonsalez reports that five hundred mules precede the march, groaning beneath the weight of what specific cargo?

A. Royal coffers
B. Moorish Wealth
C. Grain supplies
D. Prisoners chains

B. Moorish Wealth.
The mules “groan beneath the Weight of Moorish Wealth” as they are brought into the palace.

19. The Captains of African noble blood are described as licking and grinding what substance with their teeth?

A. The dust
B. The ground
C. The chains
D. The chariot

A. The dust.
They sweat by the chariot wheel and “lick and grind, With gnashing Teeth, the Dust.”

20. Almeria dismisses Gonsalez’s descriptions as mere “Pageantry of Souls” and what other kind of phrase?

A. Sounding Words
B. Idle Eloquence
C. High Honour
D. Exterior Pomp

A. Sounding Words.
She asserts her ears will not be charmed with “sounding Words, / Or pompous Phrase.”

21. The King criticises Almeria’s wearing sad mourning clothes, calling her and her attendants what?

A. Sad Weeds
B. Afflicted Daughters
C. Opposing figures
D. Daughters Affliction

D. Daughters Affliction.
The King says Almeria and her attendants are “in opposition / To my Brightness, like Daughters of Affliction.”

22. The King argues that spending one day in filial duty would have given a dispensation to what obligation?

A. The vow
B. Her life
C. Strict life
D. Her mourning

A. The vow.
He believes a day of filial duty would have excused her from fulfilling her mourning vow to Heaven.

23. The King states that his detestation of Anselmo’s blood is so great that Almeria should have done what at his death?

A. Smiled
B. Have feasted
C. Wept
D. Revell’d

B. Have feasted.
The King declares that his daughter should “have feasted” and “have revell’d” when his foe was buried.

24. Gonsalez defends Almeria by saying she was betrayed by an excess of what quality?

A. Great pity
B. Too much Piety
C. Filial love
D. Mourning zeal

B. Too much Piety.
Gonsalez claims she was betrayed by “too much Piety” to seem as if she had offended the King.

25. The King commands Almeria to retire and quickly divest herself of the “offensive Black” because he will take responsibility for what?

A. Her grief
B. The Vow’s violation
C. Garcia’s marriage
D. Her sadness

B. The Vow’s violation.
The King tells Almeria that “on me be all / The Violation of your Vow.”

26. Garcia presumes to remind the King of his gracious promise concerning what significant event?

A. The wedding
B. His pardon
C. The kingdom
D. Almeria’s hand

A. The wedding.
Garcia reminds the King of the promise to give him Almeria’s hand in marriage tomorrow.

27. What description does the Officer use to characterise the beauteous captive, Zara, upon her arrival?

A. Moorish Queen
B. Beauteous captive
C. Wife Albucacim
D. Elegant lady

C. Wife Albucacim.
The officer describes her as if she “still were Wife to Albucacim,” judging by her impressive train.

28. The King is suspicious about Osmyn because of his sullenness, in connection with whose request for his attendance?

A. Zara’s
B. Garcia’s
C. Almeria’s
D. Perez’s

A. Zara’s.
The King notes that Zara’s request, joined with Osmyn’s strange behaviour, “Begets a Doubt.”

29. The King tells Zara that had her presence graced his entry, the crowd would have been deceived and seen him led in what state?

A. In Triumph
B. Martial Pomp
C. Royal state
D. Captivity

A. In Triumph.
He says her beauty would have led the crowd to see him “In Triumph led,” as her beauty’s slave.

30. Zara despises her captivity and feels loathing when beholding herself in what state?

A. Vile Slavery
B. Sad Mourning
C. Royal state
D. Chains bonds

A. Vile Slavery.
Zara scorns her state, looking with loathing upon herself and “scorn[ing] vile Slavery.”

31. After removing her bonds, the King tells Zara that he is now her slave, bound by what act?

A. Her beauty
B. Releasing her
C. His hands
D. Her thanks

B. Releasing her.
The King states, “Thus I release you, / And by releasing you enslave myself.”

32. Zara explains that Osmyn is melancholy because he regrets not avenging the loss of a friend whose name was what?

A. Osmyn
B. Heli
C. Perez
D. Selim

B. Heli.
Zara tells the King that Osmyn lost a friend named Heli in battle, whom he loved deeply.

33. The King resolves that War is but Fortune’s sport, but in Love, the Goddess keeps her awful Court in whose eyes?

A. Almeria’s
B. Zara’s Eyes
C. Victory’s
D. His own

B. Zara’s Eyes.
The King decides that the Goddess of Love “Rules with settled Sway in Zara’s Eyes.”

34. Heli, upon hearing Osmyn lives, declares that if he rose from death, it would not afford a glimpse of joy equal to what feeling?

A. Admiration
B. Vast Delight
C. Friendship
D. His Soul

B. Vast Delight.
Heli says no joy is comparable to the “vast Delight” he feels upon hearing that Osmyn is still alive.

35. Perez says Osmyn strode with “distemper’d Haste,” his eyes seeming like what substance?

A. Great fear
B. Flame
C. Dark passion
D. Black blood

B. Flame.
Perez observed Osmyn’s eyes, noting they “Seem’d Flame, and flash’d upon me with a Glance.”

36. Almeria compares the marble heads of the ancient pillars in the temple to what?

A. Great arches
B. Marble Heads
C. Ponderous Roof
D. Ancient tombs

B. Marble Heads.
Almeria describes the “ancient Pillars rear their Marble Heads” to bear the arched roof.

37. Almeria tells Leonora she would rather mix with dead bones and skulls than marry whom?

A. Alphonso
B. Garcia
C. Anselmo
D. Her Father

B. Garcia.
She vows to endure anything rather than be the bride “Of Garcia’s more detested Bed.”

38. Leonora is shocked to see that Anselmo’s tomb’s marble door remains what?

A. Unclosed
B. Wide shut
C. Locked open
D. Guarded closely

A. Unclosed.
Leonora notes that the marble door remains unclosed and the iron gates are wide open.

39. Almeria believes death will fold her in his leaden arms and press her close to his cold what?

A. Clayie Breast
B. Worn shroud
C. Silent tomb
D. Gentle heart

A. Clayie Breast.
She envisions “Death, grim Death” pressing her close to his “cold clayie Breast.”

40. When Almeria calls for Alphonso, whose voice answers, asking who calls that wretched thing?

A. Heli’s
B. Osmyn’s
C. King’s
D. Leonora’s

B. Osmyn’s.
Osmyn ascends from the tomb, asking, “Who calls that wretched thing, that was Alphonso?”

41. Alphonso (as Osmyn) asks the powers to rivet him to Earth and nail him where he stands so he may remain what?

A. Motionless
B. Still deceived
C. Truly blessed
D. Still alive

B. Still deceived.
He fears dissolving the vision, asking the powers to nail him so he may still be deceived.

42. Almeria is overjoyed, asking Alphonso to bear her back to the boundless Deep, where he had dwelt so long, by charming what forces?

A. The waves
B. Wildness Waves
C. All nature
D. Earth light

B. Wildness Waves.
She asks how he charmed “The wildness of the Waves and Rocks” to return him to light.

43. Alphonso claims he doesn’t have the leisure to reflect on the means of their reunion because of the overwhelming joy of doing what?

A. Folding her
B. Being alive
C. Gaze upon
D. Talking to

A. Folding her.
The ecstasy of “To fold thee thus” and gaze upon her eyes leaves him no leisure for reflection.

44. Almeria admits to Alphonso that she had sworn to Heaven and him, and would sooner have performed what act than marry Garcia?

A. Run away
B. Have dy’d
C. Found him
D. Lost love

B. Have dy’d.
She tells Alphonso that she would sooner “have dy’d” than wed Garcia, having sworn her vow.

45. Almeria asks Alphonso if he is not paler and changed; he replies that he is not changed in what regard?

A. His faith
B. His fortunes
C. In my Love
D. His sadness

C. In my Love.
Almeria sees his changed appearance, but Alphonso assures her that he is “Not in my Love.”

46. Alphonso tells Almeria that affliction is no more because of what specific event has occurred?

A. She is safe
B. Thou art found
C. They are free
D. Zara is gone

B. Thou art found.
Alphonso states that grief is over now that Almeria has been found and returned to him.

47. Leonora sees two figures bending toward them, believing they are in what type of clothing?

A. Mourning black
B. Shining Habits
C. Common rags
D. Dark cloaks

B. Shining Habits.
Leonora warns Almeria, saying she saw a glimpse of two people in “shining Habits” crossing the aisle.

48. Osmyn warns Almeria that Zara will lend wings to what powerful emotion that will lead her quickly to the vault?

A. Her jealousy
B. Love
C. Her rage
D. Her deceit

B. Love.
Osmyn warns they must hurry because “Love will lend her Wings” to reach them swiftly.

49. Osmyn reflects that his eyes reflect images, not by election, but by what universal force?

A. Chance
B. Necessity
C. Sight
D. The mind

B. Necessity.
He calls sight “Mechanick Sense,” owing its faculty to necessity, not the mind’s choice.

50. Zara tells Osmyn that she lost Fame, Honour, and Empire in war because she urged her husband onto what action?

A. Revenge plots
B. This Invasion
C. To love her
D. His death

B. This Invasion.
Zara confesses she urged her husband (Albucacim) on “to this Invasion,” which led to their ruin.

Brief Overview

The Mourning Bride is a play by William Congreve. It was produced and published in 1697. It is a powerful Restoration tragedy that focuses intensely on themes of love, betrayal, revenge, and the complexities of human relationships.

The story centers on Princess Almeria, who wears black because she mourns her husband, Alphonso. Her father, the King, holds the kingdom of King Anselmo. Almeria and Anselmo’s son, Alphonso, secretly married, but Alphonso was lost at sea. Almeria thinks he is dead.

The King returns home victorious and orders Almeria to marry Garcia. He also brings a Moorish Queen, Zara, and a sullen captive named Osmyn. Almeria visits the tomb of King Anselmo. Osmyn suddenly appears from the vault. He is actually Alphonso, alive and in disguise. They are overjoyed to meet again.

Zara falls in love with Osmyn. When she sees him with Almeria, she becomes angry. Zara tells the King that Osmyn is a traitor and his rival for the throne. The King orders Osmyn’s immediate execution. Zara learns Osmyn is Alphonso and tries to save him using her silent guards (mutes).

The King enters Osmyn’s dark cell, planning a trick. But Garcia’s father, Gonsalez, enters first. Gonsalez mistakenly kills the King, who was dressed like Osmyn. Zara then finds the headless body, believes it is Alphonso, and immediately drinks poison to die.

Almeria finds the chaos, but then Alphonso appears, safe. He tells her that Gonsalez and Alonzo confessed their guilt as they died. Alphonso and Almeria are finally joined forever.