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Oct 26, 2024 · The Life of Voltaire Trivia Quiz. As a leader of the Enlightenment, Voltaire's influence persists today. See how well you know this courageous and sagacious writer, philosopher, and champion of social justice. A multiple-choice quiz by jstagamtome. Estimated time: 6 mins.
- Voltaire Trivia Quizzes | Literature
This is a quiz on part of Voltaire's famous satire,...
- Voltaire Trivia Quizzes | Literature
Discover how much you really know about the famous writer and philosopher Voltaire with our engaging quiz on his works, including Candide and Philosophical Letters. Test your knowledge now!
Born François-Marie Arouet in 1694 in France, Voltaire wrote countless plays, poems, satires and polemics — his collected works take up 200 volumes — and centuries before there was a Madonna, Bono or Beyoncé, the one-named Voltaire was Europe's first truly modern celebrity.
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Known to history as Voltaire, you might be surprised to know that this wasn’t actually his real name. Francois-Marie Arouet took on this nickname in 1718 after he’d been imprisoned for the first time in the famous Bastille prison in Paris (more on that later). Wikimedia Commons
The choice to take on this nickname has been debated amongst scholars, as some believe that he did it to be slightly more anonymous with his writing (though given that we know who he is, that anonymity might not have been very successful…). Another theory is that he was more concerned with abandoning his old name because he was in such disagreement...
Voltaire was an incredibly prolific writer; during his life, he wrote “more than 50 plays, dozens of treatises on science, politics and philosophy, and several books of history on everything from the Russian Empire to the French Parliament.” He also found the time to write more than 20,000 letters and an untold amount of poetic verse! Clearly, this...
You might be wondering how Voltaire managed to have all this time to produce such an incredible bibliography. Allegedly, he would spend as many as eighteen hours a day writing, whether he was in bed or at a desk. He was also said to have drank more than 40 cups of coffee a day to keep himself alert and awake! Shutterstock
Being a man of the 18th century, Voltaire was one of the primary figures in the Age of Enlightenment. This philosophical and spiritual movement took Europe by storm, promoting such ideas as reason, liberty, progress, tolerance, and separation of church and state. It so affected Europe that the 18th century was sometimes referred to as the “Century ...
Much of Voltaire’s early adulthood was spent defying his father’s wish for his son to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. However, Voltaire was determined to become a writer, and even when his father would secure positions of study or employment within the world of law, Voltaire would spend his time writing instead. Wikimedia Commons
In 1713, Voltaire’s father got him assigned to work as a secretary with the French ambassador in the Netherlands. While there, Voltaire fell head over heels for a woman who had had to flee France due to her Protestant faith (there was incredible animosity between Catholics and Protestants back then). This crossing of social boundaries was too scand...
Voltaire spent most of the last twenty years of his life living in the town of Ferney on the Franco-Swiss border. In honor of their famous resident, the town is now known as Ferney-Voltaire. Wikipedia
To this day, nobody knows why he chose the name "Voltaire," or what it’s supposed to even mean. One theory which has arisen over the years is that the name "Voltaire" is an anagram of “Arovet LI,” which is the Latin spelling of his name “Arouet Le Jeune.” Wikimedia Commons
Voltaire was one of those rare examples of a brilliant person who was both ahead of their time and also popular within their own era. He famously kept up correspondences with such European rulers as the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick the Great and such figures as Madame du Barry, who was French King Louis XV’s royal mistress. Wikimedia Commons
- The origins of his famous pen name are unclear. Voltaire had a strained relationship with his father, who discouraged his literary aspirations and tried to force him into a legal career.
- He was imprisoned in the Bastille for nearly a year. Voltaire’s caustic wit first got him into trouble with the authorities in May 1716, when he was briefly exiled from Paris for composing poems mocking the French regent’s family.
- He became hugely wealthy by exploiting a flaw in the French lottery. In 1729, Voltaire teamed with mathematician Charles Marie de La Condamine and others to exploit a lucrative loophole in the French national lottery.
- He was an extraordinary prolific writer. Voltaire wrote more than 50 plays, dozens of treatises on science, politics and philosophy, and several books of history on everything from the Russian Empire to the French Parliament.
This is a quiz on part of Voltaire's famous satire, "Candide", commonly recognized as his magnum opus (masterpiece). It covers chapters 1-5. See how much you know!
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Francois Arouet, better known by his pen name Voltaire, was a literary genius whose brilliant writings often caused extreme controversy during his time. His prolific writings often attacked popular philosophical or religious beliefs.
