Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare, likely between 1594 and 1596. Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities, Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice, and Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales.
English literature stands as one of the richest, most diverse, and most globally influential literary traditions in the long history of human expression. Spanning more than a thousand years - from the epic Old English verse of Beowulf to the postmodern experiments of contemporary novelists - this vast body of writing has given the world some of its most enduring characters, most quoted lines, and most profound explorations of the human condition. To read English literature is to hold a mirror up to human experience across the ages: love and loss, ambition and betrayal, injustice and redemption, identity and belonging. At the heart of this tradition stands William Shakespeare - the playwright and poet whose work, written over four centuries ago in the bustling theatres of Elizabethan London, continues to be performed, studied, adapted, and quoted worldwide more than any other author in history. His plays plumb the depths of jealousy, power, grief, and romantic love with a psychological acuity that feels startlingly modern. But English literature reaches far beyond Shakespeare. In the twentieth century, writers like George Orwell crafted prophetic dystopian visions that feel more urgent and relevant with each passing decade; Harper Lee gave us unforgettable moral heroes who taught generations about justice, courage, and compassion; and J.K. Rowling created an entire magical world that introduced millions of children to the transformative joy of reading. This quiz is your opportunity to explore the great names and classic works that any lover of literature should know. In which novel does the calm, principled Atticus Finch stand up against racial injustice in the American South, defending a wrongfully accused man at great personal cost? Who wrote the chilling novel 1984, with its nightmare vision of a totalitarian state in which even private thought is subject to surveillance and control? What is the title of the very first book in the Harry Potter series - the novel that introduced Harry, Hermione, and Ron to a generation of readers? And can you navigate the literary terminology that helps us discuss and analyze these works with precision - concepts like personification, the unreliable narrator, and dramatic irony? Whether you are a student of literature, a devoted reader, or simply someone who wants to revisit beloved stories from a new angle, this quiz invites you to celebrate the extraordinary power of the written word.