How many questions are in this quiz?

This quiz has 199 questions on Petrarch, Erasmus, and Thomas More within Renaissance humanism.

What format are the questions in?

Each question is multiple-choice with 4 options, and there is no timer.

Can I choose the number of questions and difficulty?

Yes. Pick your preferred question count and select a difficulty level to match quick practice or deeper study.

What topics are covered besides author names and titles?

You’ll see themes like ad fontes, satire, moral reform, civic humanism, and the historical context shaping each text.

What’s a common mistake with Thomas More’s Utopia?

Many readers treat it as a literal political plan; the quiz also tests its irony, framing, and debated intent.

Humanism texts: Petrarch, Erasmus, and More

About this quiz

What you’ll practice

Move beyond names and dates by connecting each author to their major works, ideas, and rhetorical aims. You’ll practice spotting humanist values like ad fontes, civic virtue, and moral critique as they appear in different genres.

Every question uses 4 options and there’s no timer, so you can read carefully and learn as you go. Before starting, choose your preferred question count and difficulty—shorter runs are great for review, while longer sessions help build endurance across the full topic.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Many mistakes come from mixing up authors’ purposes: Petrarch’s self-fashioning and classical revival, Erasmus’s reform-minded satire, and More’s layered political fiction. Another frequent trap is confusing a work’s tone (irony, satire, dialogue) with the author’s literal position.

Confusing Erasmus’s satire with straightforward doctrine
Treating Utopia as a simple blueprint rather than a debated thought experiment
Mixing Petrarch’s humanist program with later Reformation arguments
Forgetting historical context (courts, universities, Church reform debates)
Missing key terms and Latin titles that signal genre and intent

How difficulty is balanced

Difficulty is mixed on purpose: some items check core identification (author, work, concept), while others push interpretation and context. As you raise difficulty, questions lean more on nuance—tone, implied audience, and what each text is reacting to—rather than pure recall.