The Prisoner of Zenda

General Revision
Answer the following questions:
1) What is the setting (time and place) of The Prisoner of Zenda?
♥ The setting is Europe in the late 19th century.
2) How old is Rudolf when the events of the story start?
♥ He is 29 years old.
3) According to Rose, how is Rudolf Rassendyll different from his brother
Robert?
♥ Rudolf is different because he does not take his duties to society seriously. /He doesn't work.
4) Mention three skills that Rudolf Rassendyll has?
♥ He can speak several languages (German, French, Spanish, Italian). He can ride a horse. He can fight
with a sword.
5) Why wasn't Rassendyll as sick as the King was after eating the cakes?
♥ He only ate one cake, so he ate less poison.
6) Why did Fritz and Sapt lock up Johann's mother with the King?
♥ They locked her up so that she wouldn't tell Michael's men that Rassendyll was pretending to be the
King at the coronation.
7) Why was Rassendyll afraid when he saw Antoinette de Mauban on the
balcony?
♥ He was afraid that she would recognize him and say that he wasn't the real King.
8) According to Flavia, how has Rassendyll (the King) changed in his
appearance?
♥ She says that his face is thinner and he looks more serious.
9) Why couldn't the Duke say anything about Rassendyll even though he
knew Rassendyll was not the King?
♥ He couldn't say anything because he would have to admit that he had kidnapped the real King.
10) How did Sapt explain Rassendyll's injured finger to Freyler?
♥ Sapt told him that Rassendyll had caught his finger in a door. .

11) Why was Rassendyll keen on getting the people of Ruritania to like
him more than they liked the Duke?
♥ He thought that if there was a fight between him and the Duke, the people would support him.

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12) Why couldn't the Duke ever become King unless he married Flavia?
♥ The Duke's mother was not royal, so legally he couldn't become King unless he married Princess
Flavia.
13) Rassendyll has never liked responsibilities. Now he has many. What
responsibilities does he have?
♥ He has to run the country and rescue the real King.
14) Why does Rassendyll become good at pretending he has forgotten
rules or people he has met?
♥ He has to do this so that people will sill think he is the real King.
15) Rassendyll tells the Princess that when he was younger, he thought
he didn't need to worry about society. Why does he say this?
♥ He is forgetting to pretend to be the King. He is thinking of his own youth.
16) How does the Princess react to Rassendyll's recalling that he thought
he had no need to worry about society?
♥ She is surprised because he always knew he would be King, so he should expect to have
responsibilities.
17) What is the reason Rassendyll claims is the cause of his handwriting
being different from the King's?
♥ He claims that his hand still hurts from his injury so he can't write as well as before.
18) 'The thing I hunt is a very big animal," Rassendyll explains. What is
Rassendyll really hunting?
♥ He is really hunting Duke Michael.
19) To whom did the large, modern country house called Tarlenheim
belong?
♥ It belonged to a relative of Fritz.
20) Rassendyll, Sapt and Fritz took ten brave and strong gentlemen that
they trusted to hunt down Michael. What reason did they give to the
gentlemen?
♥ They told the gentlemen that Duke Michael was holding a friend of the King as a prisoner and it was
their job to set him free.
21) What did Johann tell Rassendyll about the real King's condition?
♥ He told him that the King was ill and weak.

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22) Why does Rassendyll say that he was forced to stab Max Holf to
death?
♥ It was war. He had to do it to rescue the King.
23) What did the Chief of Police in Strelsau tell Rassendyll (the King)
about what they had learnt about the real Rassendyll?
♥ They had found his bags at the train station and they thought he was travelling with Madame de Mauban.

24) Why was Michael keeping Madame de Mauban as a prisoner in his

mansion?
♥ …because he knew that she had warned Rassendyll at the summer house.
25) Why was Rose angry with Rudolf at breakfast?
♥ She was angry because Rudolf didn’t want to work or have any responsibilities.
26) Why did Rassendyll decide to go to Ruritania?
♥ He wanted to see the coronation of the new King of Ruritania.
27) Why did the innkeeper like Duke Michael more than the King?
♥ Duke Michael had always lived in Ruritania and cared about the people. The King had lived abroad and
the people didn’t know him.

28) How could the old castle of Zenda be reached? How could the
mansion be reached?
♥ The old castle could be reached only by a drawbridge. The mansion could be reached by a road
29) Why did Duke Michael poison the King?
♥ He didn’t want him to be crowned King the next day.
30) How long did Rassendyll expect to pretend to be the King?
♥ He expected to pretend to be the King for one day .
31) Why was Sapt anxious when Rassendyll rode through the old part of
town alone?
♥ Sapt thought the people in the old part of town might hurt him because they didn’t like the King.
32) How did Rassendyll and Sapt get a permit to leave the city?
♥ Sapt was able to copy the King’s signature onto a form.
33) How did Duke Michael know that Rassendyll was not the real King?
♥ Duke Michael knew that the real King had been poisoned and was at the hunting lodge. Also, his men
(must have) sent him a message that the King was asleep at the hunting lodge.
34) Why did the men who came to the lodge have spades with them?
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♥ They had spades because they were going to bury Josef’s body.
35) Why did Rassendyll continue to pretend to be the King after the
coronation day?
♥ Because the real King was missing from the lodge/taken by Michael’s men.
36) Who is Detchard?
♥ Detchard is an Englishman who is one of Duke Michael’s special soldiers/Six Men.
37) Why did Rassendyll remember Rose’s words about responsibilities
when he left Princess Flavia’s palace?
♥ Because he suddenly realised that he had always wanted a quiet life but now he had many
responsibilities and he wondered how he had got into that situation.
38) What did Antoinette tell Rassendyll when he went to the summer
house?
♥ She told him that Michael’s men were planning to kill him there and that he must leave before they came.

39) How did Sapt react when Rassendyll almost told Princess Flavia the
truth of who he was?
♥ Sapt’s face was angry but he calmly told Rassendyll that someone was waiting to see him.
40) What did Sapt want Rassendyll to do at the ball?
♥ Sapt wanted Rassendyll to propose to Princess Flavia.
41) Where was Bernenstein when he was shot?
♥ Bernenstein was alone in the woods near the house at Tarlenheim.
42) Why did the King’s prison have a large stone pipe leading to the
moat?
♥ If the Duke killed the King, he would put his body into the moat through the pipe.
43) Why do you think Johann was willing to act as a spy for Rassendyll?
♥ Because he didn’t like the Duke. / Because he wanted to help the King. / Because he was paid a lot of
money.
44) What happened at the house at Tarlenheim on the night Rassendyll’s
men attacked the castle?
♥ There was music and bright lights so that it looked like there was a ball.
45) Why did Rupert attack Antoinette?
♥ Rupert attacked Antoinette because he learnt that she had been writing to Rassendyll.
46) What two people were with the King when Rassendyll entered the
King’s prison room?
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♥ Detchard and the doctor were with the King.
47) Why do you think Michael’s servants did not put down their weapons
when Rupert told them to?
♥ They were loyal to the Duke, who had just been killed. / They knew that Rupert was not their boss.
/They were angry that Rupert had killed the Duke.
48) Why did Rassendyll stay in the woods after the fight at the castle?
♥ He did not want anyone to see him because they would think he was the King.

49) At the end of the story, Rassendyll refused to work for Sir Jacob. Rose
considered this a great loss. Illustrate.
♥ Rose thought that if Rassendyll worked for Sir Jacob, he might become an ambassador one day. She
thought that if he didn't go to Ruritania, he wouldn't be anybody important. Rassendyll refused to go
because he took the place of the King when he was in Ruritania and if he went back there, this would
cause him problems.
50) If Fritz and Sapt hadn't been loyal to the King, what would have
happened?
♥ If they hadn't been loyal to the King, Michael would have killed the King. Michael would have taken the
crown.
51) What would Rassendyll have done if he had been greedy for power?
♥ He would have killed both the King and Michael and he would have stayed as King.
52) What would have happened if Rassendyll had been killed at the
summer house?
♥ If Rassendyll had been killed at the summer house, Michael would have killed the real King and
become King.
53) What did Sapt do to protect Rassendyll from Michael's men?
♥ He ordered six men to follow Rassendyll wherever he went in the capital.
54) Rassendyll's ability to think well and act quickly was evident at the
summer house. Explain?
♥ Rassendyll was almost trapped at the summer house. He used an iron chair to defend himself against
Michael's men. The table top hit them and they all fell down the steps. Rassendyll fell down too, but he
managed to get up fastest and run away. If he hadn't thought well and acted quickly, he would have died.
55) Although Johann and Max Holf were brothers, they were completely
different. Discuss.

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♥ Johann was a good man. He worked for Duke Michael only because he was afraid of him and not
because he liked him. He believed that everyone in the castle was a criminal except the King. He agreed
to work as a spy for Rassendyll because he wanted to save the King.
Max was an evil man. He helped Michael to carry out his evil plans. He helped to put up the pipe to the
prison window which would be used to get rid of the King's body after killing him.
56) Rudolf Rassendyll was just the right person to replace the King of
Ruritania, but he was not good at remembering all the rules or the
people he had met. How did he manage to solve this problem?
♥ He was just the right person because he looked exactly like the King. As he couldn't remember all the
rules or the people he had met, he became very good at pretending that he had forgotten them so that
people wouldn't notice that he was not the real King.
57) Rassendyll did not only manage to play the role of the King, but he
also helped to change the real King's image in poor people's minds.
Illustrate.
♥ The poor people didn't like the real King because he was only interested in food and hunting and he
didn't care about them. He almost lived all his life abroad. Rassendyll rode his horse alone among the
poor people in the old part of the town. People felt that he trusted them. They knew that he was not a
distant ‫ بعيد‬King. When he bought flowers from the little poor girl on his way to Flavia's house, people
felt that he cared about them. In fact, he helped to stop people thinking badly about the King.
58) Sapt was the wise old man without whom Rassendyll's job as a King
would have been too difficult. Explain.
♥ Sapt spent hours to tell Rassendyll about the King's duties. He stayed with Rassendyll to tell him what he
ought to do and what he should not do and also what he should say to the important people Rassendyll had to
meet. When Rassendyll was about to tell Princess Flavia the truth about himself, Sapt was there to stop him.
Sapt did his best to make sure that his plan to save the King would succeed.
59) Give an example to show that one of Michael's Six Men was not
completely loyal to him.
♥ Rupert Hentzau was the youngest, the strongest and the most criminal of Michael's Six Men. He said
he didn't like Michael because Michael was not a good man. He also told Rassendyll that Michael made
him angry and he nearly killed him. Rupert told Rassendyll he was ready to work with him. His plan was
to kill Michael, the King, Sapt and Fritz so that Rassendyll would stay King and give him a reward. At the
end of the story, Rupert killed Michael.
60) As a King, Rassendyll faced several hardships, mention two and say
how he was able to overcome them.
♥ 1-It was difficult for him to remember all the rules or the people he had met. He overcame this
difficulty by pretending that he had forgotten the rules.
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 2-When the Chief of Police told him that an Englishman called Rassendyll was reported missing, Rassendyll
felt that his game had almost been discovered. He overcame this difficulty by telling the Chief of Police that he
would look into the matter and that he should leave and come back in two weeks.
3-When he went to see Antoinette at the summer house, he was almost trapped and Michael's men
could have killed him, but he used an iron chair to defend himself and could escape.
61) How did Rassendyll get his red hair and straight nose?
♥ He got them From his grandmother Countess Amelia who married a member of the Ruritanian royal
family, the Elphbergs in 1733.
62) What do you learn from this story?
♥ 1-We learn that there is always conflict between good and evil and that good always wins in the end.
2-We learn that we should help other people and that by helping them we become better people.
3-We learn that we should always be loyal to our friends and that we should never betray them.
4-We learn that we have responsibilities and duties whether we have a position in society or not.
5-We learn to be fair, honest and tolerant.
6- We learn to love our country and be always ready to help it.
7- We learn that crime doesn't pay and every criminal ill be punished in the end.
63) What was Michael's reaction when he discovered that Antoinette had
helped Rassendyll at the summer house?
♥ He invited her and her servants to his mansion and kept them prisoners there. He didn't allow them
to leave again.
64) How did Rupert prove to be the most criminal of Michael's Six Men?
♥ 1-When he visited Rassendyll in the country house, he pretended that he wanted to shake hands with
him, but suddenly stabbed him in the shoulder with his knife.
2-He was ready to betray Michael and work with his enemies for his own good.
3-He killed Duke Michael when Michael tried to stop him from punishing Antoinette.
4-He was the only one of the Six Men who escaped from Rassendyll. The other five got killed.

65) Antoinette proved to be a kind-hearted and clever woman. Explain.

♥ 1- She helped to take care of the King who was very ill in the castle.
2-She helped Rassendyll at the summer house and told him about Michael's plan to kill him.
3-Even when she was held a prisoner at the mansion, she managed to send letters to Rassendyll
with Johann.
4-She didn't approve of Michael's plans to kill his brother and take the crown.
66) Rassendyll proved to be conscientious as a King. Discuss.
♥ Rassendyll worked hard as a King. He felt that he had many responsibilities and duties. He tried to
stop the poor people thinking badly about the King. He did his best to show the people that he trusted
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them. The people of Ruritania felt that he was not a distant King as he went to the poor area of the city
twice. He saved the King and ran the country well.
67) Duke Michael was a cunning man. Give two examples.
♥ 1-Michael was a very cunning and evil man. He wanted to kill his brother to take the crown, so he held
him a prisoner in the castle.
2-When Rassendyll took the place of the King, he planned to kill him and take his body to the old town
where it would be found and Fritz and Sapt would be arrested for murdering Rassendyll.
3-He held Antoinette a prisoner in the mansion to stop her from helping Rassendyll.
4-He made a clever plan to defend the castle if it was attacked.
68) Rupert Hentzau didn't understand that Rassendyll was not as wicked
as him. Explain?
(Rupert Hentzau misjudged Rassendyll's character. Illustrate)
♥ Rupert Hentzau believed that Rassendyll wanted to stay as King, so he asked him to attack the castle
with the help of Rupert but the real King, Michael, Sapt and Fritz must all die. Rassendyll could stay as
King and reward Rupert. He didn't understand that Rassendyll was pretending to be the King for the
good of Ruritania. He only wanted to save the King.
69) The idea of the conflict between good and evil was evident in 'The
Prisoner of Zenda' Illustrate.
♥ Michael and his men represent evil in the story. Rassendyll, Sapt, Fritz. Strakencz, Johann and Antoinette
and other men represent good. Michael and his men wanted to kill the King so that Michael would take the
crown. They were read to kill anybody who stood in their way in order to carry out their evil plans. Rassendyll
and his men fought against Michael and his men to save the King and the country from their evil. In the end,
good won the battle against evil when the King was saved and Michael as well as five of his Six men were killed.
70) Michael's men were completely different from the real king's men.
Explain.
♥ Michael's men were evil and wicked. They would kill anyone to carry out their evil plans. They helped
Duke Michael by kidnapping the real King and killing Joseph. They followed Rassendyll to try to kill him.
They were not completely loyal to Michael as Rupert betrayed ‫ خان‬Michael and killed him in the end. The
real king's men were good and loyal to him such as Sapt, Fritz, Strakencz and the ten brave strong men.
They did their best to protect their country and stop Duke Michael from killing the King and taking the
crown.
71) King Rudolf Elphberg and Rassendyll both underwent a major
personality change. Explain.
♥ Rassendyll always liked to live a quiet life. He didn't like duties and responsibilities. He didn't want to
have a job as he was rich. When he became King, he started to change. He knew what it meant to have

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responsibilities. He ran the country well. Although his life was in danger, he did his best to save the
King's life. He learnt the valuable lesson that people become better people by helping others.
♥ Rudolf Elphberg was always interested in food and hunting. He didn't care about poor people. He
was a distant King. Many people didn't like him. Rassendyll taught him what a true king should be. He
learnt that life is not just food and hunting. He knew the value of his loyal friends. He learnt how to help
others as he saved Rassendyll's life when he was fighting Detchard in the castle.

72) Rudolf Rassendyll could have been killed several times throughout
the story. Give two examples.
♥ 1-Rassendyll could have been killed when he went to the hunting lodge with Sapt to bring the real
King. Michael's men almost trapped him, but he could escape.
2-When he went to the castle of Zenda to save the King, Detchard could have killed him if the King
hadn't helped him by pushing a chair against Detchard's legs, so Detchard fell down and it was easy for
Rassendyll to kill him.
3-While he was fighting Rupert Hentzau in the forest of Zenda, Rupert could have killed him if Fritz
hadn't arrived in time riding a horse and holding a gun. When Rupert saw, Fritz, he escaped.
73 A 'stalemate' is a situation when neither side in a battle can make
progress or win. When did this happen in 'The Prisoner of Zenda'?
♥ This happened when Duke Michael kidnapped the real King and Rassendyll pretended to be the King.
Rassendyll could not accuse Michael in public without admitting that he was not the real King. Michael
could not accuse Rassendyll of anything because then people would know that he had kidnapped the real
King.
74) If Rassendyll hadn't had principles, what would he have done?
♥ He wouldn't have tried to save the real King. He would have followed Rupert's plan to kill the King, Michael,
Sapt and Fritz so as to stay King forever. He would have married Flavia and taken the crown. He would have
accepted Michael's offer to take a million gold pieces and leave Ruritania.

75) Rupert Hentzau and Rassendyll had things in common, but they were
also different. Explain.
♥ They were both young and brave. They were both good swordsmen. On the other hand, Rassendyll
was kind and helpful, but Rupert was cruel and dishonest. Rassendyll was ready to risk his life to save
the King, but Rupert was disloyal and ungrateful as he betrayed Michael and killed him in the end.
76) While Rassendyll and his men were staying at Tarlenheim, Rupert
Hentzau came twice. Give reasons.
♥ The first time he told Rassendyll that the Duke was sorry that Rassendyll and his men could not stay
in the mansion because the Duke and many of his servants had a dangerous illness, so it was best if

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they stayed away. The second time Rupert came to tell Rassendyll that the Duke offered him a million
gold pieces and a safe journey to the border if he agreed to leave Ruritania.
77) How were Sapt and Fritz different from each other?
♥ Sapt was so wise. He always knew what to do at the right time. He was smart and very careful.
Without Sapt, Rudolf Elphberg would not have become King. Fritz was not wise enough. He always
wanted to do things quickly regardless of consequences.
78) Sapt was always wise enough to take the right decision at the right
time. Give two examples.
♥ When the King was found unconscious at the hunting lodge, Sapt decided to persuade Rassendyll to
take the place of the King and Rassendyll agreed.
♥ When he was going to the hunting lodge with Rassendyll, they saw Michael and Max Holf. Sapt could
have killed Michael with his gun at that time, but he didn't because he knew it wouldn't have helped the
King at that moment.
79) Princess Flavia and King Rudolf Elphberg were really grateful to
Rassendyll. Explain.
♥ The King was grateful to Rassendyll because he saved his life and taught him what a true King should
be. Rassendyll ran the country well while the real King was held a prisoner. Rassendyll also helped to
stop the people thinking badly about the King.
♥ Flavia was grateful to Rassendyll because he protected her from Michael and his men and saved her
future husband.
80) Although Rassendyll made many mistakes while pretending to be the
King, his game was not discovered. Explain.
♥ Rassendyll was clever enough to cover up his mistakes as he became very good at pretending that
he had forgotten the rules or the people he had met. Moreover, people wouldn't believe that Rassendyll
was just a pretend king as he looked exactly like the real King. Sapt was always by his side to tell him
what he should or should not do.
81) Antoinette, Johann and Rupert Hentzau betrayed Duke Michael for
different reasons. Illustrate.
♥ Antoinette knew about Michael's evil plans to kill his brother and Rassendyll in order to take the crown, so
she decided to help Rassendyll as she believed that Michael had no right to become King.
♥Johann worked for Michael because he was afraid of him and not because he liked him. He didn't feel
safe in the castle and believed that everyone there was a criminal except the King. So it was easy for
Rassendyll to persuade Johann to work as a spy and help him to save the King.
♥Rupert Hentzau betrayed Michael because he thought he was not a good man and Michael made him
angry. He was ready to work against Michael and help Rassendyll to stay King forever as he believed
that Rassendyll would give him a reward. In the end, Rupert killed Michael.

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82) Although he was a pretend King, Rassendyll tried to act like real
kings. Give 2 examples.
♥ He decided to keep some secrets for himself.
♥ He planned to make himself as popular as he could. He wanted to stop the poor people of Strelsau
from thinking badly about him. By winning the support of the poor people, he hoped that Michael would
not be stronger.
♥ When Sapt told him not to go to the summer house, he decided to go there.
83) Give an example to show that Rassendyll was a kind-hearted man.
♥ He sympathized with the poor people of Strelsau. He bought some flowers from a poor girl with a
gold coin. When he saw King Rudolf Elphberg lying unconscious on the floor, he agreed to take the place
of the King for the good of Ruritania. He risked his life save the King.
84) Do you think that Ruritania would have become a better country if
Rassendyll had remained King? Why?> Why not?
♥ Yes, I think so, because…
-Rassendyll had a much better personality than Rudolph Elphberg.
-He was able to run the country well while the King was in prison.
-He treated the poor people well and made them trust him.
-People felt that he cared for them.
-He was seen more than once in the old town where most of the poor people lived.
85) What was Rassendyll's plan to rescue the King?
♥ Sapt would take some men to the front door of the mansion. When Johann opened the door, they
would quickly enter and tie up the servants if they did not want to help the King. At the same time
Madame de Mauban would cry out for help from her room. The Duke would surely come to see what was
happening, and they could kill him. Then there would only be two men left guarding the King, so they
would need to move quickly before they hurt the King.

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