Question

What was the Marseillaise?
A)A slogan
B)A type of hat
C)A patriotic song
D)A romantic song

Answer 1

Hint: The Marseillaise was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled Chant de Guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin or the War Song for the Army of the Rhine.

Complete answer:
La Marseillaise is the national anthem of France. At the peak of the French Revolution, Baron Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich, the mayor of Strasbourg and master of the local masonic lodge, requested his freemason guest Rouget de Lisle compose a song which will rally their soldiers from all over to defend their homeland that is under threat.
Baron De Dietrich was executed the next year during the Reign of Terror.

The melody of this immensely patriotic song soon became the rallying call to the French Revolution and was adopted as "La Marseillaise" after the melody was first sung on the streets by volunteers also known as fédérés in French from Marseille by the end of May. This song was written on 25 April 1792.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, La Marseillaise was recognized as the anthem of the international revolutionary movement and hence it was adopted by the Paris Commune in 1871, along with new lyrics under the title La Marseillaise de la Commune. About eight years later, in 1879, it was restored as France's national anthem and has remained so ever since.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C)

Note: Several musicals have been composed based on the melody of La Marseillaise. Even the famous German Composer Wolfgang Mozart composed Allegro maestoso based on this song.
La Marseillaise was written in one night. It is named after the soldiers from Marseilles who first sang the anthem. The moment when Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle performed his song in front of the mayor was immortalized in a painting by the French artist Isidore Pils.