Shakespeare Quiz

1. In which town was William Shakespeare born?

1. Canterbury
2. London
3. Oxford
4. Stratford-upon-Avon

2. Which Shakespeare play features the line 'To be, or not to be, that is the question'?

1. Hamlet
2. King Lear
3. Macbeth
4. Othello

3. What was the name of Shakespeare's theatre in London?

1. The Curtain
2. The Globe
3. The Rose
4. The Swan

4. In Macbeth, the three witches open the play with what famous line?

1. 'Double, double, toil and trouble'
2. 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair'
3. 'Something wicked this way comes'
4. 'When shall we three meet again'

5. Which Shakespeare play features the characters Oberon, Titania, and Puck?

1. A Midsummer Night's Dream
2. As You Like It
3. The Tempest
4. The Winter's Tale

6. How many plays did Shakespeare write?

1. 27
2. 33
3. 37
4. 42

7. Romeo and Juliet is set in which Italian city?

1. Florence
2. Rome
3. Venice
4. Verona

8. What type of verse did Shakespeare mainly use in his plays?

1. Dactylic hexameter
2. Free verse
3. Iambic pentameter
4. Rhyming couplets

9. In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock demands what as collateral for his loan?

1. A pound of flesh
2. Gold
3. His daughter
4. Land

10. Who speaks the famous 'All the world's a stage' speech?

1. Falstaff
2. Hamlet
3. Jaques
4. Prospero

11. What is the name of the jealous villain in Othello?

1. Brabantio
2. Cassio
3. Iago
4. Roderigo

12. Shakespeare's sonnets are dedicated to a mysterious figure referred to as 'Mr W.H.' Who has been proposed as a candidate?

1. Henry Wriothesley (Earl of Southampton) or William Herbert (Earl of Pembroke)
2. Walter Raleigh
3. William Harvey
4. William Hatfield

13. Which Shakespeare play features the 'green-eyed monster' as a metaphor for jealousy?

1. Hamlet
2. King Lear
3. Macbeth
4. Othello

14. In King Lear, how many daughters does King Lear have?

1. Five
2. Four
3. Three
4. Two

15. Which Shakespeare play involves a shipwreck and a magician controlling an island?

1. A Midsummer Night's Dream
2. Pericles
3. The Tempest
4. The Winter's Tale

16. What Shakespeare play is considered the longest?

1. Hamlet
2. Henry V
3. King Lear
4. Othello

17. The phrase 'Neither a borrower nor a lender be' comes from which Shakespeare play?

1. Hamlet
2. Much Ado About Nothing
3. The Merchant of Venice
4. Twelfth Night

18. Which of Shakespeare's plays is considered the only pure comedy without dark undertones by many scholars?

1. A Midsummer Night's Dream
2. As You Like It
3. Much Ado About Nothing
4. The Merry Wives of Windsor

19. What is a 'Shakespearean sonnet' and how does it differ from a Petrarchan sonnet?

1. Both are identical in structure
2. Shakespearean = 3 quatrains + couplet (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG); Petrarchan = octave + sestet
3. Shakespearean has 16 lines; Petrarchan has 14
4. Shakespearean rhymes all lines; Petrarchan has no rhyme

20. Which Shakespearean villain says 'I am not what I am'?

1. Edmund
2. Iago
3. Macbeth
4. Richard III