How William Became Shakespeare

Shakespeare Trivia Contest Questions

The following questions were compiled by the English Department and will be used in the trivia contest on Shakespeare Day. Those who are interested in winning the prize money should study these questions and be prepared to answer them in a contest format. Have fun!

1. What region of what country in the world possesses an accent that is currently believed to be most like Shakespearian English? (The American South, particularly those who live in the remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

2. Why did the upper classes of England feel the need to change the sound of their language in 1750? (They believed their language was inferior to French, Spanish and Italian, which were all more pleasing to the ear.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

3. What does the Duchess of Devonshire have to do with the argument about whether British or American acting companies are most qualified to perform Shakespeare? (She and her court were single-handedly responsible for creating the British accent in 1750. Because Shakespeare died in 1616, the only country that still speaks Shakespeare’s language is America, which was colonized before 1750 and did not adopt the Duchess’s new way of speaking.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

4. What two sounds of the British accent were changed in 1750, and what sound was used to replace them? (The “a” as in “at” and the “r” at the end of words. Both were changed to “ahhh” as in “ball”) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

5. What two events were to the east and west of the Globe theater? (Bearbaiting and cockfighting.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

6. Where do we get the term "betting on the underdog"? (In bearbaiting, when a spectator placed a bet on the dogs that were trained to run beneath the bear’s belly in a vain attempt bite the bear’s underside. These dogs rarely survived, so a bet on one of them would earn a greater return.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

7. What were the approximate beginning and ending hours of every play performed at the Globe Theater? (2:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

8. Explain briefly where we get the term "box office"? (In the globe theater, ushers used black boxes to collect the money at the door. The room where these boxes were kept once they were full was called “the box office.”) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

9. Why were the metal boxes used for collecting money at the door of the Globe theater so small? (Because everyone knows that thieves and dishonest people congregated at the theater. The boxes were small so they could not hold enough money to interest thieves.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

10. What three items were always sold at every Shakespeare play performed at the Globe? (Tomatoes, meat pies, and oranges.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

11. Why did no Englishman ever eat a tomato? (They believed that they were poisonous.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

12. Why did members of the audience purchase a tomato before seeing the play? (To throw them at the actors if the play was bad.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

13. What happened if a play was deemed bad and numerous tomatoes were thrown during the opening scene? (Everyone was given their money back, and they left the theater immediately.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

14. What percentage of Shakespeare's audience was royalty? (1.2%) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

15. What was the most common job of those who paid a penny to see the play? (Street-sweeper) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

16. About how high was the front of Shakespeare's stage? (Waist high for an average adult) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

17. How did Shakespeare manage to portray the stabbing of Caesar so convincingly? (He used a pig’s bladder filled with pig’s blood beneath Caesar’s toga. The actor playing Brutus would be sure to break the bladder when he pretended to stab Caesar, and blood flowed towards the audience.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

18. What three elements are always promised in act one, scene one, of every Shakespeare play? (Supernatural creatures, teenage sex, and violence.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

19. The basic plot of every Shakespeare play is based on what kind of source? (A fairytale.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

20. What is it about Humpty Dumpty that makes him such a good example of good tragedy? (Any egg dumb enough to sit on top of a high wall is asking for it, and the audience is always anxious to see him get what he deserves.) Source: Engles, Dr. Elliot. Lecture on Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina.

21. Shakespeare was born in what town or city? (Stratford-upon-Avon) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

22. The names of Shakespeare's father and mother were? (Mary and John Shakespeare) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

23. Did Shakespeare attend the Stratford Grammar School, also known as the King's New School? (Probably. There are no records of his school attendance, but it is highly likely he attended that school.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

24. Who did Shakespeare marry? (Anne Hathaway) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

25. Shakespeare was the father of how many children? (Shakespeare had 3 children) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

26. Why did Shakespeare leave his hometown of Stratford and go to London? (It is not known for sure how or why he left.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

27. What Elizabethan writer called Shakespeare an "upstart crow"? (Robert Greene, a minor Elizabethan dramatist and novelist) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

28. What does Robert Greens criticism of Shakespeare as an "upstart crow" in 1592 prove? (That Shakespeare had become well established in the London theater world.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

29. Why were the London theaters closed in 1593 and part of 1594? (Because there was a virulent outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, and theaters were an excellent place to spread infections.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

30. To whom did Shakespeare dedicate his long narrative poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece? (Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

31. Who is commonly identified as the youth addressed so affectionately in Shakespeare's Sonnets. (Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

32. Who was Shakespeare’s first formal biographer? (Nicholas Rowe wrote the first biography of Shakespeare in 1709.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

33. Who is reported for having given Shakespeare a reward of 1000 pounds for his poetic efforts? (Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

34. In 1598 Francis Meres published a diary called Palladis Tamia. In it he listed many of Shakespeare's plays. Which of the following plays is known to have existed by that time, but is NOT in Meres' list?

A) The Jew of Malta

B) The Taming of the Shrew

C) The Tempest

D) The Two Noble Kinsmen

(The answer is (B), The Taming of the Shrew.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

35. Is it possible to say in exactly what order Shakespeare's plays were written? (No.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

36. In 1594, Shakespeare became one of the founding members of what acting company? (The Lord Chamberlain's Men) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

37. Who is Lord Chamberlin of Lord Chamberlin’s Men? (Henry, Lord Hunsdon, Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

38. Why did acting companies seek the protection of aristocrats? What were they afraid of? (Aristocratic patronage could protect players from the city of London authorities, who were usually eager to stop playhouses from conducting business.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

39. In what year was the Globe Theater built? (1599) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

40. In what city and on what side of what river was the Globe Theater located? (In London, on the south side of the Thames River.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

41. From where did Lord Chamberlin’s Men get the timber to build the Globe Theater? (It was built from the timbers of the theater where Shakespeare formerly played, called “The Theatre.”) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

42. In what theater did Shakespeare and his fellow actors perform before they became Lord Chamberlin’s Men and moved to the Globe? (The theater where Shakespeare formerly played was called The Theatre. It was owned by the actors themselves.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

43. Some time after 1599-1600, Shakespeare turned from writing predominantly romantic comedies and history plays to tragedies. Which four plays are known as his "great tragedies"? (Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

44. In 1603 Shakespeare's acting company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, became what acting company? (The King’s Men) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

45. In 1603 Shakespeare's acting company, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, became the King's Men. Which king was their patron? (King James I)

46. Beginning around 1608, Shakespeare wrote 4 plays, Pericles Prince of Tyre, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest. These plays are categorized as what genre of play? (Romances) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

47. In his later years, Shakespeare collaborated with what author on the play The Two Noble Kinsmen? This same author is said to have worked with Shakespeare on Henry VIII as well. (John Fletcher.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

48. In what year was the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, called the First Folio, published? (1623) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

49. What two individuals were responsible for the printing of the first edition of the First Folio? (It was printed in London by Isaac Jaggard and Ed. Blount.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

50. What was the title of the First Folio? (Its title is Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

51. What two individuals were responsible for collecting and editing Shakespeare’s plays for the printing of the First Folio? (It was collected and edited by Shakespeare's fellow actors, John Heminges and Henry Condell.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

52. How many plays were included in the First Folio? (36 plays, 18 of which had never before been printed.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

53. What two individuals deserve enormous credit for ensuring that we have many of Shakespeare’s plays to read and perform today? (We owe John Heminges and Henry Condell an enormous debt of gratitude. Without their work we may never have known of many of Shakespeare's masterpieces, such as Macbeth, Anthony and Cleopatra, or The Tempest.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

54. Which three fellow actors did Shakespeare remember in his will? (Richard Burbage, John Heminges and Henry Condell.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

55. What actor from Shakespeare’s company was said to be the greatest tragedian of his time?. (Richard Burbage) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

56. Is it reasonable to think that someone other than William Shakespeare (1564-1616) of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the works attributed to him? (No, It is unreasonable to ignore the documentary, first hand, eye witness evidence that associates the man William Shakespeare with the works and with the London theater world of 1590-1613.) Source: “A Shakespeare Biography Quiz.” <http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/quiz/bioquiz.htm>.

What is the dominant metrical pattern in JULIUS CAESAR

A Iambic pentameter

B. Iambic couplets

C. Trochaic

(A: Iambic Pentameter)

What character in JULIUS CAESAR first says the line “Beware the ides of March”?

A. A. Brutus

B. Soothsayer

C. Marullus

(B: -Soothsayer)

Lucius from the play JULIUS CAESAR is

B. A.Cassius’ servant

B. One of Caesar’s assassins

C. C. Brutus’ servant

D. E. (C: Brutus’ servant)

JULIUS CAESAR was assassinated in what year?

F. A. 94 AD

G. B. 94 BC

H. C. 44 AD

I. D. 44 BC

(D: 44 BC)

Name four conspirators against JULIUS CAESAR. (any 4 of the following: Cassius, Brutus, Cinna, Casca, Trebonius, Decius, Metullus Cimber)

What feast are they celebrating in ACT I of JULIUS CAESAR? (The feast of Lupercal)

What is the name of Caesar’s famous mistress mentioned in the play JULIUS CAESAR? (Cleopatra)

In the play JULIUS CAESAR, what is the prized color that a senator is allowed to wear in Caesar’s time? (Purple)

JULIUS CAESAR was assassinated on what day of what month? (March 15)

The famous speech from the play JULIUS CAESAR that begins with “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears” was spoken by?

J. A. Brutus

K. B. Marc Antony

L. C. Cicero

(B: Marc Antony)

In the play JULIUS CAESAR After Marc Antony utters the words, “Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up to such a sudden flood of mutiny.”

M. A. People are relieved and go on with life as before

N. B. Wild anarchy and riots begin in the streets of Rome

O. C. A new election occurs to decide Caesar’s successor

(B: Wild anarchy and riots begin in the streets of Rome)

The main themes of JULIUS CAESAR center around

P. A. The minds and motives of murderers

Q. B. Unrequieted love

C. Causes and reasons for war

(A: The minds and motives of murderers)

What Roman river is mentioned in Marullus’ speech in Act I, Scene i of JULIUS CAESAR? (The Tiber River)

In the play JULIUS CAESAR Who is Julius Caesar’s wife?

R. A. Portia

S. B. Lucretia

T. C. Calpurnia

(C: Calpurnia)

In Act I, Scene ii of the play JULIUS CAESAR, Cassius says, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars.” In this passage the word “stars” means

U. A. Skies

V. B. Destinies

W. C. Selves

(B: Destinies)

In Act I, Scene ii of the play JULIUS CAESAR, Brutus says of Caesar, “ Tis very like he hath the falling- sickness.” What is the falling sickness he speaks of?

X. A. Epilepsy

Y. B. Smallpox

Z. C. Insanity

(A: Epilepsy)

73. In Act II, Scene i of the play JULIUS CAESAR, As Brutus and the other conspirators are plotting the murder of Caesar, Brutus says, “We shall be called purgers, not murderers.” What does he mean?

AA. A. They will be healing the wrongs of the government by murdering Caesar.

BB. B. They will be called butchers if they go through with the murder.

CC. C. They will be caught lying and must not go through with it.

(A: They will be healing the wrongs of the government by murdering Caesar.)

In the play JULIUS CAESAR, the night before Caesar is assassinated WHO yells out the following in a dream, “Help ho! They murder Caesar!”

DD. A. Caesar

EE. B. Decius

FF.C. Calpurnia

(C: Calpurnia)

In the following lines from ACT III sc i of the play JULIUS CAESAR, “O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth, that I am meek and gentle with these butchers.” Marc Antony is speaking to

GG. A. Brutus, Cassius and Cicero

HH. B. The crowd gathered for Caesar’s funeral

II. C. Caesar’s dead body

(C: Caesar’s dead body)

In the play JULIUS CAESAR, what three men rule Rome after Caesar’s death? (Antony, Lepidus and Octavius)

Who was the “Dark Lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets? (Nobody knows)
What tragedy by Shakespeare do superstitious actors not refer to directly by name, and what do they call that play? (Macbeth; “the Scottish play”)
This first line is from which of Shakespeare’s tragedies? “When shall we three meet again? / In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” (Macbeth)
This first line is from which of Shakespeare’s tragedies? “Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…” (Romeo and Juliet)
This first line is from which of Shakespeare’s tragedies? “Who’s there?” (Hamlet)
This first line is from which of Shakespeare’s tragedies? “Hence! Home, you idle creatures, get you home!” (Julius Caesar)
What year did the Globe Theater open? (1599)
Which play was being performed when a fire burned down the Globe Theater in 1613? (Henry VIII)
This first line is from which of Shakespeare’s comedies? “If music be the food of love, play on,” (Twelfth Night)
This first line is from which of Shakespeare’s comedies? “Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour / Draws on apace.” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
This first line is from which of Shakespeare’s comedies? “In delivering my son from me, I bury a second husband.” (All’s Well That Ends Well)
This first line is from which of Shakespeare’s comedies? “Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus.” (Two Gentlemen of Verona)
Which play has this cliché in it? “milk of human kindness” (Macbeth)
Which play has this cliché in it? “more sinned against that sinning” (King Lear)
Which play has this cliché in it? “salad days” (Anthony and Cleopatra)
Which play has this cliché in it? “strange bedfellows” (The Tempest)
Which play has this cliché in it? “loved not wisely but too well” (Othello)
What is the oldest surviving full-length motion picture made in America of a Shakespearian play? (Richard III)
Which Shakespeare play was the first to win an Academy Award? (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
Which Shakespeare play was the first to win an Oscar for Best Picture? (Hamlet)
For which Shakespeare play/film did Kenneth Branaugh receive his first Oscar nomination? (Henry V)
What actress received an Oscar nomination for Romeo and Juliet?

Claire Danes
Olivia Hussay
Norma Shearer

(C. Norma Shearer)

What Shakespeare play’s title may be read as a complete sentence? (All’s Well that Ends Well)
What is the longest word used by Shakespeare in one of his plays? (honorificabilitudinitatibus, a word used by Costard in act five, scene one of William Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost. The word is from medieval Latin and means “the holding of many honors”)
Complete this title: “The Tragedy of _______, The Moor of Venice” (Othello)
Complete this title: “The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of _______” (Titus Andronicus)
Complete this title: “True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of _______ and His Three Daughters” (King Lear)
Complete this title: The Tragicall Historie of _______, Prince of Denmarke” (Hamlet)
Complete this title: The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie of _______” (Romeo and Juliet)
Identify this play by its last line couplet: “So thanks to all at once and to each one, / Whom we invite to see us crown’d at Scone.” (Macbeth)
Identify this play by its last line couplet: “Myself will straight aboard, and to the state / This heavy act with heavy heart relate.” (Othello)
Identify this play by its last line couplet: “Give me your hands, if we be friends, / And Robin shall restore amends.” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
What comedy has an alternative title of What You Will? (Twelfth Night)
What location is the setting for Much Ado About Nothing? (Messina)
What location is the setting for Romeo and Juliet? (Verona)
What location is the setting for Twelfth Night? (The island of Illyria)
What location is the setting for A Midsummer Night’s Dream? (Athens)
What location is the setting for Anthony and Cleopatra? (Athens)
Charles VI is a King in which of Shakespeare’s plays? (Henry V)
Robin Goodfellow “a shrewd and knavish sprite” was also known as _______, (Puck)
Identify the play from which comes this famous line: “The course of true love never did run smooth” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
Twelfth Night refers to what season and day/date? (Christmas season; January 6 or the twelfth day of Christmas)
Identify the play from which comes this famous line: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.” (Twelfth Night)
Which of Shakespeare’s tragedies is considered a tragedy of fate, not character? (Romeo and Juliet)
Identify the play from which comes this famous line: “Et tu, Brute?” (Julius Caesar)
In which play does the king encourage his men with a rousing “Saint Crispin’s Day” speech? (Henry V)
How many sonnets did Shakespeare write? (154)

Who are the two feuding households in Romeo & Juliet? (Montague and Capulet)
Which of Shakespeare’s plays has the character, Tybalt? (Romeo and Juliet)
Define the term “chorus?” as it relates to the theater. (The “chorus” is a single actor or group of actors who narrates and comments upon the action.
When is the setting of Romeo & Juliet? (The time of Romeo and Juliet is the late 16^th century, probably 1590s.)
Is Romeo and Juliet a comedy or tragedy? (Tragedy.)
Who is known as the “Tragic Hero” in Romeo and Juliet? Why? (Mercutio: He is possessed of true wit and high intelligence; he is outside the families and thus “superior” to both; and he even dies with style.)
Which play has the character Friar Laurence and what is his importance? (Romeo and Juliet: He has developed a drug that gives the impression of death.
Identify the play from the following quote: “Two households, both alike in dignity…”(Romeo and Juliet)
Identify the play from the following quote: “A pair of star-crossed lovers” (Romeo and Juliet)
Identify the play from the following quote: “Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear” (1.5)
Identify the play from the following quote: “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?” (Romeo and Juliet)
Identify the play from the following quote: “She speaks, yet says nothing.”( Romeo and Juliet)
Identify the play from the following quote: “Deny thy father, and refuse thy name…” (Romeo and Juliet)
Identify the play from the following quote: “For never was a story of more woe, than this of _______ and her _______” (Romeo and Juliet)
Shakespeare adhered, for the most part, to the traditional definition of tragedy in drama. What tragic flaw caused downfall of Hamlet? (Hesitation) <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Shakespeare adhered, for the most part, to the traditional definition of tragedy in drama. What tragic flaw caused downfall of Julius Caesar? (Ambition) <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Shakespeare adhered, for the most part, to the traditional definition of tragedy in drama. What tragic flaw caused downfall of Othello? (Jealousy) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.

What play, written in 1606, was referred to as “the cursed Scottish play” because of problems associated with its production? (Macbeth) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Who was the mistress of the three witches we meet at the beginning of Macbeth? (Hecate, queen of the witches) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
What are kerns and gallowglasses? (Kerns are Irish soldiers. Gallowglasses carry axes) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Reference is made to Bellona in conversation in Macbeth. Who is Bellonna? (the Roman Goddess of War) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
When Macbeth feels badly about his plan to kill Duncan, his wife reminds him of the “cat in the adage.” What is the reference and what does she mean? (The reference is to a cat that would eat fish but would not get its feet wet. She means for Macbeth to understand that if he is to gain the throne, he must take the necessary actions and their accompanying risks.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
When Macbeth had done the killing, he tells Lady Macbeth that he hears a voice saying something about sleep. What does the voice say? (He heard a voice saying that he had “murdered sleep” ; he refers to how he might no longer be able to sleep with the knowledge of what he has done.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Many times in Shakespearean conversation someone might start by saying, “Marry.” What does this mean? (The word is slang for the oath, “By the Virgin Mary.”) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
When MacDuff discovers the dead Duncan, he tells the others to go and behold the new Gorgon. What is the reference? (He refers to a monster from Greek myth whose look could turn a person to stone. The Medusa was said to have such power.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
What is the ceremonial place of coronation for Scottish kings? (The place is known as Scone.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
The Porter tells MacDuff that all the people had been up carousing until the second cock. What does this mean? (The second cock is the second crowing of the cock – around 3 AM.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
What is the meaning of sennet? (A sennet is a trumpet call for formal entrances and exits .) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Hecate tells the three witches to meet her at the “pit of Acheron.” What is this? (Acheron is one of five rivers in Hades. This one is the river of woe.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Shakespeare’s tragedies have a standard structure of five parts. What are the parts and their purposes? (The plays are in five parts; they are Exposition, Development of Conflict, Climax, Denouement, Catastrophe.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
A recurring statement occurs in Macbeth, “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” What does this mean? (Good is bad and bad is good. This is important because it is a theme that follows through many of the things that Macbeth faces in the play.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.

159. Who speaks the following lines?

She should have died hereafter;

There would have been a time for such a word.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

(Macbeth.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.

One of the characters in the play remarks that a certain person’s life did not become him so much as leaving it. Whose life is being described? (The Thane of Cawdor, who has admitted to treason.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
What is the name of Macbeth’s home? (Inverness.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
What is the occasion of the lines, “It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing”? (Macbeth has just been informed of his wife’s death.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Shortly after becoming king, Macbeth sends murderers to kill a man and his son on the road after they leave the castle. Who are the intended victims? (Banquo and Fleance.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Who finally kills Macbeth? (Macduff.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
After the murder, Macbeth is concerned that he will never be able to clean his hands, that even if he washed them in the oceans, his actions would “the waters incarnadine.” What is the meaning of the word “incarnadine”? (to turn red – as with blood.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Who says from what play: “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. Open locks. Whoever knocks.” (One of the three witches from Macbeth.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
By the prophecy he hears, Macbeth comes to believe that he will never be vanquished until what happens? (Until Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.
Who is the speaker of the following lines?

Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

(Lady Macbeth.) Source: <http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/>.

169. When was Shakespeare baptized? (April 26, 1564) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

170. What date is considered Shakespeare’s birthday? (April 23, 1564) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

171. What is significant about Shakespeare’s death date? (It is the same day as his birthday, April 23, but in 1616) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

172. Whom did Shakespeare marry? (Anne Hathaway) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

173. In what year did Shakespeare marry? (1582) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

174. How old were Shakespeare and his wife when they were married? (Shakespeare was 18, Anne 26) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

175. Name Shakespeare’s three children. (Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

176. During the two years that followed the closing of the London theaters, how did Shakespeare earn a living? (He wrote poetry.) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

177. What new name did the company receive when James I came to the throne? (The King’s Men) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

178. How many plays did Shakespeare write? (38) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

179. In the play Hamlet, who said “To thy own self be true”? (Polonius) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

180. In Hamlet, what is the relationship between Ophelia and Laretes? (sister/brother) Source: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by James Brown.

181. Who is the ghost in Hamlet? (Hamlet’s father) Source: Hamlet

182. Who says “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”? (Polonius) Source: Hamlet

183. What happens to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? (They are beheaded) Source: Hamlet

184. Who was Hamlet’s best friend? (Horatio) Source: Hamlet

185. Who is Desdemona (Wife of Othello in that play) Source: Othello

186. In Othello, which character is the epitome of evil? (Iago) Source: Othello

187. The words, “one that loved not wisely, but too well,” describes whom? (Othello) Source: Othello

188. In the sixteenth century, the prevalent theory of illness was that it was a result of an imbalance in what four humors? (bile, phlegm, choler, blood) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

189. Who brought the printing press to England in the late fifteenth century? (Willam Caxton) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

190. Name three very popular forms of public entertainment besides plays and performances in Elizabethan times. (Bearbaiting, cockfights, and public executions) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

191. Which monarch established the Church of England (Henry VIII) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

192. What was the name given to the Elizabethan belief that a hierarchy existed in the universe, including society, where everything, even people, had a fixed place in a preordained order with specific obligations and restrictions? (The “Great Chain of Being.”) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

193. What does Romeo and Juliet as “star-crossed lovers” tell us about the times? (The Elizabethans strongly believed in astrology) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

194. What did the Church say regarding the Elizabethan’s belief in ghosts as “the terrors of the night”? (That ghosts were really devils in disguise and should be feared) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

195. Why was belief in witches popular? (They were easy scapegoats for all inexplicable misfortunes) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

196. Ladies’ make-up during Elizabethan times contained what poisonous chemical? (Lead.) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

197. With the exception of children of poor laborers, what did most teenage boys do to prepare for adulthood? (Lived with other families and served as apprentices or went to universities) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

199. What was the average marrying age? (For girls 25 or 26 and for boys 28 or 29) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

200. What were the two leading troupes of players at that time? (The Lord Admiral’s Men and the Lord Chamberlain’s Men) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

201. How long did the average play run? (The scheduling of plays was random, so in two weeks a single company might put on eleven performances of ten different plays, some old, some new) Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

202. In that time, what made a good playwright? (A person who had a quick turnover of plays with top audience appeal, not a careful literary writer) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

203. How did the minimal scenery and the lack of a lighting system work in Shakespeare’s favor? (He transformed these limitations into an advantage as he wrote some of his most beautiful poetry to paint the scenes) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

204. What is “role-doubling”? (Since the companies had permanent actors, Shakespeare had to construct a play carefully so that two characters being played by the same actor would never have to be on stage at the same time) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

205. What is the poetic meter of most of Shakespeare’s plays? (blank verse—unrhymed iambic pentameter—5 beats per line) Source: Shakespeare Alive by Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland

206. What was the gift from the young, French prince that made Henry V angry? (A case of tennis balls.) Source: <http://www.unc.edu/~monroem/shakespeare/henryv.html>.

207. What was unique about the financial arrangements of the company that built The Globe? (Some of the members of the acting company, including Shakespeare, put up their own money to build the Globe. They bought shares or a percentage of the theatre.) Source: <http://shakespeare.eb.com/shakespeare/esa/660005.html>.

208. Explain two major differences between The Globe and The Blackfriers theaters. (1. The Globe was open air and Blackfriers was roofed. 2. The Globe could hold more people in the cheaper areas, but Blackfriers was in a wealthy neighborhood and could charge more for the fewer seats it offered. 3. Since it was roofed, Blackfriers could be more elegantly decorated.) Source: <http://shakespeare.eb.com/shakespeare/esa/660005.html>.

209. What was the word “Theatre” used for prior to the building of Mr. Burbage’s “The Theatre”? (For atlases such as “Mercator’s Atlas.” The word expressed the idea of being “round” and like a “globe”) Source: <http://shakespeare.eb.com/shakespeare/esa/660005.html>.

210. What was the total audience capacity claimed by The Globe? (About 3,000.) Source: <http://shakespeare.eb.com/shakespeare/esa/660005.html>.

211. What was the name of the room in The Globe Theater where the actors got dressed? (The Tiring Room) Source: <http://www.rdg.ac.uk./globe/research/1997/HenryV.htm>.

212. The balcony on the Globe Theater was sometimes called the Lord’s Room, but it is first and foremost the ____________ room. (Musician’s) Source: <http://www.rdg.ac.uk./globe/research/1997/HenryV.htm>.