Shakespeare Quiz

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4,5

Shakespeare mainly lived in the ___ .

1. 15th century
2. 16th century
3. 17th century
4. 18th century

Shakespeare (1564-1616) died at the age of 52 years in a time when the average life span was 35 to 38 years of age, predominantly due to the bubonic plague, pneumonia, childbirth, limited medical knowledge and treatment, and poor nutrition.

William Shakepeare's father, John Shakespeare, was a ___ .

1. glover
2. haberdasher
3. smith
4. tailor

Shakespeare was born in ___ .

1. London
2. Newcastle upon Tyne
3. Westminster
4. Stratford-upon-Avon

Shakepeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's men, had a theatre built in London. Many of his plays were performed there. In 1613 it was destroyed by fire but a modern reconstruction was rebuilt. It opened in 1997, 230 meters from the site of the original theatre. The name of this theatre is

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

In the classical Greek tragedies the tragic hero would be brought down by a 'tragic flaw', an internal imperfection (hamartia). 

Shakespeare's four great tragedies also center on a character with a tragic flaw, which inevitably leads to his downfall.

Hamlet

Macbeth

King Lear

Othello

is of a jealous disposition

is ambituous.

is indecisive.

values appearances above reality

I Early London theatres like The Globe had no roof.

II A large portion of the audience would stand in the yard, directly in front of the stage.

1. Statement I is true, statement II is false.
2. Statement II is true, statement I is false.
3. Both statements are true.
4. Both statements are false.

Julius Caesar

Hamlet

The Merchant of Venice

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

If we prick us, do we not bleed? 

If you tickle us, do we not laugh? 

If you poison us, do we not die? 

And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

The Gravedigger scene in Hamlet is an example of a comic episode usually set after a succession of intensely tragic dramatic moments. It is used to provide a temporary reprieve from tension, or to intensify the dramatic action.

What is the correct dramatic term for this comic interlude?

1. comic break
2. comic confusion
3. comic error
4. comic relief

Although William Shakspeare's reputation as a writer is based primarily on his plays, he also wrote quite a number of sonnets.

How many did he write altogheter?

1. 45
2. 54
3. 154
4. 254

I A sonnet is a poem of sixteen lines.

II A sonnet is a poetic form which originated in Italy.

1. Statement I is true, statement II is false.
2. Statement II is true, statement I is false.
3. Both statements are true.
4. Both statements are false.

Speaking the name Macbeth inside a theatre is believed to cause disaster according to theatrical superstition. Actors avoid saying its name when in the theatre and use a euphemism instead.

Which alternative phrase is used to refer to the play Macbeth?

1. The Dark Play
2. The Brief Candle Play
3. The Scottish Play
4. The Fair and Foul Play

Romeo and Juliet

Macbeth

As You Like It

What’s done cannot be undone.

See how she leans her cheek upon her hand.

O, that I were a glove upon that hand

That I might touch that cheek!

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts

In Shakespeare's day female characters were played by ___ .

1. men
2. teenage boys
3. women

“Leave me with haste.”

— Julius Caesar, Act II, scene 1

“Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!”

— Hamlet, Act III, scene 4

“But fare thee well; thou art a gallant youth.”

— As You Like It, Act I, scene 2

“When shall we three meet again 

In thunder, lightning, or in rain?”

— Macbeth, Act I, scene 1