About This Quiz
Shakespeare is considered to be one of the best writers in human history, and his plays are still produced year-round, all across the globe. How much do you really know about Shakespeare and some of his most famous stories and characters? We'll test your knowledge about Britain's literary crown jewel.It's considered bad luck to say the name "Macbeth" inside a theater, and that's why it's simply called "the Scottish play."
Viola washes up on the shores of Illyria after a shipwreck at sea. In Illyria, she rediscovers her lost twin brother.
Bottom turns into a donkey and makes the appropriate donkey sounds during his transformation. Under a spell, the Queen of the Fairies, Titania, falls in love with the ass.
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The ghost of Hamlet's father appears before him, telling the tale of how he was killed by his brother, Hamlet's new father​-in-law.
His son's name was Hamnet, and many wonder if the name was the inspiration for "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark."
The Two Noble Kinsmen was written from 1613-1614, and therefore it is considered by many to be Shakespeare's last play.
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Ben Jonson is considered the most important British playwright after Shakespeare, but no one has accused him of BEING William Shakespeare.
Ophelia, during her famous mad scene, is carrying flowers and herbs, but roses are not among them. Her flowers each have their own significance, telling the story of why she went cray cray.
Lady Macbeth bemoans the fact that she can't wash the blood clean from her hands, and yet there is no blood there. She is imagining it.
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Malvolio is tricked into wearing yellow stockings which are "cross-gartered," a fashion that Olivia detests, but Malvolio is led to believe that she loves it.
In the film, Heath Ledger is set to tame Julia Stiles' shrew, and it works. This is just one of many modern movies based on Shakespeare's plays.
Lear has three daughters, two evil -- Goneril and Regan -- and one good -- Cordelia. He wishes to divide his kingdom among the three. The evil girls prevail, but eventually, everyone dies.
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They pretend like they're not smitten with one another, and they only have bad things to say in each other's company, but when they're deceived into falling for each other, they fall hard.
The Globe is modeled after the original Globe that Shakespeare's company performed in, although it burnt to the ground many years ago. Today, there are still outdoor performances of Shakespeare's plays.
"Romeo and Juliet" is set in Verona, and today you will find an actual balcony in Verona called "Juliet's Balcony." Duh.
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Portia "swallows fire," as it is called. That means that she literally put hot coals down her throat. Seems like a terrible way to die.
The pants role is famous in Shakespeare, and includes lovable characters like Viola, Rosalind and Imogen. This is also known as a breeches role.
Iago is the famous villain who tricks Othello into thinking that Desdemona has been unfaithful. This would be a terrible name to give your newborn son.
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Shakespeare penned 154 known sonnets, aside from his prolific plays. These sonnets all have a similar structure, but various themes.
Shakespeare died at the young age of 52, but for his time he was practically ancient.
"Hamlet" is Shakespeare's longest play, with 4,042 lines. Performed in its entirety, it can run as long as four hours.
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"The Comedy of Errors" is Shakespeare's shortest play. For those who don't like it, they think that it's not short enough!
Shakespeare's plays are broken up into comedy, history, tragedy and romance. By romance, we're not talking bodice-rippers, unfortunately​.
All of Shakespeare's plays are composed of five acts, although many believe that this was done after the fact, for publishing purposes.
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The groundlings were those who stood in the pit during a performance. They could, in essence, be standing there for as long as four hours, but they didn't mind. They had the best "seats" in the house.
Shakespeare's house still stands at Stratford-upon-Avon, a major tourist destination for all things Shakespeare. The town is 101 miles northwest of London, with Oxford near the halfway point.
That's right. We think of Anne Hathaway now in terms of the actress from "The Princess Diaries," but she gets her name from Shakespeare's wife.
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A Shakespeare garden has plants and flowers from Shakespeare's plays, and you can find Shakespeare gardens all over the world. Most major botanical​ gardens will have one.
Lavinia gets her tongue cut out and loses her hands. She struggles to communicate for the rest of the play, for obvious reasons.
This famous speech in the forest tells of the various stages of life that man passes through on his way to death.
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Helen of Troy appears with Paris in "Troilus and Cressida." Her part is brief, and she mostly just sits around and looks good.
Pericles is named after a famous Greek statesman, but the actual Shakespeare character has nothing to do with the statesman, himself.
There is a famous stage direction in "The Winter's Tale," which reads, "Exit, pursued by bear."
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Jaques, pronounced "jay-kweez," exclaims that "All the world's a stage," and he goes on to state that the men and women are merely players. Sad and profound.