- 1. William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the 'Bard of Avon'. His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
In which century was William Shakespeare born?
A) 18th century
B) 17th century
C) 16th century
D) 15th century
- 2. What was the name of the theatre where Shakespeare's plays were often performed in London?
A) The Blackfriars Theatre
B) The Rose Theatre
C) The Globe Theatre
D) The Swan Theatre
- 3. What was the title of Shakespeare's first published work?
A) A Midsummer Night's Dream
B) Venus and Adonis
C) Julius Caesar
D) Much Ado About Nothing
- 4. Which of Shakespeare's plays is known as a 'tragedy of love'?
A) Twelfth Night
B) As You Like It
C) The Tempest
D) Romeo and Juliet
- 5. What is the name of the mischievous fairy in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
A) Puck
B) Oberon
C) Ariel
D) Titania
- 6. Which play features the characters of Rosalind and Orlando?
A) Julius Caesar
B) King Lear
C) The Merchant of Venice
D) As You Like It
- 7. Who is the king of fairies in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
A) Titania
B) Puck
C) Peaseblossom
D) Oberon
- 8. Which of Shakespeare's plays includes the line 'To be, or not to be: that is the question'?
A) Macbeth
B) Hamlet
C) Othello
D) King Lear
- 9. What is the name of the nobleman who is banished in 'Othello'?
A) Iago
B) Cassio
C) Bianca
D) Desdemona
- 10. In which city is 'Romeo and Juliet' set?
A) Verona
B) Venice
C) Florence
D) Milan
- 11. What is the name of the play where the character Portia appears?
A) The Merchant of Venice
B) A Midsummer Night's Dream
C) Much Ado About Nothing
D) Twelfth Night
- 12. Which play features the character of Prospero?
A) Macbeth
B) King Lear
C) Othello
D) The Tempest
- 13. What is the name of the character who is given the advice 'Brevity is the soul of wit'?
A) Horatio
B) Laertes
C) Claudius
D) Polonius
- 14. Who is the ruler of the Dukedom in 'The Tempest'?
A) Gonzalo
B) Caliban
C) Antonio
D) Prospero
- 15. Which Shakespeare play features the title characters Katherine and Petruchio?
A) Much Ado About Nothing
B) Twelfth Night
C) A Midsummer Night's Dream
D) The Taming of the Shrew
- 16. Which comedy by Shakespeare features twins Viola and Sebastian?
A) Twelfth Night
B) Love's Labour's Lost
C) The Comedy of Errors
D) As You Like It
- 17. Which tragedy by Shakespeare features the character of Cordelia?
A) Hamlet
B) Othello
C) Macbeth
D) King Lear
- 18. Who is the queen of the fairies in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
A) Titania
B) Oberon
C) Hermia
D) Puck
- 19. Who is often referred to as the Bard of Avon?
A) John Donne
B) William Shakespeare
C) Christopher Marlowe
D) Ben Jonson
- 20. Which Shakespearean play is known as 'The Scottish Play'?
A) Julius Caesar
B) Twelfth Night
C) King Lear
D) Macbeth
- 21. What title is given to the play where the line 'Now is the winter of our discontent' appears?
A) Henry V
B) Richard III
C) Measure for Measure
D) The Tempest
- 22. Which of Shakespeare's plays is a tragedy about jealousy and betrayal?
A) Twelfth Night
B) A Midsummer Night's Dream
C) The Comedy of Errors
D) Othello
- 23. In 'Hamlet', who is Hamlet's uncle and the main antagonist of the play?
A) Horatio
B) Polonius
C) Claudius
D) Laertes
- 24. Who famously says 'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers'?
A) Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
B) Lady Macbeth (Macbeth)
C) Dick the Butcher (Henry VI, Part 2)
D) Iago (Othello)
- 25. Who speaks the famous line 'All the world's a stage' in 'As You Like It'?
A) Rosalind
B) Orlando
C) Touchstone
D) Jaques
- 26. Who is the young nobleman who joins a group of outlaws in the Forest of Arden in 'As You Like It'?
A) Touchstone
B) Oliver
C) Orlando
D) Jaques
- 27. In which English town was Shakespeare born?
A) Cambridge
B) Stratford-upon-Avon
C) Oxford
D) London
- 28. What was the name of Shakespeare's wife?
A) Juliet Capulet
B) Desdemona
C) Cleopatra
D) Anne Hathaway
- 29. What is the famous line said by Hamlet in the play 'Hamlet'?
A) All the world's a stage
B) If you prick us, do we not bleed?
C) All that glisters is not gold
D) To be, or not to be: that is the question
- 30. Who is the king at the beginning of 'Macbeth'?
A) Richard
B) Duncan
C) Hamlet
D) Henry
- 31. Whose ghost appears to Macbeth, saying 'Macbeth shall sleep no more'?
A) Macduff
B) Lady Macbeth
C) Banquo
D) Duncan
- 32. In 'The Merchant of Venice', which character demands a pound of flesh as payment?
A) Lorenzo
B) Bassanio
C) Shylock
D) Antonio
- 33. Which play explores the themes of jealousy and revenge with the character Leontes?
A) Macbeth
B) The Winter's Tale
C) Othello
D) Romeo and Juliet
- 34. Who is the queen in Shakespeare's play 'Richard III'?
A) Queen Isabella
B) Queen Anne
C) Queen Margaret
D) Queen Elizabeth
- 35. Which of Shakespeare's plays is set in the ancient Roman Republic?
A) Julius Caesar
B) Antony and Cleopatra
C) Coriolanus
D) Titus Andronicus
- 36. In 'Macbeth,' what apparitions do the witches show Macbeth?
A) Thunder, lightning, rain
B) An armed head, a bloody child, a crowned child holding a tree
C) A ghost, a mirror, a ring
D) A cauldron, a dagger, a snake
- 37. Which of Shakespeare's plays is classified as one of the 'problem plays'?
A) Pericles
B) Measure for Measure
C) The Winter's Tale
D) Cymbeline
- 38. What is the name of Romeo's cousin in 'Romeo and Juliet'?
A) Tybalt
B) Paris
C) Benvolio
D) Mercutio
- 39. Who is the comic relief character in 'Romeo and Juliet'?
A) Tybalt
B) Paris
C) Benvolio
D) Mercutio
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