MCQs- Life and works of William Shakespeare

MCQs- Life and works of Shakespeare

1. Shakespeare was born in which year?

A) 1564

B) 1582

C) 1592

D) 1604

Answer: A) 1564

 

2. When is English Language Day (Shakespeare’s birthday) celebrated?

A) April 23

B) March 15

C) July 26

D) June 5

Answer: A) April 23

 

3. The Globe Theater is in:

A) London

B) Paris

C) Rome

D) Madrid

Answer: A) London

 

4. How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?

A) 100

B) 154

C) 200

D) 300

Answer: B) 154

 

5. Which is NOT a Shakespearean genre?

A) Comedy

B) Tragedy

C) Romance

D) Epic

Answer: D) Epic

 

6. Which theater did Shakespeare co-own?

A) The Rose

B) The Globe

C) The Swan

D) The Curtain

Answer: B) The Globe

 

7. Shakespeare's father was a:

A) Schoolteacher

B) Grain dealer

C) Tailor

D) Lawyer

Answer: B) Grain dealer

 

8. Shakespeare's wife was named:

A) Anne Hathaway

B) Elizabeth I

C) Mary Queen of Scots

D) Jane Austen

Answer: A) Anne Hathaway

 

9. Shakespeare's children were named:

A) John, Judith, Susanna

B) Hamnet, Judith, Susanna

C) William, Anne, Richard

D) Elizabeth, Mary, Edward

Answer: B) Hamnet, Judith, Susanna

 

10. Anne Hathaway was how many years older than Shakespeare?

A) 2 years

B) 8 years

C) 12 years

D) They were the same age

Answer: B) 8 years

 

11. Shakespeare's only son was named:

A) William

B) Hamnet

C) John

D) Richard

Answer: B) Hamnet

 

12. Which monarch ruled during most of Shakespeare's career?

A) Henry VIII

B) Elizabeth I

C) Charles I

D) James I

Answer: B) Elizabeth I

 

13. Which pamphlet first recognized Shakespeare as a playwright?

A) The First Folio

B) Greene's "Groatsworth of Wit"

C) Meres' "Palladis Tamia"

D) Jonson's "Timber"

Answer: B) Greene's "Groatsworth of Wit"

 

14. Who wrote "He was not of an age, but for all time"?

A) John Dryden

B) Ben Jonson

C) Samuel Johnson

D) Francis Meres

Answer: B) Ben Jonson

 

15. Robert Greene accused Shakespeare of:

A) Plagiarism

B) Atheism

C) Treason

D) Incest

Answer: A) Plagiarism

 

16. Which critic called Shakespeare "honey-tongued"?

A) John Weever

B) Samuel Taylor Coleridge

C) Harold Bloom

D) T.S. Eliot

Answer: A) John Weever

 

17. Ben Jonson's comment about Shakespeare's education was:

A) "A master of classics"

B) "Small Latin and less Greek"

C) "Educated beyond his station"

D) "Illiterate genius"

Answer: B) "Small Latin and less Greek"

 

18. Chronicle plays were called "mirror for kings" by:

A) Dryden

B) Schlegel

C) Dr. Johnson

D) Ruskin

Answer: B) Schlegel

 

19. Which statement did John Ruskin make about Shakespeare?

A) "He had only heroines, no heroes"

B) "The inventor of human nature"

C) "The father of English drama"

D) "A poet of nature"

Answer: A) "He had only heroines, no heroes"

 

20. Francis Meres praised Shakespeare's excellence in:

A) Comedy only

B) Tragedy only

C) Both comedy and tragedy

D) Sonnets only

Answer: C) Both comedy and tragedy

 

21. How many plays were published in Shakespeare's lifetime?

A) 16

B) 24

C) 36

D) 38

 

22. First Folio was published in:

A) 1599

B) 1616

C) 1623

D) 1642

Answer: C) 1623

 

23. Which edition is considered the most scholarly?

A) First Folio

B) Arden Edition

C) Oxford Edition

D) Riverside Edition

Answer: B) Arden Edition

 

24. Which two plays were MISSING from the First Folio?

A) Titus Andronicus & Pericles

B) Pericles & Two Noble Kinsmen

C) Edward III & Sir Thomas More

D) Cymbeline & Winter's Tale

Answer: B) Pericles & Two Noble Kinsmen

 

25. Shakespeare likely collaborated with Marlowe on:

A) Titus Andronicus

B) The Tempest

C) Twelfth Night

D) All's Well That Ends Well

Answer: A) Titus Andronicus

 

26. Shakespeare's first published poems were dedicated to:

A) Queen Elizabeth I

B) Earl of Southampton

C) King James I

D) Ben Jonson

Answer: B) Earl of Southampton

 

27. Shakespeare's theater company was called:

A) The Lord Chamberlain's Men

B) The Royal Shakespeare Company

C) The Globe Players

D) The King's Men

Answer: A) The Lord Chamberlain's Men

 

28. Shakespeare's company became "The King's Men" in:

A) 1599

B) 1603

C) 1610

D) 1616

Answer: B) 1603 (after Elizabeth's death)

 

29. Which play features "To be or not to be"?

A) Macbeth

B) Hamlet

C) Othello

D) King Lear

Answer: B) Hamlet

 

30. "All the world's a stage" appears in:

A) As You Like It

B) Much Ado About Nothing

C) The Tempest

D) Twelfth Night

Answer: A) As You Like It

 

31. The character Shylock, who demands a "pound of flesh", appears in which play?

a) The Jew of Malta

b) Julius Caesar

c) The Merchant of Venice

d) Titus Andronicus

Answer: c) The Merchant of Venice

 

32. The "Scottish Play" refers to:

A) Macbeth

B) Hamlet

C) King Lear

D) Othello

Answer: A) Macbeth

 

33. Which play has Rosalind and Orlando?

A) As You Like It

B) Twelfth Night

C) The Winter's Tale

D) Measure for Measure

Answer: A) As You Like It

 

34. Which play features Prospero?

A) The Tempest

B) King Lear

C) Antony and Cleopatra

D) Coriolanus

Answer: A) The Tempest

 

35. Which play has two pairs of identical twins causing confusion?

A) The Comedy of Errors

B) Much Ado About Nothing

C) The Two Gentlemen of Verona

D) Love's Labour's Lost

Answer: A) The Comedy of Errors

 

36. Which play is about a king dividing his kingdom?

A) King Lear

B) Macbeth

C) Hamlet

D) Othello

Answer: A) King Lear

 

37. Which play features Puck?

A) A Midsummer Night's Dream

B) The Tempest

C) Twelfth Night

D) The Winter's Tale

Answer: A) A Midsummer Night's Dream

 

38. Which tragedy features a "play within a play" called "Murder of Gonzago" ?

A) Othello

B) King Lear

C) Hamlet

D) Titus Andronicus

Answer: C) Hamlet

 

39. In Macbeth, how does Lady Macbeth die?

A) Poisoned

B) Stabbed

C) Suicide

D) Never specified

Answer: D) Never specified

 

40. Othello's tragic flaw is:

A) Ambition

B) Jealousy

C) Indecision

D) Greed

Answer: B) Jealousy

 

41. Which comedy features cross-dressing twins?

A) Twelfth Night

B) The Taming of the Shrew

C) Much Ado About Nothing

D) Love's Labour's Lost

Answer: A) Twelfth Night

 

42. Rosalind and Orlando are in:

A) As You Like It

B) Twelfth Night

C) A Midsummer Night's Dream

D) The Winter's Tale

Answer: A) As You Like It

 

43. Which play is considered as the greatest love story of all time, (a young couple who fall in love despite their families' feud)?

A) Hamlet

B) Macbeth

C) Romeo and Juliet

D) King Lear

Answer: C) Romeo and Juliet

 

44.Which of Shakespeare's plays is considered a "problem play" due to its complex and ambiguous themes?

A) Measure for Measure

B) The Tempest

C) The Merchant of Venice

D) A Midsummer Night's Dream

Answer: A) Measure for Measure

 

45. Shakespeare's play about a powerful Roman general who is betrayed by his closest allies?

A) Julius Caesar

B) Antony and Cleopatra

C) Coriolanus

D) Titus Andronicus

Answer: A) Julius Caesar

 

46. Which play tells the story of two sets of identical twins who are mistaken for each other?

A) The Comedy of Errors

B) A Midsummer Night's Dream

C) The Taming of the Shrew

D) The Winter's Tale

Answer: A) The Comedy of Errors

 

47. What is the title of Shakespeare's play about two pairs of lovers who flee to a magical forest?

A) The Tempest

B) Much Ado About Nothing

C) A Midsummer Night's Dream

D) The Taming of the Shrew

Answer: C) A Midsummer Night's Dream

 

48. Which play features the character of the scheming Iago, who manipulates the titular character into jealousy and murder?

A) Macbeth

B) Hamlet

C) Othello

D) King Lear

Answer: C) Othello

 

49. Shakespeare's play about a Scottish nobleman who receives a prophecy that he will become king?

A) Macbeth

B) Hamlet

C) Othello

D) King Lear

Answer: A) Macbeth

 

50. Vengeful Tamora, queen of the Goths appears in?

A) Macbeth

B) Hamlet

C) Othello

D) Titus Andronicus

Answer: D) Titus Andronicus

 

51. In King Lear, which daughter says: "I love your majesty according to my bond, not more, nor less"?

a) Goneril

b) Regan

c) Cordelia

d) Regan and Goneril

Answer: c) Cordelia

 

52. Shakespeare's play about a young prince who falls in love with a woman who disguises herself as a man?

A) The Tempest

B) Much Ado About Nothing

C) Twelfth Night

D) As You Like It

Answer: C) Twelfth Night

 

53. Which of the following plays is believed to be Shakespeare’s earliest?

A) The Comedy of Errors

B) Henry VI, Part II

C) Titus Andronicus

D) The Taming of the Shrew

Answer: B) Henry VI, Part II

 

54. Which play is considered Shakespeare's first tragedy and is set in ancient Rome?

A) Julius Caesar

B) Titus Andronicus

C) Coriolanus

D) Antony and Cleopatra

Answer: B) Titus Andronicus

 

55. Which play features the quote: “My crown is in my heart, not on my head”?

A) Richard II

B) Henry VI, Part III

C) Henry IV, Part I

D) Richard III

Answer: B) Henry VI, Part III

 

56. Which play is inspired by Plautus’ Menaechmi and involves mistaken identities?

A) The Comedy of Errors

B) Twelfth Night

C) As You Like It

D) Much Ado About Nothing

Answer: A) The Comedy of Errors

 

57. Which play includes the famous line: “Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand, blood and revenge are hammering in my head”?

A) Macbeth

B) Hamlet

C) Titus Andronicus

D) Othello

Answer: C) Titus Andronicus

 

58. Which play features the character Petruchio, who attempts to "tame" a strong-willed woman named Katherine?

A) Much Ado About Nothing

B) The Taming of the Shrew

C) As You Like It

D) Twelfth Night

Answer: B) The Taming of the Shrew

 

59. Which play introduced the character of Pistol and is set against the backdrop of the War of the Roses?

A) Henry VI, Part I

B) Henry VI, Part II

C) Henry VI, Part III

D) Henry IV, Part I

Answer: C) Henry VI, Part III

 

60. In which play does the character Richard Neville, known as the "Kingmaker," play a significant role?

A) Henry VI, Part I

B) Henry VI, Part II

C) Henry VI, Part III

D) Richard III

Answer: C) Henry VI, Part III

 

61. Arrange the following plays in the order they were likely written:

1. Richard III,   2. The Comedy of Errors

3. Titus Andronicus,  4. The Taming of the Shrew

A) 1, 2, 3, 4

B) 2, 1, 4, 3

C) 1, 3, 2, 4

D) 1, 2, 4, 3

Answer: A) 1, 2, 3, 4

 

62. Which play features the tragic hero who is convinced by his wife to murder the king?

A) Macbeth

B) Hamlet

C) Othello

D) King Lear

Answer: A) Macbeth

 

63. Beatrice and Benedick appears in?

A) The Tempest

B) Much Ado About Nothing

C) Twelfth Night

D) As You Like It

Answer: B) Much Ado About Nothing

 

64. Which of these plays contains the character Biondello?

A) Titus Andronicus

B) Henry VI, Part I

C) The Taming of the Shrew

D) The Comedy of Errors

Answer: C) The Taming of the Shrew

 

65. A woman disguising as a male lawyer appears in:

A) The Merchant of Venice

B) Twelfth Night

C) As You Like It

D) Measure for Measure

Answer: A) The Merchant of Venice

 

66. "Double, double toil and trouble" is from:

A) Hamlet

B) Othello

C) Macbeth

D) King Lear

Answer: C) Macbeth

 

67. Puck is a mischievous character in:

A) A Midsummer Night's Dream

B) The Tempest

C) Macbeth

D) The Comedy of Errors

Answer: A) A Midsummer Night's Dream

 

68. The "rude mechanicals"- a group of six skilled laborers who want to put on a play for Athens' royalty. appear in:

A) A Midsummer Night's Dream

B) The Comedy of Errors

C) The Merry Wives of Windsor

D) As You Like It

Answer: A) A Midsummer Night's Dream

 

69. Which play ends with multiple marriages?

A) Measure for Measure

B) All's Well That Ends Well

C) Much Ado About Nothing

D) The Winter's Tale

Answer: C) Much Ado About Nothing

 

70. "We few, we happy few" is from:

A) Richard III

B) Henry IV Part 1

C) Henry V

D) Henry VIII

Answer: C) Henry V

 

71. Falstaff appears in:

A) The Merry Wives of Windsor

B) Julius Caesar

C) Titus Andronicus

D) All's Well That Ends Well

Answer: A) The Merry Wives of Windsor

 

72. Falstaff appears in how many plays?

A) 1

B) 2

C) 3

D) 4

Answer: C) 3 (Henry IV Pts 1&2, Merry Wives)

 

73. In The Tempest, Caliban is:

A) A spirit

B) A monster

C) A nobleman

D) A sailor

Answer: B) A monster

 

74. Most Shakespeare plays use:

A) Blank verse

B) Rhymed couplets

C) Prose

D) Free verse

Answer: A) Blank verse

 

75. Which meter dominates Shakespeare?

A) Trochaic pentameter

B) Iambic pentameter

C) Dactylic tetrameter

D) Anapestic trimeter

Answer: B) Iambic pentameter

 

76. Which phrase originates from Shakespeare?

A) "Wild goose chase"

B) "Method to madness"

C) "Break the ice"

D) All of above

Answer: D) All of above

 

77. Which is considered a "problem play"?

A) Troilus and Cressida

B) The Tempest

C) Julius Caesar

D) Richard II

Answer: A) Troilus and Cressida

 

78. Which character has the most soliloquies?

A) Hamlet

B) Macbeth

C) Richard III

D) Brutus

Answer: A) Hamlet (7 major soliloquies)

 

79. The phrase "Breaking the ice" originates in which Shakespearean play?

a) The Taming of the Shrew

b) Romeo and Juliet

c) As You Like It

d) The Merchant of Venice

Answer: a) The Taming of the Shrew

 

80. Which play is described as Shakespeare's first to introduce cross-dressing (the heroine dressing as a male)?

a) Twelfth Night

b) As You Like It

c) The Merchant of Venice

d) The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Answer: d) The Two Gentlemen of Verona

 

81. "Love's Labour's Lost" ends with which famous songs?

a) "Under the greenwood tree" and "Blow, blow, thou winter wind"

b) "Tell me where is fancy bred" and "Sigh no more, ladies"

c) "When daisies pied and violets blue" and "When icicles hang by the wall"

d) "O Mistress mine" and "Come away, death"

Answer: c) "When daisies pied and violets blue" and "When icicles hang by the wall"

 

82. In "Romeo and Juliet", what is the source of Juliet's potion that makes her appear dead?

a) The Nurse

b) Friar Laurence

c) The Apothecary

d) Mercutio

Answer: b) Friar Laurence

 

83. In The Tempest, who says: "How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world"?

a) Prospero

b) Miranda

c) Caliban

d) Ariel

Answer: b) Miranda

 

84. The speech describing the "seven ages of man" ("All the world's a stage...") is delivered by which character?

a) Orlando (As You Like It)

b) Rosalind/Ganymede (As You Like It)

c) Touchstone (As You Like It)

d) Jacques (As You Like It)

Answer: d) Jacques

 

85. Which character (a steward) is famously punished "to mock Puritans" in Twelfth Night?

a) Feste

b) Sir Toby Belch

c) Malvolio

d) Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Answer: c) Malvolio

 

86. Who coined the phrase "motiveless malignity" to describe Iago's character in Othello?

a) T.S. Eliot

b) Samuel Taylor Coleridge

c) William Hazlitt

d) George Bernard Shaw

Answer: b) Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

87. In Macbeth, what prophecy do the witches give that makes Macbeth believe he is invincible?

a) "No man of woman born shall harm thee"

b) "Fear Macduff above all"

c) "Birnam Wood shall never move"

d) "Banquo's sons shall never reign"

Answer: a) "No man of woman born shall harm thee"

 

88. Which character delivers the "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy?

a) King Lear

b) Hamlet

c) Macbeth

d) Othello

Answer: c) Macbeth

 

89. The line "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety" refers to:

a) Desdemona in Othello

b) Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra

c) Lady Macbeth in Macbeth

d) Gertrude in Hamlet

Answer: b) Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra

 

90. Which play opens with the witches chanting, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair"?

a) The Tempest

b) Hamlet

c) Macbeth

d) King Lear

Answer: c) Macbeth

 

91. What is the source of Pericles, Prince of Tyre?

a) Boccaccio's Decameron

b) Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

c) Gower's Confessio Amantis

d) Plutarch's Lives

Answer: c) Gower's Confessio Amantis

 

92. Which play inspired Aldous Huxley's novel title Brave New World?

a) The Tempest

b) The Winter's Tale

c) Cymbeline

d) Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Answer: a) The Tempest

 

93. Who speaks the line: "Put out the light, and then put out the light" before killing Desdemona?

a) Iago

b) Cassio

c) Othello

d) Brabantio

Answer: c) Othello

 

94. Which play contains the song "Fear no more the heat of the sun"?

a) Cymbeline

b) The Winter's Tale

c) Measure for Measure

d) Twelfth Night

Answer: a) Cymbeline

 

95. Shortest tragedy is:

A) Macbeth

B) Julius Caesar

C) Othello

D) Timon of Athens

Answer: A) Macbeth

 

96. Shakespeare's shortest play is:

A) The Comedy of Errors

B) Macbeth

C) A Midsummer Night's Dream

D) The Tempest

Answer: A) The Comedy of Errors

 

97.Which is Shakespeare's longest play?

A) King Lear

B) Hamlet

C) Romeo and Juliet

D) Antony and Cleopatra

Answer: B) Hamlet

 

98. Shakespeare's final play?

A) The Tempest

B) Twelfth Night

C) The Winter's Tale

D) All's Well That Ends Well

Answer: A) The Tempest

 

99. Last play Shakespeare wrote alone:

A) The Tempest

B) Henry VIII

C) The Two Noble Kinsmen

D) Cymbeline

Answer: A) The Tempest

 

100. Shakespeare died on:

A) 23 April 1616

B) 1 May 1616

C) 23 November 1616

D) Exact date unknown

Answer: A) 23 April 1616