MCQs - Life and works of Christopher Marlowe

1. Christopher Marlowe was born in:

A) 1564

B) 1572

C) 1558

D) 1580

 

2 What was Marlowe's father's profession?

A) Merchant

B) Shoemaker

C) Farmer

D) Clergyman

 

3. Marlowe attended which college at Cambridge University?

A) Trinity College

B) Corpus Christi College

C) King’s College

D) St. John’s College

 

4. In which university did Christopher Marlowe receive his Bachelor's degree?

A. Cambridge University

B. Oxford University

C. Harvard University

D. Yale University

 

5. Which of the following is NOT true about Christopher Marlowe?

A. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare

B. He was a poet and playwright

C. He was born in the 16th century

D. He was born in France

 

6. Which play is considered Christopher Marlowe's masterpiece?

A. The Jew of Malta

B. Doctor Faustus

C. Tamburlaine the Great

D. Edward II

 

7.Marlowe is credited with introducing which literary form in English drama?

A) Sonnet

B) Blank verse

C) Rhyming couplets

D) Prose dialogue

 

8. Who called Marlowe’s blank verse “Marlowe’s mighty line”?

A) William Shakespeare

B) Ben Jonson

C) Thomas Kyd

D) John Lyly

 

9. Which of the following is NOT a play written by Christopher Marlowe?

A. Doctor Faustus

B. Tamburlaine the Great

C. Romeo and Juliet

D. Edward II

 

10. Christopher Marlowe was accused of what crime?

A. Murder

B. Theft

C. Blasphemy

D. Treason

 

11. Which of Marlowe’s plays features a protagonist who sells his soul to the devil?

A) The Jew of Malta

B) Edward II

C) Doctor Faustus

D) Dido, Queen of Carthage

 

12. In The Jew of Malta, which historical figure’s ghost delivers the prologue?

A) Julius Caesar

B) Niccolò Machiavelli

C) Herod

D) Nero

 

13. Which of the following is NOT a play by Marlowe?

A) Edward II

B) The Spanish Tragedy

C) The Massacre at Paris

D) Dido, Queen of Carthage

 

14. Which of Marlowe’s plays is based on the life of a historical Mongol conqueror?

A) Doctor Faustus

B) Edward II

C) The Jew of Malta

D) Tamburlaine the Great

 

15. Who was Marlowe’s roommate in London, who later accused him of atheism?

A) Thomas Nashe

B) Thomas Kyd

C) Robert Greene

D) John Webster

 

16. Which famous line is from Doctor Faustus?

A) “To be or not to be”

B) “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?”

C) “All the world’s a stage”

D) “Fair is foul and foul is fair”

 

17. Marlowe’s Edward II is considered a precursor to which genre in Shakespeare’s works?

A) Tragedies

B) Comedies

C) Historical plays

D) Romances

 

18. Christopher Marlowe was a contemporary of which famous English playwright?

A. William Shakespeare

B. George Bernard Shaw

C. Oscar Wilde

D. Samuel Beckett

 

19. Which of the following is a play written by Christopher Marlowe that has a historical figure as its protagonist?

A. The Jew of Malta

B. Doctor Faustus

C. Edward II

D. Tamburlaine the Great

 

20. Which of the following is a famous quote from Christopher Marlowe's play, The Jew of Malta?

A. "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"

B. "The course of true love never did run smooth"

C. "I count religion but a childish toy"

D. "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy"

 

21. Which of Christopher Marlowe's plays is a tragedy about a wealthy merchant who seeks revenge against the Christian authorities that wronged him?

A. Edward II

B. Tamburlaine the Great

C. The Jew of Malta

D. Doctor Faustus

 

22. Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus is a tragedy about a man who makes a pact with whom?

A. The devil

B. God

C. A Witch

D. A King

 

23. Which of Christopher Marlowe's plays is a tragedy about a conqueror who rises to power through military conquests, but ultimately suffers a tragic downfall?

A. Edward II

B. Tamburlaine the Great

C. The Jew of Malta

D. Doctor Faustus

 

24. Which of the following is the earliest known play written by Christopher Marlowe?

A. The Massacre at Paris

B. Edward II

C. Tamburlaine the Great

D. Dido, Queen of Carthage

 

25. Which of Christopher Marlowe's plays is a tragedy about the downfall of the titular character, a powerful and ambitious monarch who is ultimately betrayed and killed by his own subjects?

A. Edward II

B. Tamburlaine the Great

C. The Jew of Malta

D. Doctor Faustus

 

26. Which of the following is NOT a play written by Christopher Marlowe?

A. The Taming of the Shrew

B. Doctor Faustus

C. The Jew of Malta

D. Tamburlaine the Great

 

27. What is the name of the 16th-century English monarch who was reigning during Christopher Marlowe's lifetime?

A. Queen Elizabeth I

B. King Henry VIII

C. King James I

D. King Charles I

 

28. What is the name of Christopher Marlowe's unfinished play about the life of the legendary Greek hero, who was known for his strength and bravery?

A. Doctor Faustus

B. Tamburlaine the Great

C. Dido, Queen of Carthage

D. Hero and Leander

 

29. Who completed Marlowe's unfinished poem Hero and Leander after his death?

A) William Shakespeare

B) Ben Jonson

C) George Chapman

D) Thomas Nashe

 

30. What was Marlowe accused of before his death?

A) Treason

B) Atheism and blasphemy

C) Plagiarism

D) Witchcraft

 

31. Which Shakespearean play references Marlowe as the “Dead Shepherd”?

A) Hamlet

B) As You Like It

C) Macbeth

D) King Lear

 

32. What was the cause of Marlowe’s death?

A) Illness

B) Duel in a tavern

C) Execution for heresy

D) Suicide

 

33. How old was Marlowe when he died?

A) 25

B) 29

C) 32

D) 35

 

34. What government service did Marlowe likely perform?

A) Tax collector

B) Diplomatic envoy

C) Spy

D) Military officer

 

35. Which statement about Christopher Marlowe's plays is correct?

A) He wrote both comedies and tragedies

B) All his surviving plays are tragedies

C) His most famous work was a historical comedy

D) He specialized in romantic tragicomedies

 

Answers: Christopher Marlowe
1. A	2. B	3. B	4. A	5. D	6. B	7. B	8. B	9. C	10. C
11. C	12. B	13. B	14. D	15. B	16. B	17. C	18. A	19. C	20. C
21. C	22. A	23. B	24. D	25. A	26. A	27. A	28. D	29. C	30. B
31. B	32. B	33. B	34. C	35. B	36.	37.	38.	39.	40.