William Shakespeare — Questions and answers

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What famous play is being performed in the Globe Theatre, making 3,000 people listen closely?

Choices

  1. Hamlet ✓
  2. Romeo and Juliet
  3. King Lear
  4. Othello

Answer: Hamlet

From page 1

What did William Shakespeare carry in his worn satchel when he came to London?

Choices

  1. Money and food
  2. Old clothes and books
  3. A few precious manuscripts and a fierce ambition ✓
  4. A map of London and a compass

Answer: A few precious manuscripts and a fierce ambition

From page 2

What was the name of the poem William Shakespeare presented to the Earl of Southampton?

Choices

  1. Hamlet
  2. Othello
  3. Venus and Adonis ✓
  4. King Lear

Answer: Venus and Adonis

From page 3

What important agreement did William Shakespeare sign at the London tavern?

Choices

  1. A contract to build a new theatre
  2. An agreement to write a book
  3. A contract to become a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain's Men ✓
  4. A deal to buy a house

Answer: A contract to become a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain's Men

From page 4

What did William Shakespeare and his fellow actors do with the wood from their old theatre?

Choices

  1. They burned it for warmth.
  2. They sold it for money.
  3. They moved it across the river to build a new theatre. ✓
  4. They left it behind and bought new wood.

Answer: They moved it across the river to build a new theatre.

From page 5

Which two plays was William Shakespeare working on late at night in his lodgings?

Choices

  1. Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth
  2. Hamlet and Venus and Adonis
  3. Othello and King Lear ✓
  4. Henry VIII and The Tempest

Answer: Othello and King Lear

From page 6

Who watched the King's Men perform Othello at Whitehall Palace?

Choices

  1. The Master of Revels
  2. Queen Elizabeth I
  3. King James I ✓
  4. A foreign scholar

Answer: King James I

From page 7

What did William Shakespeare ask his trusted colleagues, John Heminges and Henry Condell, to do with his play scripts?

Choices

  1. To burn them after his death
  2. To hide them in a secret place
  3. To ensure they live beyond performances for generations ✓
  4. To sell them to other actors for money

Answer: To ensure they live beyond performances for generations

From page 8

What caused the Globe Theatre to catch fire during a performance of Henry VIII?

Choices

  1. An actor dropped a candle
  2. Lightning struck the roof
  3. A cannon misfire ✓
  4. A cooking accident in the snack stall

Answer: A cannon misfire

From page 9

What did the playwright Ben Jonson declare about William Shakespeare?

Choices

  1. He only wrote comedies.
  2. He was not of an age, but for all time! ✓
  3. He was the best actor of his time.
  4. He wrote too many plays.

Answer: He was not of an age, but for all time!

From page 10