Shakespeare's World Quiz
By Myriam Gabriel-Pollock

Most of us are familiar with at least a few of the works of William
Shakespeare -- perhaps the most celebrated English playwright and poet in modern history. We recognize many of his more famous characters, such as Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Lady Ophelia and Hamlet. But how much do we know about the world he lived in? How did he become famous? Who were his contemporaries? What was the theater experience like back then? If thouest taketh our Shakespeare's World Quiz, thou mayest find thine answers.

1
Shakespeare composed his plays during the reigns of which two English monarchs?
a)
William III and Anne
b)
Henry VIII and Edward VI
c)
Elizabeth I and James I
d)
Victoria and Edward VII

2
The Globe Theatre in London, where many of Shakespeare's most famous plays were first performed, was destroyed by fire in 1613. How did the fire start?
a)
A theater patron accidentally dropped his lit pipe into a bale of hay.
b)
A cannon discharged during a performance of "Henry VIII" set fire to the thatched roof.
c)
A Puritan arsonist set fire to the wooden stage.
d)
The building next to the theater was on fire, and the flames spread to the Globe.

3
Which gifted contemporary of Shakespeare wrote the masterpiece "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus," and was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl?
a)
Robert Greene
b)
Thomas Nashe
c)
George Chapman
d)
Christopher Marlowe

4
Shakespeare's poetry, not his plays, reached print first.
a)
True
b)
False

5
English poet and dramatist Ben Jonson's first original play, "Every Man in His Humour," was performed in 1598 with which man as a cast member?
a)
Thomas Dekker
b)
John Marston
c)
William Shakespeare
d)
Sir Walter Raleigh

6
At the Globe Theatre, members of the general public paid 1 penny apiece to watch the play while standing in the yard or "pit." These attendees had several nicknames, including "commoners," "groundlings" and:
a)
Penny-pinchers
b)
Stinkards
c)
Cheapskates
d)
Belly-itchers

7
This English actor -- considered to be the first great English theater performer -- gave life to many leading Shakespeare roles, including Hamlet, Lear, Othello and Richard III. Who is he?
a)
Richard Burbage
b)
Joseph Taylor
c)
Nathan Field
d)
Edward Alleyn

8
In which picturesque English town was Shakespeare born?
a)
Crickhollow
b)
Stratford-upon-Avon
c)
Little Whinging
d)
Wotton-under-Edge

9
Queen Elizabeth was a leading patron of the theater, and attended the Globe's performances so frequently that she and several other aristocratic patrons had specially designated royal seats right in front of the stage.
a)
True
b)
False

10
Two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare, John Heminges and Henry Condell, collected 36 of his plays into a 900-page book known as the First Folio. In what year was it published?
a)
1608
b)
1611
c)
1616
d)
1623

I was surprised since I guessed on a few that I made 7 out of 10.
How'd you do?
Answers are posted farther down. Don't be a cheater.....







Answers are
1-c
2-b
3-d
4-a
5-c
6-b
7-a
8-b
9-b
10-d