A Quiz About Shakespeare

Test your knowledge of the Great Bard by trying our grueling Shakespeare Quiz.

1. When was Shakespeare born?
2. How many plays and sonnets did Shakespeare write?
3. Was Shakespeare ever in "love"?
4. Who said "O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo"?
5. The line "To be or not to be" comes from which play?
- a) King Lear
  b) Richard II
  c) Julius Caesar
  d) Hamlet
6. Was Shakespeare born in:
- a) Stratford-upon-Avon
  b) London
  c) Venice
  d) New York
7. Was the Globe…
- a) A Roman Amphitheater
  b) An Elizabethan Theatre
  c) An Elizabethan sports stadium
  d) A famous map of the world
8. True or False: Was Shakespeare an actor as well as a poet and playwright?
9. True or False: Was the movie "Shakespeare in Love," a true story?
10. True or False: Is there is a monument of Shakespeare in Stratford today?
11. Did Shakespeare invent words?

Answers to follow... Don't cheat!!

Answers…

1. Shakespeare was born in 1564. He died in 1616.
2. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets. One play called "Cardenio" has no written record today. Only 36 plays can be read today.
3. Shakespeare was in love. At age 18, he married the 26 year old Anne Hathaway. They were married the rest of Shakespeare's life…
4. From her balcony, Juliet famously said "O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?," in "Romeo and Juliet".
5. (d) Hamlet uttered the famous words, "To be or not to be" in Shakespeare's "Hamlet".
6. (a) Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, just 5 miles from London.
7. (c) The Globe was an Elizabethan theatre, Shakespeare partially owned, where he performed many of his plays. A reconstruction exists today in the same suburb as the original in Southwark.
8. True. Shakespeare acted in his own plays before Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.
9. False. There is no historical evidence for the romance occurring in the movie. It may have happened but Shakespeare was married at the time.
10. True.
11. Yes, he invented the word "assassination" amongst others.