Making Sense of Shakespeare Trivia Quiz

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

"Romeo and Juliet" premiered in 1597, and is one of the Bard's most famous tragedies. The young love is, of course, the title couple, who fall in love despite the feud that exists between their families. The reference to naming roses is from the speech, spoken by Juliet, in Act II Scene II of the play. The couple are bemoaning their last names which makes them a part of a feud:

"...O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title."

Answer: The Taming of the Shrew

The photo hints at the play since it depicts a type of rodent called a shrew. "The Taming of the Shrew" is written as a play within a play; an old man, found drunk, is dressed up and convinced that he is a lord. He is shown a play by his tricksters, and that play makes up the substance of "The Taming of the Shrew". The bad wife is, of course, Katherina, the shrew of the title. Her husband Petruchio has to subdue her with various methods.

"The Taming of the Shrew" was written between 1590 and 1592. Many famous versions have been made, including Cole Porter's musical version "Kiss Me Kate", and the 1963 western version "McKlintock!" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.

Answer: Hamlet

"Hamlet" is Shakespeare's longest play and one of his most famous. It tells the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (hinted at by the photo of the Danish flag), who investigates his father's murder by his uncle.

The skull is that of a jester, Yorick, whom Hamlet knew when he was a child, and that he holds as he comments, "Alas, poor Yorick" in Act 5. Hamlet is also the one who poses that famous question, "To be or not to be? That is the question", in Act 3 Scene 1. The insanity refers to the insanity of Ophelia, and Hamlet's increasingly questionable mental state as the play progresses.

Answer: Henry V

"Henry V" is part of a series of history plays written by Shakespeare, falling chronologically between "Henry IV, Part II" and "Henry VI, Part I". It continues the story of Henry IV's son Hal, now king and fighting the French in the Hundred Years' War, including the Battle of Agincourt, which is represented in the photo.

St. Crispin's Day refers to the so-called "St. Crispin's Speech", which Henry V delivers to his men in Act IV Scene III, lines 18-67 before the Battle of Agincourt. Language barriers references the humorous wooing of Catherine of Valois by Henry V; she is French and he, of course, is English. The play also features a Chorus, which introduces and explains the play.

Answer: Othello

"Othello" was written around 1603, and tells the tale of the Moor Othello, whose ensign, Iago, helps to poison Othello's mind against his wife Desdemona, convincing Othello that she is unfaithful. This inevitably leads to Othello smothering her, although he immediately repents the action when he learns the truth, and kills himself.

Several notable film versions have been made, including a 1951 version starring Orson Welles, a 1981 version starring Anthony Hopkins and Bob Hoskins, and a 1995 version starring Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh.

Answer: Julius Caesar

"Julius Caesar" was staged first in 1599, and revolves around the events leading up to and following the death of Caesar. The stabbing is his death at the hands of Brutus and the rest who conspire against him; the speech about borrowing a body part refers to Mark Antony's speech over Caesar's body, which begins "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" (Act III Scene II).

The prophetic wife is Caesar's wife Calpurnia, who has premonitions about her husband's death and asks him not to go to the Senate on the day he is later murdered there. This is also hinted at in the photo; "march" refers to a soothsayer who tells Caesar to "beware the ides of March" (Act I Scene I).

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

"The Merchant of Venice", written between 1596 and 1598, features several universal themes, one of which is religion, since one of the main characters, a moneylender named Shylock, is a Jew. However, a merchant to whom he lent money loses his cargo in a shipwreck, leading to the climax of the play.

Choosing caskets refers to the heiress Portia's father's method of finding her a husband: making suitors choose between a gold, silver, or lead. The photo of Venetian gondolas also hints at the title of the play.

Answer: The Winter's Tale

"The Winter's Tale" tells the story of Leontes, King of Sicily, and his wife Hermione, whom he accuses of adultery with his best friend, the King of Bohemia, Polixenes. The shepherds are the country folk who adopt Leontes and Hermione's daughter Perdita, following Hermione's death. She comes alive again, however, after Leontes repents his former suspicions: she comes in the form of a statue, which later turns out to be Hermione in the flesh!

A lesser-known play of the Bard's, it was first published in 1623.

Answer: Measure for Measure

"Measure for Measure" is a tragi-comedy written between 1603 and 1604. Nuns feature as characters of the play; including Francisca, and Isabella, who is a novice. The sneaky duke is the Duke of Vienna, Vincentio, who supposedly leaves Vienna with his deputy Angelo in charge, but in reality goes undercover as the Friar Lodowick to spy on the city and see how Angelo rules in his absence. The Duke reappears at the end of the play as himself, to see that justice is done.

The unanswered proposal is Angelo's proposal of marriage to Isabella at the end of the play. Although the text does not give her an answer, it is thought that this silence is meant to imply consent, though this interpretation is not universal. The photo is of a jail, which is a main location of the play, since Isabella's brother Claudio is imprisoned in one.

Answer: Antony and Cleopatra

Hinted at by the pyramids shown in the photo, "Antony and Cleopatra" was first performed in 1607. The civil war is the war between the Roman officers in the play, pitting Marc Antony against Octavius, the nephew of Julius Caesar and his successor.

The monument is where Cleopatra has locked herself near the end of the play, where she then kills herself with an asp, the snake that was hinted at, when Antony dies in her arms.