More Songs from Shakespeare's Plays Quiz

Answer: The Tempest

The sprite in question is Ariel, who sings here of his carefree, idyllic life Act V, scene 1 after Prospero promises his freedom.

Answer: Cymbeline

In Act IV, scene 2, Arviragus brings in the seemingly dead body of Imogen (disguised as the boy, Fidele; like Juliet, she is in a drug-induced deathlike slumber which, in her case, was accidental); Guiderius sings this touching funeral ode ("Fear no more the heat o' the sun, nor the furious winter's rages; Thou thy wordly task has done, home art gone and ta'en thy wages. Golden lads and girls all must, like chimney sweepers, come to dust").

They will later be surprised to learn that Imogen is not dead, that she is a woman, and that she is their sister, from whom they had been separated in childhood.

Answer: Hamlet

Ophelia has been driven to madness by the sudden, violent death of her father at the hands of Hamlet, whom she loves, and by the latter's inscrutable behavior and seeming rejection of her. She sings these two songs, as well as the salacious "Tomorrow is St. Valentine's day" during her mad scene.

Answer: Henry VIII

This is sung to the troubled queen Katherine of Aragon in Act III, scene 1.

Answer: Twelfth Night

The first two are sung by Feste ("O Mistress Mine" is sung to Olivia), the third by Sir Tobey and Andrew Aguecheek.

Answer: Desdemona (Othello)

Desdemona tells her maid Emilia that she heard this song as a child sung by a young girl, Barbary, who was her mother's maid. She had loved a man who abandoned her; she died singing this song. Desdemona, soon to be murdered by Othello, cannot banish the song from her mind.

Answer: King Lear

The fool sings this in Act III, scene 2 after he and the now demented Lear take shelter from the storm.

Answer: A Winter's Tale

This is sung in Act IV scene 3 by Autolycus.

Answer: As You Like It

Sung by Amiens and Jacques in Act II, scene V before the Duke's cave. Jacques' verse (the third) espouses a somewhat different viewpoint than the first two.

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

The song in question is sung by Mercutio in Act II, scene 4 as he taunts Romeo and the nurse. It is the only song from a play that has inspired operas (by Gounod, Zandonai, and Bellini; not to mention Delius' "A Village Romeo and Juliet" and Berloiz's concert "opera"), concert music (Tchiakovsky's famous concert overture), a ballet (Prokofiev's), and a musical (Bernstein's "West Side Story").

Answer: The Taming of the Shrew

The musical in question is, of course, "Kiss Me Kate". "Where is the life that late I led" (based on a snatch of song by the same name in Act IV, scene 1, sung by Petruchio) is one of the finest songs from this show.

Answer: A Midsummer Night's Dream

The queen in question is Titania, queen of the fairies, who has had the magic flower-juice applied to her eyes while asleep, causing her to fall passionately in love with the first person she sees. In this case, it is Bottom, who temporarily wears an ass's head. He sings her this rustic ditty about various kinds of birds.

Answer: Much Ado About Nothing

This is sung to the supposedly dead Hero in Act V, scene 3. Hero had collapsed after being accused of fornication by the deceived Claudio at what was supposed to have been their wedding. Apprised of the truth, a grief-stricken Claudio hangs an epitaph upon her "tomb", after which this song is performed. However, Hero, like Imogen in Cymbeline, is not really dead.

Answer: "Te Deum" and "Non Nobis, Domine"

The "Te Deum" is an ancient Christian hymn of thanksgiving (the text is believed to have been written by St. Hilary of Poitiers), invariably sung after such a victory, as well as at coronations. "Non Nobis, Domine" is a shorter hymn with a humble text, ascribing victory to God rather than to oneself ("Not unto us, Lord, but unto thy Name be glory giv'n"). Composer Patrick Doyle wrote a memorable setting of the latter for Kenneth Branagh's film version of Henry V.

Answer: The Tempest

This song, performed by the goddess of marriage and the goddess of the harvest, blesses the union of Ferdinand and Miranda in Act IV, scene 1. Prospero is likewise reunited and, one hopes, reconciled with his treacherous brother Antonio.