Tough Literature Trivia: Name That Shakespeare Quote! | 20 Questions

Answer: Titus Andronicus

In 'Titus Andonicus', probably Shakespeare's grossest (and one of his most popular in his own day) play, Tamora, captured queen of the Goths, is being held prisoner by Titus Andronicus. During the course of the play all her sons are killed. She is served a pie with (this is really gross) the chopped-up bits of two of her sons in it by Titus, and eats it. She is then killed.

Answer: King Lear

This is a very famous quote from 'King Lear', act one, scene one. Cordelia has just been asked by Lear how she loves him. She replies 'Nothing', meaning that she loves him so much she can't put this into words. Lear, who takes this the wrong way, demands 'Nothing will come of {nothing;} speak again.' Cordelia tries to explain, fails, and is thrown out. What a happy family!

Answer: Richard III

This refers to Richard's brother, Clarence. In Shakespeare's play, Richard has Clarence drowned in a butt of wine. It's true that Clarence was probably drowned in wine, but it wasn't on Richard's order (even though they were brothers)! He was Edward IV's brother too, and it was Edward IV who had him killed.

Answer: Antony and Cleopatra

Cleopatra is killing herself, and of course she has to do it in style. A snake (an asp) is smuggled into her room, supposedly in a basket of figs. Cleopatra then lets it bite her, but not without a lengthy spiel and talk with her handmaidens, one of whom is then bitten by the asp.

The other one is left to talk to Octavian's soldiers (Octavian, Caesar's nephew, had defeated Cleopatra and wanted very much to shame her), and explain just why Cleopatra is dead.

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

Portia, the female protagonist, has fallen madly in love with Bassanio, her poor but infinitely deserving suitor. However, her father has arranged a clever little test for any potential suitor of Portia's that haunts her even though he's dead. This has already sent two (terrible, it must be admitted) suitors to the stage and more that we don't see packing, and Portia is scared stiff lest he choose wrong. Of course, he chooses right.

Answer: Much Ado About Nothing

Here it is: the classic battle of words between Beatrice and Benedick in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. This is some of the best wordplay ever written, IMHO. The battle of insults has begun (this is Benedick's line). Of course, (spoiling the play, in my opinion), they have to get married in the end.

Answer: A Midsummer Night's Dream

If you think you hate Shakespeare, go out and buy yourself a ticket to 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. This incredibly funny comedy features star-crossed lovers, fairies, idiot workmen, and dukes. In this particular quote, the idiot workmen are performing a play (The Most Tragical Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe) for the duke, his new wife, and the star-crossed lovers, who are uncrossed by this time. Pyramus (played by Bottom, the most idiotic workman of them all) dies in this scene, taking much too much time about it, in one of the funniest scenes ever penned.

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo is in deep doo-doo at this point. He has just killed Tybalt, who had just killed Mercutio, and the prince is heading their way. He naturally has to find some excuse for this atrocious behavior, and decides to blame fortune.

Answer: The Comedy of Errors

This is one of my favorite {lines;} having spoken it myself onstage as Dromio of Syracuse, I know exactly how many laughs this one gets: lots. Dromio, who everyone thinks is his identical twin, also named Dromio, has naturally been mistaken for Dromio of Ephesus (his twin) by Dromio of E.'s wife Nell.

Unfortunately, Nell weighs quite a lot, and Dromio makes snide remarks about her to his master, Antipholus of Syracuse (who happens to have a twin brother named Antipholus of Ephesus--how very strange), comparing her to different countries in a very unflattering way. Read it, or, better yet, see it onstage.

It's hysterical.

Answer: As You Like It

Rosaline is in love with the shrimpy but brave Orlando (so what else is new?). She confides this to her cousin Celia. Later in the play they are all driven into the forest of Arden where they encounter banished dukes, shepards, and various other motley players. Shakespeare sure had a great imagination!

Answer: Hamlet

Hamlet is finishing up a long-winded spiel about trying to trick his Evil Stepfather (wow, a man for a change) into admitting he killed the rightful king, Hamlet's father, whose ghost has told Hamlet so. Hamlet finally decides that he will have a company of players act out the story of a king's brother who drips poison into the rightful king's ear (killing him).

This is a little close for comfort. Claudius, of course, is extremely guilty about this, and sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (immortalized in 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead') to have him killed by the English.

However, you cannot kill the wily Hamlet that easily! He swaps letters and R and G are killed in his place (Hamlet's a real nice character).

Answer: Macbeth

The witches are talking at the beginning of the play (amongst themselves), about eye of newt and other such pleasant topics. One quips, 'Fair is foul and foul is {fair;} we hover through the fog and filthy air.'

Answer: Cymbeline

Imogen, daughter of Cymbeline (only nobody knows she {is;} does this sound familiar?), has died (or so they think). This is part of the mourning song over her poor dead body. It's actually quite beautiful, corny as it may sound.

Answer: Twelfth Night

As you smart people out there have guessed, 'Twelfth Night' is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays (from the number of times I've offered it as an answer). At the end of one of the most beautiful monologues of all time (IMHO), Viola tells Orsino (who she's in love with, but she can't tell him 'cause she's disguised as a boy) that she's not sure if her brother's dead (he isn't).

She has just finished telling Orsino, who is sometimes a big idiot, that women can love as strongly as men (Orsino was under the impression that they couldn't), citing her 'sister' as an example. Of course she means herself. Done right, this monologue is enough to make me cry, even when I'm speaking it myself.

Answer: The Tempest

This was Shakespeare's last play, and said by what was supposedly his last part. Prospero, the magician of 'The Tempest', has just had a big pageant put on for his daughter, Miranda, and her fiance, Ferdinand, and explains that the actors were only spirits, and goes on to say that people are only really dreams--then he says that he's talking nonsense, forgive him, he's old and he's got a headache.

Answer: King Lear

Here we are back with Lear. He thinks that Cordelia's love for him is nil, and gets really mad. Of course, since this is a tragedy, he discovers (too late of course) that Cordelia loved him most.

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

Here we are back with Portia. Having just stripped poor Shylock of all his money, lands, and daughter, she returns to her house and pats herself on the back. And she is supposed to be the heroine!

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

Now that I have told about Portia, here's Shylock from the same play. He's Jewish. Only Jews can be money-lenders. So up comes Antonio, wanting to borrow money from him, and this is when Antonio has called him names, spat on him, and otherwise abused him in the past. Shylock says fine.

He lends Antonio the money. Then he agrees on the 'bond', what he, Shylock, will get if Antonio can't pay him back: a pound of Antonio's flesh. Antonio, idiot that he is, agrees. In this speech, Shylock justifies his wish for revenge on Antonio, which he does not get (even though Antonio can't pay him back), thanks to Portia. Unfairness reigns.

Answer: Julius Caesar

A lot of people don't realize that Antony's famous 'Friends, Romans, countrymen,' speech is a play on Brutus's earlier speech. Brutus is justifying the murder of Caesar to the people, and almost gets away with it--then he makes his biggest mistake: letting Mark Antony live, and letting him make a speech.

Answer: All's Well That Ends Well

This is in a scene between the Countess and the Clown, and is often overlooked because it doesn't really have anything to do with the plot. The answer is, 'Oh, lord.' It really works! Hope you've enjoyed my quiz!