Rhyme and Treason Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hamlet

'The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark' was probably written between 1599 and 1602. It has been speculated that it was specifically written as a vehicle for Richard Burbage, who was a leading Elizabethan tragic actor. Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth who assassinated Abraham Lincoln, was one of many leading actors (too many to contemplate listing) who have taken on the role over the years. Personally, I wish I had been able to see Peter O'Toole as Hamlet, directed by Sir Laurence Olivier, in the first production of the National Theatre in 1963.

One of Shakespeare's longest plays, it is also one of his best known, and is studied in schools around the world for its timeless treatment of the themes of betrayal, revenge and madness. Hamlet, his mother, his uncle, his potential wife (and her brother and father), and a number of minor characters are all dead before it finishes - his friend Horatio and his nominated successor Fortinbras are still around to clean things up.

Answer: Macbeth

The original prophecy in 'The Scottish Play' (Act I, Scene 3) told Macbeth that he would be king, as well as receiving two other titles. The conferral of those two titles leads him to hope that he may truly be fated to be king, and his wife goads him into killing King Duncan despite his doubts.

When he asks the witches to confirm the truth of their prophecy (Act IV, Scene 1), he is told to beware of MacDuff, but that he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill, and that no man born of a living woman can harm him.

Unfortunately, it turns out that MacDuff was delivered by Caesarean section after his mother had died, and he uses branches from Birnam Wood to cover his troops as they approach Dunsinane. Since Macbeth arranged the slaughter of Macduff's entire family because of the first part of the prophecy, he was in fact the creator of his own doom. If there is one thing to be learned from the classics, it is to be extremely wary of prophecy!

Answer: King Lear

King Lear, deceived by Goneril and Regan declaring that they worship the ground on which he walks (despite actually despising him as a senile old man) and angered by Cordelia's refusal to join in the humiliating competition, gives Cordelia's share of the kingdom to her two sisters.

They, of course, have their husbands fight each other to gain complete control. The ambitious illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester further complicates matters, and people start conspiring against one another left, right and centre. Lear realizes his error, and recognizes the loyalty of Cordelia, too late.

As usual, almost everyone ends up dead.

Answer: Cymbeline

'Cymbeline', one of Shakespeare's less familiar plays, is based on legends of the first-century Celtic king Cunobeline. It contains plot elements that will be familiar from other, more familiar plays: a daughter whose parent attempts to force her to marry against her will; a secret marriage; one man convincing another that his wife has been unfaithful in order to manipulate the distressed husband; a girl disguised as a boy; a 'poison' that only simulates death; an ambitious and manipulative wife; a long lost child (two sons, actually) returning having been cared for by a servant suspected of conspiring with the enemy; and an obscure prophecy. Although once classified as a tragedy, 'Cymbeline' is now generally considered a comedy - and it should be noted that there is far less actual death, despite all the plotting, than is usually found in Shakespeare's tragedies!

The quotation in the question comes from Act III, Scene 4, and is delivered by Imogen after she discovers that the servant Pisanio has been instructed to kill her by her jealous husband Posthumus, whom she had secretly married against the wishes of her father, Cymbeline. Posthumus has been deceived by Iachimo into believing that Imogen has been unfaithful to him with Iachimo. Pisanio convinces Imogen to disguise herself as a boy, and gives her the vial of 'poison' which he thought was a sleeping draught, because the queen told him that in order to get him to poison Imogen; fortunately, the court doctor had substituted a drug that would only create the appearance of death for a time. As the Britons battle the Romans (a battle brought on because the queen convinced Cymbeline not to pay the tribute that was due), they are heading for defeat when four mysterious fighters arrive to save the day. They turn out to be Posthumus and Cymbeline's two long-lost sons, returning with the man who had stolen them twenty years earlier when he was banished from court. Once everything gets sorted out, Cymbeline averts further warfare by agreeing to pay the tribute, they all head off to a celebratory feast, and the good guys live happily ever after.

Answer: Othello

'The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice' is still widely performed (and studied in schools) because its themes of racism (the fact that Othello is a Moor, an African Muslim (albeit of unspecified race), creates much of the initial hostility towards him), love and jealousy, and betrayal, both real and suspected, continue to be relevant centuries later. Unusually, both the protagonist (Othello) and the antagonist (Iago) have similarly-important roles, and in several productions the actors have alternated playing each role. One example of this was the 1955 Old Vic production featuring Richard Burton and John Neville - patrons knew who would be starring, but not who would take each role for that particular performance.

Answer: Julius Caesar

The title character is not actually the main figure in 'The Tragedy of Julius Caesar', since he dies fairly early in the play (Act 3, Scene 1). The dramatic focus of the play is the struggle of Brutus to deal with the apparent need to betray his friend for the sake of the Republic. Shakespeare's depiction of Caesar's death makes it clear that he feels he has been personally betrayed. Brutus defends his actions in a speech to the people, but he is followed by Mark Antony, whose brilliant oratory swings opinion against the conspirators.

The play ends with the death of Brutus, and the acknowledgement by Antony that he had acted for a noble, if misguided, purpose.

Answer: Henry IV

This quotation comes from 'Henry IV (Part 2)', Act III, Scene 1. The restless king is bemoaning the fact that commoners around him are comfortably asleep, while he is burdened with care. At least a portion of his care stems from his uneasiness over the death in captivity of Richard II after he was 'convinced' to hand over the crown to Henry Bolingbroke. Of course, the king is also worried about the rebellion that is brewing - Shakespeare's kings seem to spend a lot of time putting down rebellions, which gives them the chance to make heroic speeches. 'Henry IV (Part 1)' focuses on the early part of his reign, ending with the Battle of Shrewsbury, in which Prince Hal (later to be Henry V) kills the rebel Hotspur in single-handed combat. 'Henry IV (Part 2)' is set near the end of his reign, with the main storyline centred on the rebellion, and the king's concern over the continuing wayward behavior of his son.

It ends with Hal becoming King Henry V, and rejecting the lowlife with whom he had been used to associate, including the wonderfully comic Sir John Falstaff.

Answer: Antony and Cleopatra

Mark Antony (whom some of you will recall from 'Julius Caesar') and Octavius (nephew of Julius, and future emperor) are at odds over a number of points, including the fact that Antony is neglecting his duties to Rome as he hangs around Alexandria with his lover, Queen Cleopatra. Antony's defeat at the Battle of Actium, after Cleopatra removes her ships from the battle, leads him to blame her for her apparent treachery.

She tries to win back his love by sending a message that she is dead. This backfires when he does not rush to check it out in person, but attempts to kill himself in grief, living long enough to discover his error and die in her arms. Octavian, after completing his conquest of Egypt, plans to display Cleopatra in the triumph he is going to celebrate on his return to Rome, but she kills herself to avoid this, dying in the expectation of an imminent reunion with her lover.

Answer: Richard III

Richard III was probably not nearly as evil as Shakespeare portrayed him. After all, Queen Elizabeth's grandfather had become king by defeating Richard in the Battle of Bosworth Field, so vilifying him made good political sense. In the play, he is portrayed as overwhelmingly ambitious, willing to do almost anything to gain power. He is also described as being deformed, a hunchback whose physical appearance reflects his spiritual ugliness. He was suggested, in 'Henry VI (Part 3)', to have killed Henry to secure the accession of his brother Edward, whose success he then resents from the start of this play. All relatives who stand closer in line to the throne than he does are dispatched one way or another - his uncle the Duke of Clarence is drowned in a butt of malmsey, and he imprisons his nephews in the Tower of London, where they are subsequently murdered. After all this, it seems only fair that he should die at the hands of the Earl of Richmond, soon to be Henry VII.

The quotation in the question comes from Act III, Scene 1, spoken by Richard as an aside during a conversation with the young princes on their way to the tower.

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo first sees Juliet at a gathering where he is eagerly looking for a glimpse of his (self-professed) love, Rosaline, whose beauty he describes by stating, in Act I, Scene2, "The all-seeing sun / ne'er saw her match since first the world begun." But then he sees her cousin Juliet, and it is all over with Rosaline. Since Rosaline was also a Capulet, one has to wonder whether their romance, had it developed, would have been any less stormy than that chronicled in the play.