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The Ultimate Shakespeare in Love Quiz | Movies

"Shakespeare in Love" won 7 Academy awards in 1999 including Best Picture Award. It's a mixture of a fictional story based on some facts known about Shakespeare's life and works. This quiz is about some of the people and characters involved in the film

A multiple-choice quiz by Mixamatosis. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Mixamatosis

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
374,481

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
178

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Who wrote the screenplay for "Shakespeare in Love"? Hint

Noel Coward

William Shakespeare

Oscar Wilde

Tom Stoppard

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Question 2 of 10

2. Who plays Shakespeare in the film? Hint

Ben Affleck

Ralph Fiennes

Joseph Fiennes

Tim Curry

3. Who is the actor whose character stutters badly during rehearsals, but who, on his first public performance, dramatically manages to read out the prologue to "Romeo and Juliet" without a stutter? Hint

Russell Crowe

Ryan Gosling

Mark Williams

Sean Penn

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Question 4 of 10

4. What was the character name of the man in charge of the rival theatre company who, at the beginning of the film, has his feet held against a fire? Hint

William Kempe

Richard Burbage

Philip Henslowe

Christopher Marlowe

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Question 5 of 10

5. What is the first name of the character played by Gwyneth Paltrow? Hint

Victoria

Viola

Vanessa

Vivien

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Question 6 of 10

6. Why did Gwyneth Paltrow's character dress as a man when auditioning for a part in the play "Romeo and Juliet"? Hint

She was hiding from the law.

She was a tomboy and usually dressed as a man.

She wanted to play the part of Romeo.

Women weren't allowed to work in the theatre at that time.

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Question 7 of 10

7. Who played the character of Christopher Marlowe? Hint

Rupert Everett

Ralph Fiennes

Colin Firth

Rufus Sewell

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Question 8 of 10

8. Which well known actor famous for marrying the heroine in the TV mini-series of "Pride and Prejudice", and getting the girl in "Bridget Jones's Diary", plays Lord Wessex, who loses the girl to Shakespeare? Hint

Hugh Grant

Benedict Cumberbatch

Eddie Redmayne

Colin Firth

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Question 9 of 10

9. Apart from Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare, which other playwright of the time appears in the film as a boy interested in the theatre but with more bloodthirsty tastes than Shakespeare? Hint

Thomas Kyd

John Webster

Ben Jonson

Thomas Middleton

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Question 10 of 10

10. Who won an Oscar for a performance that involved only eight minutes screen time? Hint

Gwyneth Paltrow

Ben Affleck

Judi Dench

Ian Rush

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who wrote the screenplay for "Shakespeare in Love"?

Answer: Tom Stoppard

"Shakespeare in Love" won seven Academy awards including Best Screenplay Award. Author Tom Stoppard, a British writer of Czech origin, has also written a wealth of works for radio, TV, the theatre and film. He has not always been credited for his film writing, as Stephen Spielberg acknowledged in relation to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".

He also worked on the film "Sleepy Hollow" and it is rumoured that he worked uncredited on "Revenge of the Sith" in the "Star Wars" series of films. He was awarded a Knighthood for his work in 1997.

2. Who plays Shakespeare in the film?

Answer: Joseph Fiennes

Joseph Fiennes is the younger brother of actor Ralph Fiennes. He received BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance in "Shakespeare in Love". He has also appeared in the films "Elizabeth" and "Enemy at the Gates" and more recently in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale".

Answer: Mark Williams

Mark Williams has also has appeared in many TV shows including "Dr Who", "Red Dwarf", "The Fast Show" and as the lead in the "Father Brown" detective series. He played Arthur Weasley in the "Harry Potter" series of films.

4. What was the character name of the man in charge of the rival theatre company who, at the beginning of the film, has his feet held against a fire?

Answer: Philip Henslowe

Philip Henslowe's character was played by Australian actor Geoffrey Rush, who is also known for playing Captain Barbossa in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, and who won an academy award for his role in the movie "Shine". Henslowe's character is based on a historical character of the same name who ran a rival theatre company to the one Shakespeare wrote for.

5. What is the first name of the character played by Gwyneth Paltrow?

Answer: Viola

Gwyneth Paltrow played the fictional female lead, Viola De Lesseps, who (in the film story) inspired Shakespeare in writing "Romeo and Juliet" and with whom he fell in love.

6. Why did Gwyneth Paltrow's character dress as a man when auditioning for a part in the play "Romeo and Juliet"?

Answer: Women weren't allowed to work in the theatre at that time.

The first appearance of actresses on the English stage was in 1629 (13 years after the death of Shakespeare) and after that they started to appear sporadically. They were booed at first, and their acceptance onstage came only gradually.

7. Who played the character of Christopher Marlowe?

Answer: Rupert Everett

Rupert Everett previously played a lead part with Colin Firth in the film "Another Country" and has also appeared in "My Best Friend's Wedding", "The Madness of King George" and "The Importance of Being Earnest".

Answer: Colin Firth

Firth's character in the film is a fictional one, but it bears some resemblance to the real life adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh, in his plans to travel to America to profit from tobacco growing, and his laying down his cloak over a puddle for Queen Elizabeth I to walk on.

9. Apart from Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare, which other playwright of the time appears in the film as a boy interested in the theatre but with more bloodthirsty tastes than Shakespeare?

Answer: John Webster

Playwright John Webster is portrayed briefly as a boy who expresses a taste for more gory bloodshed than is seen in "Romeo and Juliet". Born in 1580 he was 16 years younger than Shakespeare and is best known for his plays "The Duchess of Malfi" and "The White Devil" which are known for their bloodthirsty nature.

10. Who won an Oscar for a performance that involved only eight minutes screen time?

Answer: Judi Dench

Judi Dench won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I, making a strong impact in the film.

Source: Author Mixamatosis

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
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