More About Shakespeare Trivia Quiz

Answer: His birthplace

Silver St was bombed in WW2 and the lodging house no longer exists. Blackfriars theatre was demolished in 1655. Shakespeare never went to university (There's no evidence that he did).

Answer: The King's Men

Shakespeare's theatre company under Elizabeth I was 'The Chamberlain's Men' but when James I ascended the throne, the company's name was changed to 'The King's Men'.

Answer: Edmund

Mary and John Shakespeare were 40 and 49 respectively when Mary gave birth to her last son Edmund. Edmund appears to have been involved in the theatrical work in London, probably as an actor. He died aged 27, shortly after the death of his own illegitimate son.

His son was christened Edward in St Leonard's church in Shoreditch, known as "the actor's church", but died a month later. Edmund was buried in St Saviour's Southwark, now known as Southwark Cathedral. A plaque can still be seen there in memory of him.

The deaths were probably due to the plague. It is thought that William Shakespeare paid for the funeral because it was a costly one. Shakespeare's brother, Gilbert, also had a business in London. Richard was another brother.

Answer: Joan

William was the third child of his parents' eight children, and the eldest son. He died in 1616. Anne died in 1579. Gilbert died in 1612. Richard died in 1613 but Joan lived until 1646 (age 77). Joan (whose married surname was Hart) has direct descendants living in the 21st century. Sadly William Shakespeare does not. His line died out with his grand-daughter, Elizabeth.

Answer: Money to buy memorial rings

In relation to Hemmings and Condell, the will only mentions money for memorial rings. Shakespeare's "second best" bed was left to his wife, which has caused speculation about the nature of their relationship.

Answer: True

The Earl of Essex hatched a plot to overthrow Elizabeth I. Before the attempted coup took place, Shakespeare's company 'The Chamberlain's Men' were asked to stage a performance of Richard II for Essex and his supporters. Richard II is a play where King Richard is deposed by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke.

The Earl of Essex was a distant cousin of Elizabeth I. The coup attempt against Elizabeth I failed, but 'The Chamberlain's Men' were suspected of having supported it. In 1601 Augustine Phillips,from 'The Chamberlain's Men', was called before The Privy Council to account for his company's actions.

His explanation must have convinced The Privy Council, as the company was not punished, but played before Elizabeth I on the night before the Earl of Essex was executed.

Answer: Will Kempe

Will Kempe often played the comic parts of low ranking characters in Shakespeare's plays, such as Dogberry in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. He would often perform jigs on stage at the end of the plays. He left the company in 1600 and went on to perform his 'Nine Days Wonder', as he called it, when he danced all the way from London to Norwich.

Answer: 0

Women were not allowed to act on stage in Shakespeare's time. All the women's parts were played by boys dressed as women.

Answer: Grand daughter Elizabeth

Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son, predeceased Shakespeare, dying at the age of 11 years. Judith, Hamnet's twin sister, had 3 sons but none of them lived to be older than 21. Her first son's given name was Shakespeare. He died aged 6 months. Shakespeare's eldest daughter, Susanna had only one child, Elizabeth, and though Elizabeth married, she had no children.

She was his last surviving direct descendant.

Answer: Ben Jonson

Shakespeare sometimes acted in Ben Jonson's plays. During Shakespeare's lifetime, Ben Jonson said some critical things about Shakespeare's writing and made fun of Shakespeare concerning the Shakespeare family's acquisition of a coat of arms, raising Shakespeare to gentleman status.

However after Shakespeare's death Jonson, together with two of Shakespeare's colleagues from his theatre company, helped to gather his plays into a first folio and have them published under Shakespeare's name, including a eulogy to Shakespeare by Jonson. Without Jonson's actions, the world may never have known Shakespeare's plays.