In Terms of Literature
Shakespeare's Lore
Do you even READ bro?
Hamlet du fromage
Halloweenies
100

Which literary device is being used in the following quote?

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,/ A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life."

a. personification 

b. simile 

c. alliteration

d. juxtaposition

c. alliteration

The repetition of the same initial consonants of words or of stressed syllables in any sequence of neighboring words

Purpose: The repetition of certain sounds creates emphasizes not only the words in the passage themselves but on the pattern, creating a musical effect.

100

When was William Shakespeare born?

a. 1564

b. 1492

c. 1327

d. 1616

a. 1564

His exact birthdate is unknown. He died in 1616 at the age of 52. 

100

Which popular Shakespearean play features two families call the Capulets and the Montagues?

a. The Merchant of Venice

b. Macbeth

c. Hamlet

d. Romeo & Juliet

d. Romeo & Juliet

Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. The two families are actively feuding throughout the play.

100

What is the name of Hamlet's father, the deceased king?

Hamlet

Our main character Prince Hamlet is named after his father King Hamlet.

100

Which state produces the most candy in the U.S.? 

a. New York 

b. Minnesota

c. California

d. Oregon 

c. California

California ranks first among all the states for producing the most candy in the U.S. Among them? Ghirardelli, Jelly Belly and Annabelle's Candy Company, just to name a few.

200

Which literary device is being used in the following quote?

"So excellent a king, that was to this/Hyperion a satyr"

a. allusion

b. simile 

c. alliteration

d. juxtaposition

a. allusion

An indirect or passing reference to an event, person, place, or artistic work

Purpose: Allusion allows the audience to connect the characteristics of one object/concept to another. More often than not, an allusion in a literary work refers to some feature of another, previous literary work.

200

Is the following statement True or False? 

Women were not allowed to be actors so female characters were played by men.


True

It is believed that this practice originated the term DRAG as the script would say an actor's name and (Dr.a.g - dressed as girl).

200

Which novel features firemen who burn books? 

a. Dante's Inferno

b. Fahrenheit 451

c. City of Ember

d. Brave New World 

b. Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is set in a dystopian society in which the written word is illegal. The main character Montag is a fireman who burns the libraries of criminals until he himself becomes one of them.

200

Who sees the ghost of King Hamlet in Act 1 Scene 1? 

a. Hamlet

b. Claudius

c. Gertrude

d. Horatio 

d. Horatio

He is Hamlet's bestie from school. He is shown the ghost by Marcellus and Bernardo who had seen it twice before. 

200

Which celebrity was born on Halloween? 

a. Willow Smith

b. Michael Jackson 

c. Lebron James

d. Billie Eilish 



a. Willow Smith

300

Which literary device is being used in the following quote?

 "Why, then, O brawling love, O loving hate."

a. allusion

b. simile 

c. alliteration

d. oxymoron

d. oxymoron

A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

Purpose: An oxymoron is a juxtaposition of two opposing words with the intended effect of creating emphasis through the nonsensical nature of this device. Oxymoron is used to characterize conflicting emotions, thoughts, or occurrences.

300

Which of the following types of plays did Shakespeare NOT write?

a. Tragedy 

b. Musicals

c. Comedies 

d. History

Three categories:

Tragedy – including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet
Comedy – including Twelfth Night and the The Taming of the Shrew
History – including Henry IV, Henry V and Richard III

300

Which novel features the story of a wealthy man and his love for a woman named Daisy Buchanan, for who he throws lavish parties on Long Island?

a. The Catcher in the Rye

b. The Great Gatsby

c. A Tale of Two Cities

d. A Midsummer Night's Dream

b. The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald is narrated by Nick Carraway as he visits his cousin Daisy Buchanan in 1920's Long Island and attends parties thrown by her super-rich ex Jay Gatsby.

300

At the beginning of Act 1 Scene 2, who asks permission to return to France? 

a. Hamlet 

b. Horatio 

c. Laertes

d. Polonius 

c. Laertes

Laertes is Ophelia's (Hamlet's gf) older brother. He was in town for King Hamlet's funeral and King Claudius' wedding. Laertes and Ophelia's father is Polonius. 

300

Which of the following is ranked the most popular Halloween candy in the U.S?

a. M&Ms

b. Skittles

c. Reese's

d. Twix

a. M&Ms



400

Which literary device is being used in the following quote?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called.”  

Analogy

Comparing two things or instances in time often based on their structure and used to explain a complex idea in simpler terms

Purpose: Analogies are typically used to clarify or explain an author’s idea to the reader by likening a new idea to an older, better known one. They typically appear as similes that allow the reader to more easily understand the author’s meaning. It’s important for the reader to be able to understand or able to infer using context clues the meaning of the comparison.

400

How many literary works did Shakespeare write?

a. around 80 plays and over 300 poems

b. around 18 plays and over 90 poems

c. around 37 plays and over 150 poems

d. around 24 plays and 16 poems

c. around 37 plays and over 150 poems

This is what we know officially. No one can say the exact number, because some of his work may have been lost over time – and some may have been written with the help of other people.

400

Which novel is described as "a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order"?

a. Lord of the Flies

b. Crime and Punishment 

c. 1984

d. Brave New World


d. Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was first pulished in 1932 but does an eerily good job of depicting a dystopian society highly dependent on technology, mass entertainment, and pharmaceuticals.

400
Which characters do we meet in Act 1 Scene 3? 


a. Rosencrantz and Guidenstern 

b. Fortinbras, Voltemand, and Cornelius 

c. Laertes, Ophelia, and Polonius

d. Marcellus, Bernardo, and Francisco

c. Laertes, Ophelia, and Polonius

Ophelia - Hamlet's girlfriend

Laertes - Ophelia's brother

Polonius - Ophelia's father and Councillor of State

400

Which actress is famous for her recurring role in the Halloween franchise? 

a. Jennifer Anniston

b. Anna Faris

c. Jamie Lee Curtis

d. Jennifer Hudson

c. Jamie Lee Curtis

500

Which literary device is defined as the following? 

“story, picture, or other piece of art that uses symbols to convey a hidden or ulterior meaning, typically a moral or political one.”


Allegory 

In Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out – the little girl Riley’s interior mental landscape is peopled with allegorical figures, cute little characters. Here, the “tenor” or the concept are the emotions of Joy, Sadness, etc, and the “vehicles” are these adorable humanoids romping around in the “control room” –  aka, Riley’s brain.

500

Which phrase was coined by Shakespeare?

a. "Too much of a good thing"

b. "In my heart of hearts"

c. "Wear my heart upon my sleeve"

d. "Break the ice"

e. all of the above

e. all of the above

Too much of a good thing
     Even good things can hurt in excess
     As You Like It, Act 4 Scene 1

In my heart of hearts
     In my most inner, true thoughts and feelings
     Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 2

Wear my heart upon my sleeve
     To expose my feelings, be vulnerable
     Othello, Act 1 Scene 1

Break the ice
     To reduce the awkward, initial social tension
     Taming of the Shrew, Act 1 Scene 2

500

The novel Animal Farm in which a farm is taken over by its overworked animals is a(n) ______ for Stalinist Russia. 

Allegory

500

How many characters are dead by the end of the play The Tragedy of Hamlet?

a. 9

b. 5

c. 2

d. 16


a. 9

Not going to tell you who! Stay tuned!

500

The movie Psycho is based on a novel about which serial killer:

a. John Wayne Gacy 

b. Ed Gein

c. Ted Bundy 

d. Richard Ramirez

b. Ed Gein

As with subsequent horror films The Silence Of The Lambs (1991), Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (1990), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and many others, Robert Bloch’s original novel of Psycho (published in 1959) was based on the real life serial killer and grave robber, Ed Gein. The infatuation with his mother and obsessive interest in taxidermy are elements taken directly from the actual Gein.

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