Shakespeare - life and times
What was the name of the theatre most of Shakespeare's plays were originally performed in?
The Globe Theatre
What does the stage direction 'exeunt' mean?
Exit stage
What 3 word expression is sometimes used to describe Romeo & Juliet's relationship
Star crossed lovers
What is the genre of Hamlet?
Tragedy
What is the genre of Twelfth Night?
Comedy
What are the 3 categories Shakespeare's plays are usually divided into?
comedies, tragedies, histories
What do thee, thou and thy mean?
you, you and your
What is erected in the city of Verona after the deaths of the protagonists?
Golden statues of Romeo & Juliet
How does Polonius die?
Stabbed to death by Hamlet, who mistakes him for Claudius while Polonius is hiding behind a curtain (arras) spying on Hamlet and Gertrude
Explain the love triangle at the start of Twelfth Night
Duke Orsino loves Countess Olivia, who loves Orsino's pageboy Cesario, while Cesario is actually Viola in disguise, who secretly loves Orsino
What is the name of the era in which Shakespeare wrote his plays and they were first performed?
Elizabethan
In Shakespeare's works, what does 'anon' mean?
soon
In the play, where is the prologue beginning 'Two households, both alike in dignity
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene'?
Act 1, scene 1
In which country is Hamlet set?
Denmark
Why does Viola arrive in Illyria?
She washes up on the shores after the ship she was travelling on is sunk in a terrible storm
When was Shakespeare born?
1564
What form of poetry is Shakespeare known for writing?
Sonnet
Which character said this:
"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder"
Friar Lawrence
How does Hamlet first find out how who killed his father?
He is visited by his father's ghost
Who is Sebastian?
Viola's twin brother
How is a Shakespeare play normally organised?
5 acts
In a Shakespeare play, what does the chorus do?
A single character or group that addresses the audience directly to narrate the story, bridge gaps in time, and provide essential context
Romeo and Juliet is sometimes described as 3 acts of comedy and 2 acts of tragedy. Why is this?
The first 3 acts include elements of comedy such as quick witted banter and mistaken identity. However is shifts to tragedy in act 4 when Romeo is banished and the lovers fate is sealed.
Which character said this:
"The lady protests too much, methinks."
(This is often misquoted as: 'Methinks the lady doth protest too much')
Gertrude
Which character said this:
"If music be the food of love, play on."
Orsino