Shakespeare's Life
The city in which William Shakespeare was born.
Where is Stratford-upon-Avon, England?
The city that Shakespeare moved to in order to pursue his career as a writer and actor.
Where is London?
Despite critics who wanted to ban it altogether, Queen Elizabeth was a major supporter of this art form.
What is theater?
A humorous scene, incident, or speech that is included in a serious drama to provide a change from emotional intensity.
What is comic relief?
Someone who is usually nobly born and who may have great influence in their society. This person often has one or more fatal character flaws that leads to their own downfall.
What is a tragic hero?
The year in which William Shakespeare was born, and the year in which he died.
When is 1564, and 1616?
The three types of plays that Shakespeare wrote.
What are histories, tragedies, and comedies?
In Elizabethan England, other groups were not allowed to be performers, so all roles were played by these people.
Who are men?
A joke that comes from a play on words; can make use of a word's multiple meanings or of a word's rhyme.
What is a pun?
This phrase is often used to describe Queen Elizabeth's stable, prosperous, 45-year reign over England.
What is the "Golden Age"?
The age difference between William and his wife, Anne Hathaway.
What is eight years?
Shakespeare was eighteen when they got married, Anne was 26.
The theater where Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, moved to. Here, Shakespeare earned even more money and fame for his plays.
Where is the Globe Theater?
Theaters were open-air and performances took place during the day time because this important piece of technology had not yet been invented.
What are spotlights?
An uninterrupted speech by one character on stage while other characters are present.
What is a monologue?
A character who provides a striking contrast to another character, which can call attention to certain traits possessed by a main character or simply enhance a character by contrast.
What is a foil?
The number of children that William and Anne had.
What is three?
The theater company changed its name to "the King's Men" in honor of this king who acceded the throne after Queen Elizabeth's death.
Who was King James I?
What are "groundlings"?
A character's remark, either to the audience or to another character, that others on stage are not supposed to hear.
What is an aside?
Shakespeare wrote during this historic era. Its name comes from the French word for "rebirth."
What is the English Renaissance?
Shakespeare's highest level of education.
What is grammar school?
Shakespeare never attended university!
Shakespeare was inspired to write more tragedies following the death of this important person in his life.
Who was Shakespeare's son, Hamnet?
The well-known phrase, "All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players" is attributed to this famous person.
Who is William Shakespeare?
From As You Like It.
A speech a character gives when they are alone on stage, speaking their thoughts aloud to let the audience know what the character is thinking.
What is a soliloquy?
A contemporary work that was inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This story of star-crossed lovers reimagines the original tragedy in 1957 New York City, with the Jets and Sharks as rival gangs.
What is West Side Story?