Unused Words
This archaic term, used frequently by 19th-century writers, means 'indeed' or 'truly,' often used for emphasis in dramatic dialogue."
A) Forsooth
B) Verily
C) Thine
D) Truly
What is forsooth?
An interjection used to express disgust or outrage.
A) Rat
B) Fie
C) Nay
D) Heigh
What is fie?
Official name for the language/dialect in the Elizabethan era used by all classses.
A) Old English
B) Middle English
C) West Kentish English
D) Early Modern English
What is Early Modern English?
What is implied when a language is phonetic.
A) Words are pronounced exactly how they are spelt, without variation
B) Words are pronounced similar to how they are spelled, with little variation
C) Words are pronounced irrelevant to how they are spelled
D) Words are commonly mispronounced
What is B?
(Words are pronounced similar to how they are spelled, with little variation.)
The most common title for kings and queens in the Elizabethan era.
A) "Your Highness"
B) "Your Duchess"
C) "Your Majesty"
D) "My Lord"
What is "Your Majesty?"
Meaning 'perhaps' or 'by chance,' this word was often used in literary works of the 1800s to express uncertainty."
A) Peradventure
B) Haply
C) Mayhap
D) Possibly
What is peradventure?
The equivalent of “what the hell” in Shakespearean language.
A) By all heavens
B) What the vengeance
C) Turn the devils
D) What the hark
What is “what the vengeance?”
The social classes that Shakespeare's plays were mostly catered for.
A) Monarchy and nobility
B) Peasantry and gentry
C) Monarchy and gentry
D) Poor and nobility
What is the monarchy and the nobility?
What modern accents are most believed to be similar to how Elizabethan English was spoken?
A) Scottish accents, Welsh accents, and “Queen's” English
B) Modern American English, Irish accents, and Western country accents
C) Australian and Canadian accents
D) South African accents
What is B?
(Modern American English, Irish accents, and Western country accents.)
The most common title for princesses and princes in the Elizabethan era.
A) "Your Highness"
B) "Your Duchess"
D) "Your Majesty"
C) "My Lord"
What is "Your Highness?"
This word, meaning 'powerful' or 'mighty,' was commonly used in Victorian texts to describe rulers or warriors."
A) Stalwart
B) Puissant
C) Formidable
D) Potent
What is puissant?
A word that, while it used to mean a boy or servant in the past, became an insult for a rogue, dishonest man or scoundrel.
A) Candle
B) Mongrel
C) Carp
D) Knave
What is a knave?
The lowest class which used the simplest, least formal dialect when speaking to each other.
A) The gentry
B) The peasantry
C) The yeomanry
D) The vagabonds
What is the peasantry?
(or the poor)
What was the Great Vowel Shift?
A) A change is vowels pronounced in English.
B) A change in the way consonants are pronounced in English.
C) A shift from speaking English to another language.
D) A shift to using more silent letters in words.
What is A?
(A change is vowels pronounced in English.)
The most common boy name in the Elizabethan era.
What is Henry, Thomas, Edward, John, William, or Robert?
Once spoken in castles and battlefields alike, this word signified both a discussion and the gathering where it took place, often in the hopes of settling disputes.
A) Moot
B) Parle
C) Treaty
D) Entente
What is parle?
One of Shakespeare’s more popular insults that describes an innocent, defenseless child.
A) Cub
B) Knapsack
C) Egg
D) Leotard
What is “egg?”
The second-highest class after the monarchy which talked with distinct grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
A) The monarchy
B) The gentry
C) The aristocracy
D) The nobility
What is the nobility?
What is a Rhotic accent?
A) An accent where “r” sounds are clearly pronounced.
B) An accent where the “r” sound is silent.
C) An accent where “r” sounds are only pronounced in the middle of a word.
D) An accent where the “r” sound is pronounced at random.
What is A?
The most common girl name in the Elizabethan era.
What is Elizabeth, Anne, Agnes, Jane, Margaret, or Katherine?
This word means "stop" to leave alone.
A) Parry
B) Cesso
C) Forebear
D) Subsist
What is forebear?
A word that means to invoke a curse on someone.
A) Beshrew
B) Sprite
C) Nix
D) Abhor
What is “beshrew?"
A secret, coded language used by criminals, thieves, and beggars to avoid being understood by the public and the law.
A) Polari code
B) Beggar shant
C) Thieves' cant
D) Sea slang
What is a thieves’ cant?
Which of the following words would most likely have a vowel sound that is not similar to Modern English?
A) Stone
B) Food
C) Time
D) House
What is D?
A title given to Shakespeare.
A) The Poet of Play
B) The Dramatist of England
C) The Bard of Avon
D) The Father of Theatre
Who is the Bard of Avon?