ArtsAges 12+15 questions

Shakespeare Quiz

Witches, star-crossed lovers, a fairy king and a prince who cannot make up his mind: this quiz takes you through William Shakespeare's best-known plays, his most quoted lines and the life of the man from Stratford-upon-Avon. It starts gently and gets trickier, so both newcomers and English literature fans will find something to chew on.

Read the questions and answers here, or host the quiz live: show it on a big screen, let everyone join on their phones with a PIN, and see who knows their Hamlet from their Macbeth.

Join a game

The questions

  1. 1.In which play does the line "To be, or not to be" appear?

    • AMacbeth
    • BHamlet
    • CKing Lear
    • DOthello
    Show the answer

    Hamlet. Prince Hamlet speaks the famous soliloquy in Act 3 of Hamlet as he weighs life against death.

  2. 2.In which English town was Shakespeare born?

    • AStratford-upon-Avon
    • BOxford
    • CCanterbury
    • DBath
    Show the answer

    Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1564, and was buried there in 1616.

  3. 3.In which Italian city is Romeo and Juliet set?

    • ARome
    • BVenice
    • CVerona
    • DFlorence
    Show the answer

    Verona. The feuding Montague and Capulet families live in Verona, where most of the play takes place.

  4. 4.Which play opens with three witches who plan to meet Macbeth?

    • AThe Tempest
    • BJulius Caesar
    • CRichard III
    • DMacbeth
    Show the answer

    Macbeth. Macbeth opens with the three witches, who later predict that Macbeth will become King of Scotland.

  5. 5.What was the name of the London theatre built in 1599 where many of Shakespeare's plays were staged?

    • AThe Globe
    • BThe Old Vic
    • CThe Palladium
    • DThe Lyceum
    Show the answer

    The Globe. Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, built the Globe on the south bank of the Thames in 1599.

  6. 6.Shakespeare died in 1616.

    True or false?

    Show the answer

    True. Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1616, aged 52.

  7. 7.How many lines does a Shakespearean sonnet have?

    • A12
    • B16
    • C14
    • D10
    Show the answer

    14. A Shakespearean sonnet has 14 lines: three quatrains of four lines followed by a rhyming couplet.

  8. 8.In which play does the moneylender Shylock appear?

    • ATwelfth Night
    • BThe Merchant of Venice
    • CAs You Like It
    • DMuch Ado About Nothing
    Show the answer

    The Merchant of Venice. Shylock lends money to Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, demanding a pound of flesh if the loan is not repaid.

  9. 9.Oberon, Titania and Puck are characters in which play?

    • AThe Winter's Tale
    • BThe Taming of the Shrew
    • CRomeo and Juliet
    • DA Midsummer Night's Dream
    Show the answer

    A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oberon and Titania are the king and queen of the fairies, and Puck is Oberon's mischievous servant.

  10. 10.Who speaks the line "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears"?

    • AMark Antony in Julius Caesar
    • BBrutus in Julius Caesar
    • CProspero in The Tempest
    • DHenry in Henry V
    Show the answer

    Mark Antony in Julius Caesar. Mark Antony opens his funeral speech for Caesar with this line and turns the Roman crowd against the conspirators.

  11. 11.The Tempest is set mainly in Scotland.

    True or false?

    Show the answer

    False. The Tempest takes place on a remote island ruled by the magician Prospero. Macbeth is the play set in Scotland.

  12. 12.How many daughters does King Lear have?

    • ATwo
    • BThree
    • CFour
    • DFive
    Show the answer

    Three. Lear divides his kingdom between Goneril and Regan and banishes his youngest daughter, Cordelia.

  13. 13.What was the name of Shakespeare's wife?

    • AMary Arden
    • BElizabeth Hall
    • CAnne Hathaway
    • DSusanna Hall
    Show the answer

    Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582. Mary Arden was his mother and Susanna was his eldest daughter.

  14. 14.Othello is a general serving which city?

    • AVenice
    • BAthens
    • CRome
    • DPadua
    Show the answer

    Venice. The play's full title is Othello, the Moor of Venice; he commands Venetian forces sent to Cyprus.

  15. 15.Shakespeare wrote much of his verse in lines of ten syllables. What is this metre called?

    • AFree verse
    • BTrochaic tetrameter
    • CHaiku
    • DIambic pentameter
    Show the answer

    Iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter has five iambs per line, each an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

Play it live, everyone on their phones

Put the questions on a big screen, share the PIN, and the leaderboard keeps score. Change any question first — it becomes your own quiz.