Lesson 4.1.1.3

4.1.1.3 Measure for Measure (Shakespeare) Quiz: AQA English Literature A, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.1.1.3, Measure for Measure (Shakespeare): 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA English Literature A (7712), Unit 1: Love through the ages, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which ruler disguises himself as a friar in Measure for Measure?

    • Escalus, a senior counsellor of Vienna
    • Lucio, a gossiping courtier of Vienna
    • Angelo, the deputy who enforces the law
    • Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna

  2. Who is left in charge of Vienna as the Duke's deputy?

    • Lucio, a gossiping courtier of Vienna
    • Escalus, a senior counsellor of Vienna
    • Claudio, a young man condemned to death
    • Angelo, who enforces the law strictly

  3. What crime is Claudio sentenced to death for?

    • Heresy against the teaching of the Church
    • Murder of a citizen during a street quarrel
    • Theft of property from the Viennese state
    • Fornication with his betrothed, Juliet, who is with child

  4. Who is Claudio's sister, a novice nun who pleads for his life?

    • Isabella, a novice nun of the convent
    • Mariana, Angelo's abandoned former fiancee
    • Francisca, a nun of the convent in Vienna
    • Juliet, Claudio's betrothed and lover

  5. What does Angelo demand from Isabella in exchange for Claudio's life?

    • Her money, paid to the Viennese treasury
    • Her vow of silence before the Duke
    • Her conversion to a different religion
    • Her sexual surrender to him in private

  6. What is the 'bed trick' in Measure for Measure?

    • Mariana takes Isabella's place in Angelo's bed
    • Lucio dresses as a nun to visit the prison
    • The Duke marries Mariana in secret at the friary
    • Isabella hides Claudio in her cell at the convent

  7. Which prisoner refuses to be executed and is therefore spared?

    • Barnardine, a prisoner who will not rise
    • Elbow, a constable of the Viennese watch
    • Pompey, a bawd who works in the stews
    • Abhorson, the executioner of the prison

  8. Whose head is sent to Angelo in place of Claudio's?

    • Angelo's, the deputy who was secretly executed
    • Barnardine's, the prisoner who refused to rise
    • Ragozine's, a pirate who died of fever
    • Lucio's, the gossip who was condemned in court

  9. Measure for Measure is often labelled a 'problem play' because it:

    • mixes comic and tragic elements and leaves moral questions open
    • is set entirely inside a monastery in the hills
    • ends with a battle between two armies in the city
    • has no female characters in its main action

  10. The central irony of Angelo's character is that he:

    • condemns sexual sin while himself seeking to commit it
    • marries Lucio's sister in a public ceremony
    • sentences Isabella to death for her refusal
    • flees Vienna at the end of the play in disgrace

  11. In which city is Measure for Measure set?

    • Messina, a port city on the island of Sicily
    • Bohemia, a kingdom with a rocky coastline
    • Vienna, where the Duke's law is enforced
    • Padua, a university city in northern Italy

  12. How does Isabella respond when Angelo makes his proposal?

    • She runs away from Vienna to a convent in Padua
    • She tells the Duke immediately and remains silent
    • She refuses and threatens to expose him publicly
    • She agrees to save Claudio and then kills Angelo

  13. Which description best fits Lucio?

    • Mariana's husband, who is a respected magistrate
    • A gossiping fantastic who mocks authority and the law
    • The Duke's messenger who carries the secret letters
    • Angelo's servant who carries out his orders

  14. Who is Mariana in relation to Angelo?

    • Lucio's wife, who lives outside the city walls
    • Claudio's sister, who visits him in prison
    • Angelo's former fiancee, abandoned when her dowry was lost
    • The Duke's daughter, who is raised at court

  15. How does the play end regarding the Duke's proposal to Isabella?

    • Isabella's answer is left unrecorded in the text
    • Isabella is married to Lucio instead of the Duke
    • Isabella enters a convent and refuses him publicly
    • Isabella accepts immediately and they marry on stage

  16. Which theme is central to Angelo's downfall?

    • Hypocrisy, since he enforces a law he secretly breaks
    • Greed for money and property in the city
    • Loyalty to the Duke who appointed him deputy
    • Revenge against Claudio for an old personal wrong

  17. Who is Escalus in the play?

    • A Viennese constable who arrests petty criminals
    • A counsellor who assists Angelo in governing the city
    • A friar who advises the Duke on his disguise
    • A prison gaoler who controls the condemned men

  18. Why does the Duke disguise himself as a friar?

    • To observe how Angelo governs and to test justice in Vienna
    • To escape the city after a military defeat abroad
    • To marry Isabella in secret before the wedding
    • To sell property that once belonged to Claudio

  19. The play's title comes from which biblical source?

    • Genesis 1, on the creation of the world and light
    • Matthew 7:2, on being judged by the measure one uses
    • Luke 15, on the parable of the prodigal son
    • Psalm 23, on the shepherd who guides his flock

  20. Which question is most useful when evaluating the play's treatment of mercy?

    • Who made the friar's habit that the Duke wears?
    • Does Lucio speak in verse rather than in prose throughout?
    • Does the Duke's pardoning of characters undermine or affirm the justice of his earlier judgements?
    • Is the city of Vienna geographically accurate on the map?

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