Chronicles of the Globe Theatre Quiz

100 questions · by Qwiz Rush

Chronicles of the Globe Theatre Quiz is a free 100-question multiple choice, letters and numbers quiz on Qwiz Rush, made by Qwiz Rush, split into 10 rounds. Test your knowledge on the tragedies, comedies, histories, and timeless characters of the world's greatest playwright.

Host it live for friends, family, a class or a quiz night: everyone joins with a game code on their own device, no app needed. Or play it solo with Free Play and see how many you get right.

Every question runs on a 10-second countdown and the fastest correct answers score the most. All the questions and their choices are listed below so you can see what the quiz covers; the answers are revealed in the game. Want to change something? Make your own copy and edit it in your library.

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The 100 questions

In Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, what does he compare death to?
- Sleep
- A voyage
- A shadow
- A stage
In Macbeth's "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy, life is described as a "walking shadow" and a poor actor that struts and frets his hour upon what?
- The stage
- The earth
- The gallows
- The scaffold
During her famous balcony monologue, what does Juliet ask Romeo to deny?
- His father and refuse his name
- His love for her
- His family's wealth
- His banishment
In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony begins his famous funeral monologue by addressing the crowd as "Friends, Romans,..." what?
- Countrymen
- Brothers
- Citizens
- Soldiers
Which season of discontent does Richard III refer to in the opening line of his famous soliloquy?
- Winter
- Summer
- Autumn
- Spring
In Henry V's St. Crispin's Day speech, what term does the King use to refer to his band of soldiers?
- Band of brothers
- League of gentlemen
- Army of saints
- Circle of friends
According to Jaques' famous monologue in As You Like It, how many ages does a man play in his lifetime?

Answer with a number.
In which act of Hamlet does the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy occur?

Answer with a number.
Identify the heroine in The Merchant of Venice who delivers the famous "quality of mercy" monologue while disguised as a young lawyer.

Answer with a letter.
Name the Scottish nobleman's wife who desperately tries to wash imaginary blood from her hands during her famous sleepwalking monologue.

Answer with a letter.
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, how does Ophelia meet her tragic end?
- She drinks poisoned wine
- She drowns in a brook
- She is stabbed in the garden
- She hangs herself from a willow tree
Who accidentally drinks the poisoned cup intended for Hamlet in the final scene of the play?
- Gertrude
- Horatio
- Laertes
- Ophelia
Which character slays Macbeth, fulfilling the prophecy that he could not be killed by any man born of a woman?
- Malcolm
- Banquo
- Macduff
- Fleance
How does Desdemona die at the hands of Othello in the play's climax?
- She is stabbed with a dagger
- She is poisoned with a draft
- She is smothered with a pillow
- She is thrown from the castle walls
Which of King Lear's daughters is tragically hanged in prison at the end of the play?
- Goneril
- Regan
- Cordelia
- None of them
What venomous creature does Cleopatra reputedly use to commit suicide in Antony and Cleopatra?
- An asp
- A scorpion
- A black widow
- A viper
In what year did the original Globe Theatre burn to the ground during a performance of Henry VIII when a theatrical cannon misfired?

Answer with a number.
In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, how many times does the character Octavius state that Caesar was stabbed?

Answer with a number.
Name the hot-headed friend of Romeo who utters the famous curse, "A plague o' both your houses!" as he dies from a wound inflicted by Tybalt.

Answer with a letter.
Name the Roman general who, in one of Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedies, suffers the loss of most of his sons and has his hand chopped off before executing his final revenge on Tamora.

Answer with a letter.
Viola disguises herself as a young man named Cesario in which Shakespearean comedy?
- Twelfth Night
- As You Like It
- The Merchant of Venice
- The Comedy of Errors
How many total pairs of identical twins are separated at birth in 'The Comedy of Errors', leading to the play's chaotic mistaken identities?

Answer with a number.
In 'As You Like It', Rosalind flees to the Forest of Arden disguised as a young man. What name does she adopt?
- Ganymede
- Aliena
- Cesario
- Sebastian
Which character in 'Twelfth Night' is tricked into wearing yellow stockings and cross-gartered ribbons due to a forged love letter?
- Malvolio
- Sir Andrew Aguecheek
- Orsino
- Feste
Name the wealthy heiress of Belmont who disguises herself as a young male lawyer named Balthazar to save Antonio's life in 'The Merchant of Venice'.

Answer with a letter.
In 'Much Ado About Nothing', who is tricked into believing Hero has been unfaithful through a window deception involving her maid dressed in her clothes?
- Claudio
- Benedick
- Don Pedro
- Leonato
In what year was the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, which first published comedies of mistaken identity like 'Twelfth Night' and 'The Tempest', compiled and published?

Answer with a number.
In 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona', which female character disguises herself as a page boy named Sebastian to follow her lover, Proteus?
- Julia
- Silvia
- Lucetta
- Helena
Name the mischievous fairy who mistakenly applies a love potion to Lysander's eyes instead of Demetrius's in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.

Answer with a letter.
In 'The Taming of the Shrew', which suitor of Bianca disguises himself as a music tutor named Licio to gain access to her?
- Hortensio
- Lucentio
- Gremio
- Tranio
In Richard II, who is the exiled nobleman who returns to claim his ancestral lands and ultimately deposes the king to become Henry IV?
- Henry Bolingbroke
- Thomas Mowbray
- Edward of Norwich
- John of Gaunt
Which English queen, famously referred to as the "She-Wolf of France" in Shakespeare's Henry VI plays, is the fierce matriarch defending the Lancastrian bloodline?
- Margaret of Anjou
- Eleanor of Aquitaine
- Katherine of Valois
- Anne Neville
In Henry IV, Part 1, who is the fiery rebel leader of the Percy family who challenges the legitimacy of Henry IV's royal bloodline?
- Hotspur
- Owen Glendower
- Edmund Mortimer
- Richard Scroop
Which royal house is represented by the White Rose in Shakespeare's dramatic depiction of the Wars of the Roses?
- House of York
- House of Lancaster
- House of Tudor
- House of Stuart
In Richard III, which young prince is the rightful heir to the throne who is imprisoned and murdered in the Tower of London alongside his younger brother?
- Edward V
- Richard of Shrewsbury
- Arthur of Brittany
- Edward of Westminster
Who is the French princess that Henry V woos and marries at the end of Henry V to unite the royal bloodlines of England and France?
- Catherine of Valois
- Isabella of Valois
- Joan of Arc
- Margaret of Valois
In what year did the historical Battle of Agincourt take place, which serves as the legendary military climax of Shakespeare's Henry V?

Answer with a number.
How many Shakespearean history plays make up the double tetralogy spanning the historical timeline from Richard II to Richard III?

Answer with a number.
Name the royal house of Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI, symbolized by the Red Rose during the civil wars depicted by Shakespeare.

Answer with a letter.
What is the surname of the royal dynasty that ruled England from Henry II until the death of Richard III, encompassing all the major monarchs of Shakespeare's history cycle?

Answer with a letter.
In "The Tempest", what is the name of the monstrous, deformed slave who is subjugated by Prospero's magic?
- Caliban
- Ariel
- Trinculo
- Stephano
In "A Midsummer Night's Dream", what is the name of the magical flower whose juice Oberon uses as a love potion?
- Love-in-idleness
- Dian's bud
- Mandrake
- Wolfsbane
Whose ghost appears at the royal banquet in "Macbeth", sitting in Macbeth's designated seat and terrifying him?
- Banquo
- King Duncan
- Macduff
- King Hamlet
Which mythological goddess of witchcraft appears in "Macbeth" to reprimand the three weird sisters for dealing with Macbeth without her?
- Hecate
- Diana
- Ceres
- Sycorax
In "The Winter's Tale", which character seemingly comes to life from a stone statue in the play's final, miraculous scene?
- Hermione
- Perdita
- Paulina
- Emilia
What is the third apparition conjured by the witches to deliver a prophecy to Macbeth in Act 4?
- A crowned child holding a tree
- An armed head
- A bloody child
- A line of eight kings
How many weird sisters or witches initiate the supernatural plot of "Macbeth" on the foggy heath?

Answer with a number.
In what year did the original Globe Theatre burn down during a performance of "Henry VIII" due to a theatrical cannon mishap?

Answer with a number.
Name the shape-shifting air spirit bound to service by Prospero who executes his magical commands in "The Tempest".

Answer with a letter.
Name the mischievous fairy court jester, also known as Robin Goodfellow, who administers the love potion in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Answer with a letter.
In which Danish castle is the tragedy of Hamlet primarily set?
- Elsinore
- Dunsinane
- Kronborg
- Rousillon
In which Italian city does the majority of the action in Romeo and Juliet take place?
- Venice
- Verona
- Florence
- Padua
To which idealized forest do the exiled characters flee in the pastoral comedy As You Like It?
- Forest of Arden
- Birnam Wood
- Sherwood Forest
- Windsor Forest
While the exact location of Prospero's island in The Tempest is fantastical, it is widely believed to have been inspired by contemporary accounts of a shipwreck in which Atlantic archipelago?
- Bermuda
- The Azores
- The Canary Islands
- The Bahamas
While the first act of Othello is set in Venice, the remainder of the play's tragic events unfold on which military outpost island in the Mediterranean?
- Cyprus
- Sicily
- Crete
- Malta
In Macbeth, what is the name of the forest that famously appears to move toward Dunsinane Hill, fulfilling a prophecy of the witches?
- Birnam Wood
- Arden Forest
- Sherwood Forest
- Epping Forest
In what year did the original Globe Theatre burn to the ground during a performance of Henry VIII after a theatrical cannon misfired and ignited the thatched roof?

Answer with a number.
How many plays make up Shakespeare's famous 'Roman plays' grouping, which are historically set in ancient Rome (specifically Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and Titus Andronicus)?

Answer with a number.
Which northern Italian city, famous for its canals and lagoons, serves as the primary setting for a Shakespearean comedy about a wealthy heiress named Portia and a bitter moneylender named Shylock?

Answer with a letter.
Which ancient capital city serves as the primary setting for the political assassination of Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's tragedy?

Answer with a letter.
Which of Shakespeare's fools famously accompanies a tragic king into a raging storm on the heath, offering wise insights masked as riddles?
- Feste
- Touchstone
- The Fool
- Trinculo
Which character provides bawdy comic relief in the early acts of *Romeo and Juliet*, famously delivering a long, imaginative speech about Queen Mab?
- Mercutio
- Benvolio
- Tybalt
- Paris
In 1600, the famous Globe comic actor Will Kempe performed a legendary publicity stunt where he danced a morris dance all the way from London to which English city?
- Bristol
- Norwich
- York
- Canterbury
What is the name of Olivia's witty, licensed fool in *Twelfth Night* who sings the play's closing song, 'The Wind and the Rain'?
- Feste
- Touchstone
- Costard
- Dogberry
Which cynical court fool accompanies Rosalind and Celia into exile in the Forest of Arden in *As You Like It*?
- Touchstone
- Trinculo
- Grumio
- Launce
In *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, which comic weaver is transformed by Puck to have the head of a donkey, becoming the temporary love interest of the fairy queen?
- Nick Bottom
- Peter Quince
- Francis Flute
- Tom Snout
In what calendar year did the legendary Globe clown Will Kempe perform his famous 'Nine Days Wonder' morris dance?

Answer with a number.
In Act 5, Scene 1 of *Hamlet*, how many gravediggers physically engage in the famous comic dialogue about Christian burial before Hamlet and Horatio enter?

Answer with a number.
Identify the Shakespearean comedy featuring the bumbling, malapropism-prone constable Dogberry, who famously demands to be written down as an ass.

Answer with a letter.
Name the cowardly, red-nosed follower of Sir John Falstaff who is known for his fiery face and appears in *Henry IV* and *Henry V*.

Answer with a letter.
Which character speaks the very first line of 'Hamlet' ('Who's there?')?
- Barnardo
- Francisco
- Horatio
- Marcellus
What is the final couplet spoken by Puck to close 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
- Give me your hands, if we be friends, / And Robin shall restore amends.
- So, good night to all of you. / Act five is done, and so are we.
- Now until the break of day, / Through this house each fairy stray.
- Gentles, do not reprehend; / If you pardon, we will mend.
In what calendar year did the original Globe Theatre burn down during a performance of 'Henry VIII', a play famous for its spoken Prologue and Epilogue?

Answer with a number.
Which English king, while still holding the title of Duke of Gloucester, delivers the famous opening monologue beginning 'Now is the winter of our discontent'?

Answer with a letter.
Which Shakespearean comedy famously begins with the line, 'If music be the food of love, play on'?
- Twelfth Night
- As You Like It
- The Tempest
- Much Ado About Nothing
In the First Folio version of 'King Lear', which character is given the final speech of the play, ending with 'The weight of this sad time we must obey...'?
- Edgar
- Albany
- Kent
- Lear
How many lines long is the famous Prologue sonnet that opens 'Romeo and Juliet'?

Answer with a number.
Name the protagonist magician who delivers the famous epilogue of 'The Tempest', asking the audience to release him from his island with their applause.

Answer with a letter.
Which tragedy concludes with the couplet: 'For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo'?
- Romeo and Juliet
- Antony and Cleopatra
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Troilus and Cressida
Which Roman play opens with the hostile line: 'Hence! home, you idle creatures get you home'?
- Julius Caesar
- Coriolanus
- Antony and Cleopatra
- Titus Andronicus
Who is Romeo's unrequited love at the very beginning of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', before he meets Juliet?
- Rosaline
- Beatrice
- Hero
- Olivia
In 'Romeo and Juliet', who kills Romeo's close friend Mercutio during a street duel in Verona?
- Tybalt
- Paris
- Benvolio
- Lord Capulet
Which Shakespearean comedy features the tragic love story of Pyramus and Thisbe performed as a comical play-within-a-play?
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- The Tempest
- Twelfth Night
- Much Ado About Nothing
Who is the ruling authority of Verona who banishes Romeo from the city following the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt?
- Prince Escalus
- Duke Senior
- Prince Hal
- Duke Solinus
In the tragic romance 'Antony and Cleopatra', what type of venomous serpent does Cleopatra use to end her own life?
- Asp
- Cobra
- Viper
- Adder
Which Franciscan friar performs the secret marriage of Romeo and Juliet and later devises the sleeping potion plan?
- Friar Laurence
- Friar John
- Friar Francis
- Friar Thomas
In what calendar year was the first known quarto edition of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' published?

Answer with a number.
For exactly how many hours is Friar Laurence's sleeping potion designed to make Juliet appear dead?

Answer with a number.
Identify the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's Venetian tragedy who is falsely accused of infidelity and smothered by her husband.

Answer with a letter.
Identify the surname of Juliet's noble family, who are locked in a deadly, ancient feud with the Montagues.

Answer with a letter.
In Shakespeare's *Othello*, what is the name of the manipulative ensign who orchestrates the downfall of the Moorish general?
- Cassio
- Iago
- Roderigo
- Brabantio
Which Machiavellian villain famously begins his soliloquy with 'Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York'?
- Macbeth
- Claudius
- Richard III
- Edmund
In *King Lear*, which illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester plots against his legitimate brother Edgar to claim his father's title and land?
- Edmund
- Oswald
- Cornwall
- Albany
Which Roman general is betrayed and assassinated by a group of conspirators, including his close friend Brutus, in a tragedy first performed at the original Globe in 1599?
- Mark Antony
- Coriolanus
- Titus Andronicus
- Julius Caesar
In *The Merchant of Venice*, what specific amount of flesh does the moneylender Shylock demand from Antonio as collateral for the unpaid loan?
- One pound
- One ounce
- Two pounds
- Half a pound
Who is the ambitious Scottish noblewoman who famously urges her husband to 'screw your courage to the sticking-place' and assassinate King Duncan?
- Lady Macduff
- Queen Gertrude
- Lady Macbeth
- Queen Margaret
In *Julius Caesar*, how many times was Caesar offered the crown by Mark Antony at the Lupercal festival, which he refused each time?

Answer with a number.
In *Macbeth*, how many murderers does Macbeth originally hire and speak to in Act 3, Scene 1 to assassinate Banquo and Fleance, before an additional one joins them at the scene?

Answer with a number.
Identify the King of Denmark who murders his own brother by pouring poison into his ear while he sleeps in the orchard.

Answer with a letter.
Identify the vengeful Queen of the Goths who becomes Empress of Rome and orchestrates the horrific suffering of Titus Andronicus and his family.

Answer with a letter.

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The 100 questions

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