Quiz: The fool doth think he is wise - how well do you know your Shakespeare?

Stratford is full of Shakespearean nods and images, including this mural by Elyse Lewis, but how well do you know your Shakespeare?

While we actually only know his baptism date, not his birth date, it is accepted Shakespeare was born in April. With the tradition of the time being for babies to be baptised within days of their birth and the recorded date of his baptism being April 26, his birthday is generally accepted as being April 23 - the same day, many years later, that he died.

As April is traditionally the month we celebrate all things Shakespeare, it is a good time to test your knowledge of the bard himself with this little quiz - how many questions can you get right without resorting to Google?

1. He was born in 1564, but in what year did Shakespeare die?

2. Speaking of dying, Romeo thought Juliet was dead (when in fact she wasn’t) because an important letter explaining the ruse didn’t reach him - what stopped Friar John from reaching Romeo with that letter?

3. Ah, Romeo and Juliet - the ill-fated lovers that have starring roles in the daily glockenspiel performances in Stratford, Taranaki. But before Romeo met his Juliet, he was in love with her cousin. What was that cousin’s name?

We know their story, but what were the surnames of these young lovers?

4. Another of Shakespeare’s plays features cousins - In As You Like It, Rosalind and Celia head to a forest seeking safety. What is the forest called?

5. Shakespeare has a bit of a thing about forests and trees. A lot of his plays featured scenes in woods, forests or other tree-lined spaces. In Macbeth, the murderous king is told by the witches he will only be conquered when a particular wood moves. What is the name of that wood?

6. Macbeth - superstition has it that particular play is cursed, so actors often avoid saying its name when in the theatre. What euphemism is commonly used instead?

7. On the subject of actors, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a group of actors are working on a play they plan to perform at the wedding of Duke Theseus. One of the actors, Nick Bottom, becomes the subject of a trick played by Puck, who gives the man an animal’s head. What animal?

A Kerikeri Theatre Company production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2019. Photo / Peter de Graaf

8. Animals feature in a lot of Shakespeare’s plays, but only one of his plays features an animal in the title - what play is it?

9. Still thinking about Shakespeare’s plays and their titles. He featured a few locations in some of his play titles, but only one play contains the name of an English town in its title. What is the name of that play?

10. Shakespeare set his plays across a range of countries, as well as in some fictional locations. Maybe that’s why Viola asks, “What country, friends, is this?”, as she reaches land after her boat capsizes in Twelfth Night. What answer is she given?

11. In this new location, Viola disguises herself as a young man - what name does she use?

12. Viola isn’t the only female character in a Shakespearean play to pretend to be a man. In The Merchant of Venice, an heiress disguises herself as a doctor and her servant Nerissa as a lawyer. What is the name of the heiress?

Venice is the setting for a couple of Shakespeare's plays. The Merchant of Venice was one, what was the other? Photo / Unsplash

13. The Merchant of Venice was one of two plays Shakespeare set in Venice. What other play was set there?

14. It wasn’t Romeo and Juliet- that was set in a different Italian city. Which one?

15. Romeo and Juliet. So much tragedy just because of their surnames. But what were those surnames?

16. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” A famous line about that pesky name issue in Romeo and Juliet - but which of the young lovers actually said the line?

17. Another famous Shakespearean quote: “The course of true love never did run smooth.” In which play does that line appear?

18. Still on quotes (and love), who says “But love is blind, and lovers cannot see” in The Merchant of Venice?

19. Talking of love - who was Shakespeare’s wife?

20. Shakespeare and his wife had three children. What were their names?

Answers:

1. 1616.

2. He was quarantined because of an outbreak of plague and so was prevented from leaving Verona.

3. Rosaline.

4. The forest of Arden.

5. Great Birnam Wood.

6. The Scottish Play.

7. An ass or a donkey.

8. The Taming of the Shrew.

9. The Merry Wives of Windsor.

10. Illyria. The full quote is, “This is Illyria, lady.”

11. Cesario.

12. Portia.

13. Othello.

14. Verona.

15. Romeo was a Montague and Juliet a Capulet.

16. Juliet.

17. A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

18. Jessica, Shylock’s daughter.

19. Anne Hathaway.

20. Susanna, Judith and Hamnet.