History of Theatre: Shakespeare Quiz

What was the name of the most famous London public theatre where many of Shakespeare's plays were first performed?

• The Rose

• The Fortune

• The Swan

• The Globe

Who would have played the female characters in Shakespeare's original productions during the Elizabethan era?

• Experienced older actresses.

• Female apprentices.

• Young male apprentices and boys.

• Men in drag with heavy padding.

What term is used for the audience members who stood closest to the stage (the pit) and paid the lowest price for admission?

• Gallery-goers

• Lords

• Groundlings

• Commoners

The rhythm that Shakespeare often wrote his lines in, sounding like a human heartbeat (de-DUM, de-DUM), is called what?

• Free Verse

• Rhyming Couplet

• Iambic Pentameter

• Prose

Which of Shakespeare's plays is considered a comedy?

• Hamlet

• King Lear

• Othello

• Twelfth Night

What was the name of Shakespeare's acting company?

• The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later King's Men)

• The Duke's Company

• The Queen's Men

• The Royal Company

What is the main characteristic of a Shakespearean tragedy?

• A plot focused on mistaken identity.

• The main character suffers a catastrophe and often dies.

• It ends with singing and dancing.

• It ends with a wedding.

What is a soliloquy?

• A fast sword fight on stage.

• A conversation between two characters.

• A long speech spoken by one character alone on stage, revealing their thoughts.

• A type of comic joke.

The top section of the Globe Theatre, where special effects like angels or ghosts could appear, was known as...

• The Pit

• The Gallery

• The Heavens

• The Underworld

Where was William Shakespeare born?

• Stratford-upon-Avon

• Oxford

• London

• Edinburgh