William Shakespeare Life and Works Questions and Answers
Here, we have discussed William Shakespeare Life and Works Questions and Answers. These questions will help students. Students use this for their practice test.
1 . William Shakespeare was the third child of:
(a) Joseph Shakespeare and Mary John
(b) William Shakespeare and Mary Arden
(c) John Shakespeare and Mary Arden
(d) Jack Shakespeare and Mary William
Ans. – (c) – John Shakespeare and Mary Arden
Explanation: John Shakespeare and Mary Arden were the parents of William Shakespeare
2. At what age did Shakespeare get married to Anne Hathaway?
(a) 14
(c) 28
(b) 24
(d) 18
Ans. – (d) – 18
Explanation: Shakespeare got married at the age of 18 to Anne Hathaway.
3. The First Folio of Shakespeare’s works had a poem as preface by:
(a) Shakespeare
(b) John Heminges
(c) Ben Jonson
(d) Henry Condell
Ans. – (c) – Ben Jonson
Explanation: The First Folio was came in 1623. The First Folio had a poem as preface by Ben Jonson
4. The total number of poems in Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnets’ are :
(a) 123
(b) 142
(c) 104
(d) 154
Ans. – (d) – 154
Explanation: Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets. The theme of these sonnets covers passage of time, love, beauty and morality.
5. Which drama of Shakespeare was not included in the first folio of 1623 by Heminges and Condell?
(a) Pericles
(c) Cymbeline
(b) Titus Andronicus
(d) Winter’s tale
Ans. – (a) – Pericles
Explanation: The first printed collection of Shakespeare’s plays is called the first folio which came in 1623. It was prepared by Shakespeare’s colleagues John Heminges and Henry Condell.
6. This is considered to be the first play of Shakespeare by general consent:
(a) Romeo and Juliet
(b) Henry VI, Part I
(c) Two Gentlemen of Verona
(d) Love’s Labour Lost
Ans. – (b) – Henry VI, Part I
Explanation: William Shakespeare wrote this in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe in 1591.
7. Which of the last sonnet written by William Shakespeare?
(a) Those lines that I before have writ do lie
(b) Love is too young to know what conscience is
(c) Two loves I have of comfort and despair
(d) The little Love-god lying once asleep
Ans. – (d) – The little Love-god lying once asleep
Explanation: Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets. The theme of these sonnets covers passage of time, love, beauty and morality.
8. In which play does Shakespeare introduce us to the world of Fairies, with the roguish imp of folklore, Puck?
(a) The Tempest
(b) As you like it
(c) Twelfth Night
(d) A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Ans. – (d) – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Explanation: Shakespeare introduce us to the world of Fairies and Puck in his ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (1595).
9. Which of the following is not written by Shakespeare?
(a) Titus Andronicus
(b) Pericles
(c) Love’s Triumph Through Callipolis
(d) A Lover’s Complaint
Ans. – (c) – Love’s Triumph Through Callipolis
Explanation: Love’s Triumph Through Callipolis was written by Ben Jonson.
10. Stratford-on-Avon is the place where Shakespeare was born. Where is it located?
(a) London
(b) Warwickshire
(c) Sussex
(d) Edinburgh
Ans. – (b) – Warwickshire
Explanation: Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon, a charming little village in beautiful Warwickshire on April 23, 1564, and baptized on April 26.
11. In which Shakespearean play, “Oedipus Complex” is reflected?
(a) Othello
(b) King Lear
(c) Macbeth
(d) Hamlet
Ans. – (c) – Hamlet
Explanation: The Oedipus complex is a term used by Sigmond Freud in his theory of psychosexual stages of development to describe a boy’s feeling of desire for his mother and jealously and anger towards his father.
12. Which of the following books marks the beginning of Shakespeare’s success?
(a) Love’s Labour Lost
(b) The Merchant of Venice
(c) Venus and Adonis
(d) Sonnets
Ans. – (c) – Venus and Adonis
Explanation: Shakespeare’s success is attributed to his ‘Venus and Adonis’ (1593) .
13. Which one of the following theatre companies was owned by Shakespeare where his masterpieces were first performed?
(a) Wooden
(b) Globe
(c) Rose
(d) Curtain
Ans. – (b) – Globe
Explanation: Shakespeare wrote his plays on behalf of Lord Chamberlain’s Company of actors. He owned Globe Theatre.
14. Shakespeare’s Antony and cleopatra is a
(a) Comedy
(b) Roman Play
(c) Farce
(d) Melodrama
Ans. – (b) – Roman Play
Explanation: Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ is a Roman Play, it is also known as tragedy of Passion/Lust.
15. Which of the following plays of Shakespeare does not belong to the last phase of his career?
(a) Much Ado About Nothing
(b) The Tempest
(c) Cymbeline
(d) The Winter’s Tale
Ans. – (a) – Much Ado About Nothing
Explanation: This comedy was written by Shakespeare in (1598-1599) in the second phase of his life.
16. The First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays appeared in :
(a) 1664
(b) 1623
(c) 1631
(d) 1650
Ans. – (c) – 1623
Explanation: The first folio of Shakespeare’s plays came in 1623 .
17. Shakespeare’s sonnets are in the following form:
(a) Three quatrains and a couplet
(b) An octave and sestet
(c) Two six-line stanzas and a couplet
(d) None of these
Ans. – (a) – Three quatrains and a couplet
Explanation: The sonnets are almost all constructed from three quatrains, which are four line stanzas and a final couplet, composed in iambic pentameter.
18. William Shakespeare belonged to the
(a) Restoration age
(b) Victorian age
(c) Elizabethan age (d) Romantic age
Ans. – (c) – Elizabethan Age
Explanation: William Shakespeare belonged to the Elizabethan age (1550-1620).
19. One of the best dramas ever written by William Shakespeare, known as the darkest of the dark comedy is
(a) Measure for Measure
(b) As you Like it
(c) The Merchant of Venice
(d) Twelfth Night
Ans. – (a) – Measure for Measure
Explanation: ‘Measure for Measure’ is known as a dark comedy by William Shakespeare setting of the play is in-Venice.
20. Which of the following Shakespearean plays is in three parts?
(a) Henry IV
(b) Richard III
(c) Richard II
(d) Henry VI
Ans. – (d) – Henry VI
Explanation: Henry VI, Part I, II, III.
21. In 1601, a collection of Shakespeare’s sonnet was printed by
(a) Dark Lady of the Sonnets
(b) Mr. W.H.
(c) Thomas Thorpe
(d) George Peele
Ans. – (c) – Thomas Thorpe
Explanation: Thomas Thorpe printed a collection of Shakespeare’s sonnet in 1609.
22. How many Sonnets are addressed to ‘W.H.’ by Shakespeare?
(b) 124
(a) 125
(c) 122
(d) 126
Ans. – (d) – 126
Explanation: Shakespeare wrote total 154 sonnets from which 126 are addressed to Mr. W.H.
23. Which work has been called by Shakespeare as, ‘the first heir of my invention’?
(a) Hero and Leander
(b) The Rape of Lucrece
(c) Venus and Adonis
(d) The Comedy of Errors
Ans. – (c) – Venus and Adonis
Explanation: ‘Venus and Adonis’ is a long narrative poem of William Shakespeare published in 1593. The poem begins with a brief dedication to Shakespeare’s Patron, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton in which the poet describes the poem as “the first heir of my invention”.
24. William Shakespeare died on
(a) April 20, 1616
(b) April 28, 1616
(c) April 23, 1616
(d) April 25, 1616
Ans. – (c) – April 23, 1616
Explanation: Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616.
25. What was the name of the house of Shakespeare in Stratford?
(a) New Place
(b) Stratford House
(c) Grand Palace
(d) High Place
Ans. – (a) – New Place
Explanation: New Place.
26. The language used by Shakespeare in his dramas for the most part is :
(a) blank verse
(b) poetic prose
(c) narrative prose
(d) dramatic verse
Ans. – (b) – Poetic Verse
Explanation: The plays Shakespeare are completely in prose or completely in verse but is a mingling of both and major part of his plays are in blank verse.
27. Which of the following is not a title to a play written by William Shakespeare?
(a) Henry VI
(b) Henry VIII
(c) Henry IV
(d) Henry VII
Ans. – (d) – Henry VII
Explanation: Henry VII was not written by Shakespeare.
28. In which play of Shakespeare is there a tribute to Marlowe as the ‘dead shepherd’ ?
(a) Twelfth Night
(b) Measure for Measure
(c) As You Like It
(d) The Tempest
Ans. – (c) – As You Like It
Explanation: Right Option is C
29. The rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet is:
(a) abab, cdcd, efef, gg (b) abba, cddc, effe, gg
(c) abab, cdcd, efef, gh (d) aabb, ccdd, eeff, gg
Ans. – (a) – abab, cdcd, efef, gg
Explanation: Shakespearean sonnets forms in three quatrains and a couplet. The rhyming scheme of these sonnets are abab, cdcd, efef, gg
30. The Globe Theatre was opened in:
(a) 1585
(b) 1593
(c) 1599
(d) 1603
Ans. – (c) – 1599
Explanation: The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s playing company.
31. In Shakespeare’s tragedies, the dominant note is:
(a) Destiny is character
(b) Regional is superior
(c) Character is destiny
(d) Character has no role
Ans. – (c) – Character is Destiny
Explanation: Right anser is c
32. Shakespeare dedicated his youthful poems, Venus and Adonis and Lucrece to:
(a) The Earl of Southey
(b) The Earl of Southampton
(c) The Earl of Surrey
(d) The Earl of Saxony
Ans. – (b) – The Earl of Southampton
Explanation: Shakespeare dedicated his poems – ‘Venus and Adonis’ and ‘Lucrece’ along with his first 126 sonnets to Earl of Southampton.
33. In Shakespeare’s time who owned the rights to a theatrical script?
(a) the playwright (s)
(b) the patron of the acting company
(c) the printer
(d) the acting company
Ans. – (d) – the acting company
Explanation: In Shakespeare’s time the acting company owned the rights to a theatrical script.
34. Shakespeare’s long narrative poem is :
(a) Venus and Adonis (b) Hero and Leander
(c) Romeo and Julit
(d) Cymbeline
Ans. – (a) – Venus and Adonis
Explanation: Venus and Adonis was written by William Shakespeare in 1593. It is long narrative poem.
35. Shakespeare addresses the themes of ………in his sonnets.
(a) harmony, wealth, love and conflict
(b) honesty, wealth, time and beauty
(c) peace, time, beauty and wealth
(d) love, beauty, time and loyalty
Ans. – (d) – love, beauty, time and loyalty
Explanation: Right option is d
36. Shakespeare wrote –
(a) romantic comedies
(b) comedies of humours
(c) comedies of manners
(d) sentimental comedies
Ans. – (a) – romantic comedies
Explanation: Shakespeare wrote Romantic Comedies. Ben Jonson wrote comedy of humours. The comedy of manners is by Congreve. The sentimental comedy by Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Sheridan.
37. Which of the following is a Pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare?
(a) Hamlet
(b) Tempest
(c) As You Like It
(d) King Lear
Ans. – (c) – As You Like It
Explanation: As You Like It’ is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare.
38. Identify the poem Shakespeare wrote based on a story Ovid tells in his Metamorphoses:
(a) Venus and Adonis
(b) Hero and Leander
(c) Astrophil and Stella
(d) The Passionate Pilgrim
Ans. – (a) – Venus and Adonis
Explanation: Venus and Adonis by Shakespeare is based on the stories found in the Metamorphoses, a narrative poem by the Latin poet, Ovid.
39. Which play of Shakespeare is said to be unfinished?
(a) Henry VIII, and possibly the lost Cardenio
(b) Hamlet
(c) King Lear
(d) Henry Fourth Part Second
Ans. – (a) – Henry VIII
Explanation: Right answer is a
40. Who published the first Life of Shakespeare in 1709?
(a) Nicholas Rowe
(b) Dowden
(c) Condell
(d) Heming
Ans. – (a) – Nicholas Rowe
Explanation: Right answer is a
