Ten Shakespearean Plays Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Mousetrap

Hamlet has self-doubt about avenging his father, as he worries the ghost he saw might actually be a demon trying to deceive him into murdering an innocent man. When a troupe of traveling actors arrives at Elsinore, he hatches a plan, famously declaring: "The play's the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king".

He changes the script of "The Murder of Gonzago" and the title to "The Mousetrap". The play is to mirror the exact way his father, King Hamlet, was murdered by his uncle Claudius. Claudius killed his brother by pouring poison into his brother's ear while his brother was sleeping in the orchard. It is a psychological plot to force Claudius into revealing his guilt over murdering Hamlet's father.

Answer: Macduff who was untimely ripped from his mother's womb via Caesarean section

In Act IV, Scene I, the Apparitions summoned by the Witches give Macbeth a false sense of security by telling him: "Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth." The revelation leads Macbeth to believe no human alive can kill him, which makes him reckless and arrogant.

However, Macduff shatters his confidence by revealing the exact nature of his birth: "Despair thy charm, / And let the angel whom thou still hast served / Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped." Macduff's surgical birth circumvents the traditional definition of being "born of a woman," allowing him to defeat Macbeth.

Answer: Nick Bottom

Nick Bottom and his fellow working-class tradesmen are rehearsing the play "Pyramus and Thisbe", as they want their production to be selected for the royal wedding Duke Thesus and Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons.

During the rehearsal, the overconfident weaver Nick Bottom wants to act every single major role in the play. Puck plays a prank on him by replacing his human head with the head of an ass. Unaware of his new appearance, his friends flee in terror, leaving him confused.

Answer: Desdemona's embroidered handkerchief

Iago is Othello's trusted yet traitorous ancient (ensign) who orchestrates the downfall of both Othello and his newly appointed lieutenant, Cassio, by exploiting Othello's deep-seated insecurities.

Iago puts Desdemona's handkerchief in Cassio's lodging to serve as the critical "ocular proof" of her infidelity. The handkerchief carries immense emotional weight because it was Othello's very first gift to Desdemona, inherited from his mother and decorated with a distinct strawberry pattern. By carrying out this plot, Iago successfully produces false evidence of a tangible link between Cassio and Desdemona, driving Othello into a murderous, jealous rage.

Answer: Why

Juliet's famous line is one of the most common misunderstandings of a Shakespearean play. "Wherefore" means "why", not "where". Juliet is not looking out her window to see where Romeo is hiding. She is asking a much more tragic question: Why do you have to be named Romeo Montague? She is lamenting why he has to be a Montague, her family's sworn enemy.

Answer: Drown his book deeper than ever plummet sounded and break his staff

In Act V, Scene I, Prospero delivers his famous soliloquy, "But this rough magic / I here abjure..."; his decision to snap his staff and drown his book carries immense symbolic weight.

Prospero renounces his magical art serves as the emotional and philosophical climax of the play. He transforms himself from an all-powerful, vengeful puppet master into a common mortal to return to human society.

Answer: Honourable men

During the speech, he repeatedly uses the phrase "honourable men", as the conspirators forbade him from speaking ill of them. He uses this phrase brilliantly as a psychological ploy.

Every time he calls them "honourable men", he immediately follows it with evidence of Caesar's generosity, humility, and love for Rome, such as Caesar refusing the crown three times or weeping for the poor. His relentless repetition of the word "honourable" gradually transforms it from a compliment into a biting insult, successfully turning the Roman crowd into an angry mob against the assassins.

Answer: Jacques

Lord Jacques is known in the Forest of Arden for finding grief and philosophical reflection in every aspect of nature, earning the nickname "Melancholy Jacques".

In Act II, Scene VII, he delivers this speech to present a very fatalistic view of the human experience, providing the cynical and comprehensive monologue outlining human life from infancy to oblivion.

Answer: Exit, pursued by a bear

The notorious stage direction is "Exit, pursued by a bear".

The scene marks the abrupt, dramatic exit of Antigonus, who has just abandoned the infant princess Perdita on the coast of Bohemia. Immediately after this direction, a clown enters and describes the gruesome off-stage event of the bear actively tearing Antigonus to pieces. This moment serves as the exact pivot point where the play shifts from a tragic, jealous drama into a magical, pastoral comedy.

Answer: Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath

Bassanio, the central character, is the primary catalyst for the play's dual ploy: the romantic courtship of Portia and the dangerous financial bond between Antonio and Shylock. He is portrayed as a charming, aristocratic Venetian gentleman who is deeply loved by his friends, though he is initially reckless with his finances.

Bassanio wins the hand of Portia by correctly passing the "casket test" established in her late father's will, choosing the humble lead casket over the gold and silver options. The inscription found on the correct lead casket is: "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath." The inscription on the gold casket read "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire", and that on the silver casket was "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves".