William Shakespeare History Quiz

Open after playing to review every question, the correct answers, and the historical explanations.

1. In which English town was William Shakespeare born and raised?

   Stratford-upon-Avon

   William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in April 1564 (baptized on April 26). He grew up there, married Anne Hathaway in the area, and returned to Stratford later in life as a wealthy man. His birthplace on Henley Street is now one of England's most visited literary landmarks.

   Fun Fact: Shakespeare's exact date of birth is unknown. The traditional date of April 23 is partly chosen because it is also the date of his death in 1616, creating a pleasing symmetry.

2. What was the name of Shakespeare's famous London theater, built in 1599?

   The Globe

   The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men), on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark. It could hold approximately 3,000 spectators. The Globe became the primary venue for Shakespeare's greatest plays, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.

   Fun Fact: The Globe was constructed using timber from an older theater called The Theatre, which the company dismantled and transported across the Thames after a lease dispute with their landlord.

3. What happened to the original Globe Theatre in 1613?

   It was destroyed by a fire started by a stage cannon during a performance of Henry VIII

   On June 29, 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII (also called All Is True), a theatrical cannon fired to mark a character's entrance set the thatched roof ablaze. The entire building burned to the ground in less than two hours. Remarkably, no one was killed, though according to one account, a man's breeches caught fire and had to be extinguished with a bottle of ale. The Globe was rebuilt the following year with a tiled roof.

4. How many plays is Shakespeare generally credited with writing?

   About 37

   Shakespeare is generally credited with writing 37 plays (some scholars count 36 or 39, depending on questions of authorship and collaboration). These are traditionally divided into comedies, tragedies, and histories. His works range from early comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream to late romances like The Tempest, and include some of the most performed plays in the world.

5. Which of these is NOT one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies?

   Romeo and Juliet

   Shakespeare's four great tragedies are traditionally considered to be Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all written between approximately 1600 and 1606. While Romeo and Juliet is certainly a tragedy, it was written earlier (around 1595) and is not grouped with these four. The great tragedies are distinguished by their profound exploration of human nature, ambition, jealousy, and madness.

6. How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?

   154

   Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, which were published as a collection in 1609, possibly without his authorization. The sonnets are divided into two main sequences: sonnets 1-126, addressed to a young man (the 'Fair Youth'), and sonnets 127-152, addressed to a woman (the 'Dark Lady'). The identity of both figures has been debated by scholars for centuries. Sonnets 153 and 154 stand apart as adaptations of a classical Greek poem.

   Fun Fact: Sonnet 18, which begins 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?', is one of the most quoted poems in the English language.

7. What was the name of Shakespeare's wife?

   Anne Hathaway

   Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in November 1582, when he was 18 and she was 26. They had three children: Susanna (born 1583) and twins Hamnet and Judith (born 1585). Shakespeare spent most of his career in London while Anne remained in Stratford. Relatively little is known about their marriage, which has fueled centuries of speculation.

   Fun Fact: In his will, Shakespeare famously left Anne his 'second best bed' — a bequest that has generated enormous scholarly debate about whether it was an insult or simply a practical arrangement.

8. Which playing company did Shakespeare belong to for most of his career?

   The Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men)

   Shakespeare was a member, shareholder, and chief playwright of the Lord Chamberlain's Men from around 1594 onward. When King James I came to the throne in 1603, the company received royal patronage and was renamed the King's Men — the most prestigious acting company in England. Shakespeare's dual role as both playwright and company shareholder made him unusually wealthy for a theater professional of his era.

9. Which of these common English phrases was coined or popularized by Shakespeare?

   'Break the ice'

   The phrase 'break the ice' comes from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (c. 1590-1592). Shakespeare is credited with coining or first recording over 1,700 words and countless phrases in the English language. Other famous examples include 'wild goose chase' (Romeo and Juliet), 'heart of gold' (Henry V), 'in a pickle' (The Tempest), and 'be-all and end-all' (Macbeth).

   Fun Fact: Shakespeare is credited with inventing words we use every day, including 'assassination,' 'eyeball,' 'lonely,' 'generous,' 'gloomy,' and 'uncomfortable.'

10. What was the 'groundling' experience at the Globe Theatre?

    Standing in the open yard in front of the stage for a penny admission

    Groundlings were the cheapest ticket holders at the Globe Theatre, paying just one penny to stand in the open-air yard directly in front of the stage. They were exposed to the weather and stood for the entire performance, which could last two to three hours. Despite their low social status, groundlings were known as an enthusiastic and vocal audience whose reactions could make or break a performance.

11. In Shakespeare's time, who played the female roles in his plays?

    Young male actors (boy players)

    In Elizabethan and Jacobean England, women were not permitted to perform on the public stage. All female roles — from Juliet to Lady Macbeth to Cleopatra — were played by young male actors, typically boys or young men with unbroken voices. This practice makes Shakespeare's frequent use of female characters disguising themselves as men (like Viola in Twelfth Night) an extra layer of theatrical irony for his original audiences.

    Fun Fact: Women were not allowed on the English stage until after the Restoration in 1660, when King Charles II issued a royal patent permitting actresses to perform.

12. Which monarch was on the English throne during most of Shakespeare's career?

    Elizabeth I and then James I

    Shakespeare's career spanned the reigns of two monarchs. He began writing and performing during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603), and the Elizabethan era is closely associated with his earlier works. After Elizabeth's death, King James I (reigned 1603-1625) became Shakespeare's patron, and the company was renamed the King's Men. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth partly to appeal to James, who was of Scottish descent and interested in witchcraft.

13. What is the 'First Folio,' published in 1623?

    The first printed collection of Shakespeare's plays, compiled by his colleagues after his death

    The First Folio, officially titled 'Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies,' was published in 1623 by two of Shakespeare's fellow actors, John Heminges and Henry Condell. It collected 36 of his plays, 18 of which had never been published before — without the First Folio, plays including Macbeth, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and Twelfth Night might have been lost entirely.

    Fun Fact: About 235 copies of the First Folio are known to survive today. In 2020, a copy sold at auction for nearly $10 million, making it one of the most valuable printed books in the world.

14. When and where did Shakespeare die?

    1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon

    Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, at his home in Stratford-upon-Avon at the age of 52. He had retired from the London theater around 1613 and returned to his family in Stratford. The cause of his death is unknown, though a later tradition records that he fell ill after a drinking session with fellow playwrights Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.

15. What warning is inscribed on Shakespeare's gravestone?

    'Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, to digg the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, and cursed be he that moves my bones.'

    Shakespeare's gravestone in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, bears a rhyming curse warning visitors not to disturb his remains. This was not unusual for the period — grave robbing and the relocation of old bones to charnel houses were common practices. The curse appears to have worked: despite centuries of curiosity, Shakespeare's grave has never been officially opened or relocated.

    Fun Fact: A 2016 radar scan of the grave suggested that Shakespeare's skull may actually be missing — possibly stolen by grave robbers in the 18th century, despite the famous curse.