THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N, 70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
"“I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.”
Julius Caesar, act 3, scene 1
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, January 29, 2016
Quiz: The Bard's Death
The year 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's
death. This year, myriad commemorative events have been scheduled
in honor of the man whom many regard as the English language's finest
writer. Today, we join in the revels! Today's quiz consists of
twenty questions pertaining to the playwright so divinely gifted he is
often known simply as "the bard."
Now, then, for those who think the topic far too high brow for the
Daily Astronomer, which is the astronomical world's equivalent of the
Penny Dreadfuls, well...blah! blah! snort! snort! Look at it this
way, next week is the annual Superbowl Quiz, which is slightly less
than high brow.
Later this year (calendar, if not academic) we will offer one more
Shakespeare quiz. After all, the quadricentennial of Shakespeare's
death doesn't happen every year.
1. Which play begins with the Chorus saying, "Two households, both
alike in dignity?"
a. MacBeth
b. Romeo and Juliet
c. Anthony and Cleopatra
d. Titus Andronicus
2. If you wanted to marry Portia, you had to choose a casket made out of what?
a. lead
b. silver
c. gold
d. wax
3. If you happened upon a frolick of fairies gathered around a
bewildered man with the head of a donkey, what would you be watching?
a. A performance of "The Tempest."
b. A typical Denver Broncos practice session
c. A performance of "A Mid Summer Night's Dream."
d. A performance of "Twelfth Night."
4. "Hamlet" has only two female characters. Give yourself 5
points if you can name one. Give yourself 10 points if you can name
both.
5. Who did Mercutio blame for making 'worm's meat' out of him?
a. Romeo
b. Tybalt
c. Both the Montague and Capulet families
d. Friar John
6. Miranda and Prospero are moons orbiting around which planet?
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune
7. In which play did the famous spirit Ariel appear?
a. A Mid Summer Night's Dream
b. The Tempest
c. Taming of the Shrew
d. King Lear
8. What was the first line spoken by any of the MacBeth witches?
a. "When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning or in rain?"
b. "Double, double, toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble."
c. "All hail, MacBeth! hail to thee
Thane of Glamis."
d. Trick question: The MacBeth Witches never actually speak.
9. Which one of these King Henrys did Shakespeare not write a play about?
a. Henry V
b. Henry VI
c. Henry VII
d. Henry VIII
10. Although Othello smothered Desdemona, who could be regarded as
having been responsible for the murder by manipulating Othello into
believing that Desdemona had been unfaithful?
a. Iago
b. Mercutio
c. Bianca
d. Hero
11. Which ONE of the following is not an ingredient used by the
MacBeth witches for their potions?
a. Scale of dragon
b. Tooth of wolf
c. Blood of virgin
d. Nose of Turk
12. MacBeth killed King _____________ and, in so doing, became the
King, himself
a. Kong
b. Duncan
c. MacDuff
d. Thane
13. Whose first line was "Now is the winter of our discontent?"
a. King Lear
b. Hamlet
c. Richard III
d. Falstaff
14. What was the name of the "shrew" Petrucio "tamed?"
a. Ophelia
b. Katherina
c. Bianca
d. Jessica
15. Which play was set in Greece?
a. Romeo and Juliet
b. Love's Labour Lost
c. The Tempest
d. A Mid Summer Night's Dream
16. During Shakespeare's lifetime, which of the following historical
events occurred? (Could be more or less than one.)
a. The defeat of the Spanish Armada
b. The execution of Giordano Bruno
c. Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot
d. The English Civil War
17. Shakespeare lost a young son whose name, strangely, was what?
a. Otello
b. Hamnet
c. Romeo
d. Falstaff
18. Which of the following everyday sayings were coined by
Shakespeare? (Could be more or less than one.)
a. Knock! Knock! Who's there?
b. Good riddance
c. One fell swoop
d. Wear my heart upon my sleeve
e. Forever and a Day
19. How many characters (speaking) did Shakespeare create?
a. 910
b. 1145
c. 1223
d. 2679
20. Which Shakespearan character has the greatest number of lines in
a single play?
a. Hamlet
b. Henry V
c. Falstaff
d. King Lear
ANSWERS
1. b. Romeo and Juliet
2. a. lead
3. c. A performance of "A Mid Summer Night's Dream."
4. Ophelia and Gertrude
5. c. Both the Montague and Capulet families
[Note: Tybalt killed Mercutio, though, perhaps, unintentionally. As
he was dying, Mercutio attributed his death to both warring families.
Hence, the famous phrase "A plague on both your houses."]
6. c. Uranus
7. b. The Tempest
8. a. "When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning or in rain?"
9. c. Henry VII
10. a. Iago
{Granted, Iago's involvement doesn't absolve Othello of culpability in
his wife's murder, but the marriage would have likely proven much
happier were it not for Iago's interference.)
11. c. Blood of virgin
(Blood of a baboon was required. These distinctions are important for
some recipes.)
12. b. Duncan
13. c. Richard III
(True, he wasn't Richard III at that moment, but that it nit picking.)
14. b. Katherina
15. d. A Mid Summer Night's Dream
16. a. The defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)
b. The execution of Giordano Bruno (1600)
c. Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot (1605)
17. b. Hamnet
18. All of them originate with Shakespeare
a. Knock! Knock! Who's there? (Macbeth)
b. Good riddance (Troilus and Cressida)
c. One fell swoop (Macbeth)
d. Wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello)
e. Forever and a Day (As You Like It)
19. c. 1223
20. a. Hamlet
The issue is more complicated when you talk about characters with the
most lines, as some characters appear in more than one play. Hamlet,
though, has more lines in a single play than any other character.
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