Bard Watching: A Shakespeare Quiz

Huzzah! It's spring — and a perfect time to take up Bard watching.

April 23rd (1564) is the assumed birthday and April 23rd (1616) the recorded death day for William Shakespeare — aka the Bard of Avon. He is one of the greatest playwrights and poets in British history, and hey nonny, nonny — that’s saying something.

Billy Shakespeare has contributed so many words and phrases to the English language that it’s impossible to calculate his influence. If you’re an educator or an English major, you may think it’s a foregone conclusion [Othello] that truth will out [Merchant of Venice] and you will get all the questions right. While this Shakespeare quiz may not be the be all, end all [Macbeth], nonetheless the game is afoot! [Henry IV, Pt.1].

EXPRESSIONS:

Do you know (or can you guess) which play these expressions came from? Answers are at the bottom, but no peeking!

1.) "Too much of a good thing"

a.) As You Like It   b.) King Lear    c.) Comedy of Errors   d.)  Twelfth Night

2.) "Kill with kindness"

a.) Julius Caesar   b.) Pericles    c.) Taming of the Shrew   d.)  Richard II

3.) "Love is blind"

a.) A Winter's Tale   b.) Merchant of Venice    c.) Measure for Measure   d.)  Love's Labour's Lost

4.) "There's method in my madness" 

a.) Macbeth   b.) Pericles    c.) Othello   d.)  Hamlet

5.) "Send him packing"

a.) The Tempest   b.) Henry IV, Pt 1    c.) King John   d.)  Julius Caesar

6.) "What the dickens"

a.) Merry Wives of Windsor   b.) The Tempest   c.) Pericles   
d.)  Titus Andronicus

7.) "Knock, knock. Who's there?"

a.) Henry V   b.) Macbeth    c.) King John   d.)  Julius Caesar

8.) "Wear your heart on your sleeve"

a.) Hamlet   b.) Henry IV, Pt 1    c.) King Lear   d.)  Othello

9.) "Eaten out of house and home"

a.) Antony and Cleopatra   b.) Henry IV, Pt 2    c.) King Lear   d.)  Julius Caesar

10.) "All the world's a stage"

a.) Merry Wives of Windsor   b.) Measure for Measure    c.) The Tempest   d.)  As You Like It


TWEETS:

Which Shakespeare characters might have sent these tweets?



11.) Yo, anybody in Scotland know a good drycleaner? Can't get this dang spot out!





12.) 2B. . .or not 2B. Can't find my girlfriend's apartment. Tragic!




13.) Guys, I said BREECH. Not "once more unto the beach"! Prepare for battle.





14.) WEATHER ALERT: Rain falling on the just and the unjust. Have mercy!





MEMES:

Which characters from which plays might have posted these memes on Facebook?

15.)

16.)

17.)

18.)

19.)

20.)

21.)

Family Pix  22--25

What fabulously famous playwright might have posted these pix on Pinterest?


22.) 

Stratford-upon-Avon -- my birthplace

23.)

My wife Anne's cottage

24.)

The Globe Theatre, where I used to play around

25.)

Huzzah! A statue of me. Cool, right?

ANSWERS:

EXPRESSIONS:
1.) "Too much of a good thing" A - As You Like It ;  2.) "Kill with kindness"  C - The Taming of the Shrew; 3.) "Love is blind" B - The Merchant of Venice; 4.) "There's method in my madness" D - Hamlet; 5.) "Send him packing" B - Henry IV; 6.) "What the dickens" A - The Merry Wives of Windsor;  7.) "Knock, knock. Who's there?" B - Macbeth; 8.) "Wear your heart on your sleeve"  D - Othello;  9.) "Eaten out of house and home" B - Henry IV, Part 2; 10.) "All the world's a stage" D - As You Like It

TWEETS: 

11.) "...Can't get this dang spot out" - Lady Macbeth, feeling guilty, in Macbeth; 12.) "2B...or not 2B..." Hamlet, contemplating suicide in Hamlet; 13.) "Not once more unto the beach" -- Title character in Henry V, encouraging the troops to fight one more time--"Once more unto the breech!"; 14.) Weather Alert: Portia, pleading for mercy, in The Merchant of Venice , "The quality of mercy is not strained..."

MEMES:

15.) "A very palpable hit!" - Osric in Hamlet (during swordfight)--if you got Hamlet, that's good enough!; 16.) "Guys in the Senate are killin' me." Title character in Julius Caesar, as he was literally being killed by Senators; "Don't it make my blue eyes green" - Iago speaks to Othello of the "green-eyed monster," jealousy;  "www.one-of-my-3daughters-doesn't-love-me.com" - King Lear might have posted this URL, since he thought his daughter Cordelia didn't love him (King Lear);  "Coven-on-the-Moors" - The Three Witches in Macbeth meet on the Moor and give Macbeth a tantalizing prophecy; 20.) "So is it okay to kill your uncle..." - In Hamlet, Hamlet ponders killing his uncle, for the very reason mentioned in this meme; 21.) "For sale: one pound of flesh" - Shylock wants to extract a pound of flesh from Antonio in The Merchant of Venice.

PIX:

22--25 -- Pix from Shakespeare's life: Duh, William Somebody-or-other

Image Credits:

    Shakespeare painting: possibly by John Taylor, Public Domain

    Twitter symbol -- Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

    Facebook symbol -- Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

    Memes made by Patty Kyrlach

    Pinterest symbol -- Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

    Stratford-upon-Avon -- Original uploader was Kev747 at en.wikipedia

    Anne Hathaway's Cottage -- Author, Richard Peat

    The Globe -- Author: Maschinenjunge

    Shakespeare Statue -- Author: Lonpicman