Shakespearean Scavenger Hunt
Use the Internet to find the answers to each of the following questions. Make sure that your
document stays neatly formatted. You may cut-and-paste from the Internet, but please make
sure your source is a reliable one.
The Life of Shakespeare
1. Where was Shakespeare born? Stratford-on-Avon
2. Who were his parents?
a. Mary Arden Shakespeare(mother)
b. John Shakespeare(father)
3. When was Shakespeare baptized? Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-on-Avon April 26th 1564
4. What was his father's occupation? Glovemaker, Leather Worker
5. Who did Shakespeare marry? Anne Hathaway
6. How many children did he have? 3
7. What were his children’s names? Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith
8. To what acting company did Shakespeare belong? The King's Men (The Lord Chamberlain’s
Men)
9. What was the title of his first play? Henry VI
10. How many plays did he write? 37
11. Who do some people believe wrote Shakespeare's plays? Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe,
Ben Jonson, etc.
12. List five modern movies that are adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. For example, the
modern film O is a 2001 update of Othello.
1. She's the Man
2. Lion King
3. West Side Story
4. Kiss Me Kate
5. Forbidden Planet
2. What is a sonnet? a poem of 14 lines with a rhyme scheme usually having 10 syllables per
line
3. How many sonnets did he write? 154
4. What are Shakespeare’s “lost years”? The times in Shakespeare's life that we don't know
about.
5. Approximately how many different words did Shakespeare create in the English language?
1700-2000
6. List ten of the words he created.
1. blushing
2. assassination
3. bet
4. bump
5. champion
6. cater
7. dawn
8. exposure
9. elbow
10. swagger
18.
Find five quotes from Shakespeare that you enjoy. Share them with me.
CHOOSE YOUR OWN!
19.
When did Shakespeare die? April 23, 1616
20.
Where was he buried? Holy Trinity Church
21.
What is written on his tomb? Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, To dig the dust
enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones ,And cursed be he that moves my
bones.
The Theater
22.
When was the Globe Theater built? 1599
23.
Where was it located? London
24.
When did it burn down? 1613
25.
How did the fire start? During a performance of Henry VIII, the staged cannon fire
started a real fire
26.
Briefly describe how the audience was divided and arranged for performances. It was
divided by social class
27.
How many people could the Globe hold for a performance? Up to 3000
28.
Who played the female roles in the play? Teenage Boys
29.
What is a Shakespearian comedy? A story with a happy ending, usually including a love
story and a marriage.
30.
What is a Shakespearian tragedy? A noble protagonist, who is flawed in some way,
placed in a stressful heightened situation and ends with a fatal conclusion. There is a tragic hero
who has a tragic flaw.
British History
31.
What is the capital of England? London
32.
Shakespeare lived during a time called the Renaissance. What is this time known for?
Art and culturization
33.
List four famous people from this time.
a.
Leonardo Da Vinci
b.
Donatello
c.
Michealangelo
d.
Titian
34.
What was the black plague? How many people did it kill? A disease that wiped around 25
million people.
35.
What effect did it have on the public theater? It closed the theater to avoid spreading
the disease
36.
List the order of monarch who reigned during Shakespeare's life.
1. Queen Elizabeth 1
2. King James
37.
Why did Henry VIII create the Church of England? Because the Catholic Church wouldn't
allow him to divorce.
38.
Why didn't Queen Elizabeth marry while she held the throne? She didn't want to lose
her power and also didn't want a foreigner on the throne.
39.
How was Mary Queen of Scots related to Elizabeth? They were cousins.
40.
Why was Mary Queen of Scots executed? She was beheaded because she was convicted
of plotting Queen Elizabeth's death.
41.
About which monarchs did Shakespeare write history plays?
1. John
2. Henry VIII
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Richard II
Henry IV
Henry V
Henry VI
Edward IV
Edward V
Richard III
Terms
42.
Foreshadowing- a literary device by which an author hints what is to come
43.
Blank Verse- a poem with no rhyme but does have iambic pentameter
44.
Tragic Hero- a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. This
person has a tragic flaw that will lead to fatal destruction.
45.
Antagonist- a person or a group of people who opposes a protagonist.
46.
Foil- a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular
qualities of the other character.
47.
Dramatic Irony- occurs when the audience knows something that the characters don't.
48.
Soliloquy- an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any
hearers, especially by a character in a play.
49.
Aside- a remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the
audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.
50.
Comic Relief- an amusing scene, incident, or speech introduced into serious or tragic
elements, as in a play, in order to provide temporary relief from tension, or to intensify the
dramatic action