ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1. Who was the queen during Shakespeare's time
2. The period of time in which Elizabeth I ruled is referred to as the
3. What was the acting group Shakespeare was in called
4. Who becomes king of England after Elizabeth I dies
5. The period of time in which James I ruled is referred to as
6. What was the name Lord Chamberlain's Men took when James I became King
7. How many plays did Shakespeare write
8. How many histories did Shakespeare write
9. How many comedies did Shakespeare write
10. How many tragedies did Shakespeare write
11. How many sonnets did Shakespeare write
12. Shakespeare not only wrote plays but also _______ in them too
13. Who was William Shakespeare's wife?
14. How many children did William and his wife have and what were their names?
15. Why was the theater an important force in Elizabethan England?
16. What is the "pit"?
17. What name was given to the members of the audience who stood in the pit?
18. Where did other audiences (not in the pit) sit?
19. What kinds of costumes did Elizabethan actors wear?
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20. What kind of scenery was used in the Elizabethan theater?
21. What do we consider unusual about female roles in the Elizabethan theater?
22. What three types of plays did Shakespeare write?
23. What is the First Folio?
24. What other types of writing did Shakespeare produce?
25. What is the rhyme scheme of all Shakespearian sonnets?
CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER
1. Why does Prospero send Ariel to the royal party?
a. To eavesdrop
b. To identify a mate for his daughter
c. To stop the conspiracy
d. To act as their guide
2. Sycorax imprisons Ariel in:
a. A pitted boulder
b. Her locket
c. A cell
d. A cloven pine
3. How long have Prospero and Miranda been on the island?
a. 12 years
b. 15 years
c. 8 years
d. 9 years
4. Who does Caliban beg to be his god?
a. Stephano
b. Alonso
c. Prospero
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d. Ariel
5. What does Caliban want done before Prospero is killed?
a. To wed Miranda
b. He wants Prospero to confess
c. Confiscation of Prospero's books
d. Approval from the gods
6. What is Prospero’s final request to Ariel?
a. To calm the seas
b. To always protect Miranda
c. To make him young again
d. To show him where the money is hidden
7. To what does Antonio consent?
a. To kill the king
b. To give Sebastain money
c. To help question Ariel
d. To help find the king's son
8. Why is Alonso grieving?
a. The prospect of never returning home
b. The loss of his ship
c. His wife is missing
d. He thinks his son is dead
9. What does Ariel transform into in Act III?
a. A nymph
b. A harpy
c. A cat
d. A faerie
10. Who is enslaved into Prospero's service?
a. Caliban
b. Ferdinand
c. Ariel
d. Alonso
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11. Caliban warns Stefano that he must possess what before killing Prospero?
a. Ariel
b. His books
c. His hat
d. His staff
12. Ferdinand is the son of
a. Alonso
b. Antonio
c. Prospero
d. Sebastian
13. How does Prospero punish Stefano, Caliban, and Trinculo for plotting to kill
him?
a. He locks them in a wine casket and puts it out to sea.
b. He makes them eat all the food at the banquet.
c. He makes them run through a briar patch and swim in a scummy pond.
d. He makes them stage a play in a thunderstorm.
14. Shakespeare used the three unities extensively in this play because
a. he didn’t want the play to last longer than three hours
b. he needed the unities to counter the abundance of magic in the play
c. he wanted to pay tribute to Aristotle
d. he wanted to provide consistency because the plot had so many male
characters
15. What disappears before the eyes of Antonio, Sebastien, and Alonso and
frightens them?
a. A banquet
b. A ghost
c. A wave
d. Treasure
16. What does Alonso believe has happened to his son?
a. He drowned in the shipwreck.
b. He has fallen under the spell of Prospero.
c. He has run away with Miranda.
d. He is planning to take over his kingdom.
17. What does Prospero stage in order to celebrate the betrothal of Miranda and
Ferdinand?
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a.
b.
c.
d.
A banquet
A masque
A play
A thunderstorm
18. When Stefano and Trinculo first see Caliban, they think
a. he is horrifying and ugly
b. he needs help
c. he will be a good companion and help them get food
d. he will make them rich if they can get him back to civilization
19. Which best describes Prospero?
a. Autocratic, controlling, arrogant, mean-spirited
b. Cold-hearted, inhuman, manipulative, dangerous
c. Godlike, manipulative, forgiving, loving
d. Self-centered, controlling, egotistical, disdainful
20. Who are Ariel and Caliban?
a. Ariel is a spirit of the air; Caliban is Prospero’s slave.
b. Ariel is Miranda’s brother; Caliban is the son of the king of Naples.
c. Ariel is Prospero’s brother; Caliban is a court jester.
d. Ariel is the wife of Ferdinand; Caliban is Antonio’s brother.
21. Who does Prospero claim he was before his brother seized his property and
title?
a. Duke of Florence
b. Duke of Milan
c. Earl of Venice
d. King of Naples
22. Who says the following: “O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there
here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world that that has such people
in’t!”
a. Ariel
b. Ferdinand
c. Miranda
d. Prospero
23. Who says the following:“A devil, a born devil, on whose nature,Nurture can
never stick: on whom my pains;Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost! And
as with age his body uglier grows,So his mind cankers. I will plague them
all,Even to roaring."
a. Ariel
b. Caliban
c. Miranda
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d. Prospero
24. Who speaks these last lines of the play: “Unless I be relieved by prayer, which
pierces so that it assaults mercy itself and frees all faults, as you from crimes
would pardoned be, let your indulgence set me free.”
a. Antonio
b. Ariel
c. Caliban
d. Prospero
25. Whom does Caliban mistake for one of Prospero’s spirits sent to torment him?
a. Stephano
b. Ferdinand
c. Miranda
d. Trinculo
26. What was Prospero’s title before his position was usurped and he was forced
to flee Italy?
a. Duke of Milan
b. King of Naples
c. Duke of Naples
d. Pope of Rome
27. From which country is Alonso’s ship returning when it is caught in the
tempest?
a. Naples
b. England
c. Tunis
d. Bermudas
28. How long have Prospero and Miranda been on their island?
a. Ten years
b. Fifteen years
c. Twelve years
d. One day
29. What was the name of Caliban’s mother?
a. Ariel
b. Claribel
c. Sycorax
d. Setebos
30. Over how many days does the action of The Tempest take place?
a. Two
b. One
c. Three
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d. Four
31. Which mythical figures appear in the wedding masque Prospero stages for
Miranda and Ferdinand?
a. Cupid, Venus, and Mars
b. Jupiter and Saturn
c. Ceres, Iris, and Juno
d. Isis and Osiris
32. Which character is Prospero’s brother?
a. Alonso
b. Sebastian
c. Gonzalo
d. Antonio
33. Which character is Sebastian’s brother?
a. Prospero
b. Antonio
c. Gonzalo
d. Alonso
34. What do we see Miranda and Ferdinand doing in the play’s final scene?
a. Playing cards
b. Carrying wood
c. Playing chess
d. Playing tag
35. What shape does Ariel assume at the magical banquet in Act III, scene iii?
a. Harpy
b. Eagle
c. Sea-nymph
d. Hound
36. What do Prospero and Ariel set out as bait for Caliban, Trinculo, and
Stephano?
a. “a butt of sack”
b. “the nimble marmoset”
c. “glistening apparel”
d. “a thousand twangling instruments”
37. What does Caliban say must be done before Prospero can be killed?
a. His magic cloak must be burnt
b. His books must be seized
c. Miranda must be killed
d. A tempest must be raised
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38. What is the name of Alonso’s daughter?
a. Claribel
b. Miranda
c. Sycorax
d. Alonsa
39. What does Prospero give as his reason for treating Caliban badly?
a. Caliban tried to kill him
b. Caliban tried to steal his books
c. Caliban is merely a beast
d. Caliban attempted to rape Miranda
40. Who helped Prospero and Miranda to flee Italy?
a. Antonio
b. Gonzalo
c. Trinculo
d. Claribel
41. Where does Ariel put the mariners and Boatswain after the tempest?
a. In a thicket
b. Under Caliban’s cloak
c. Asleep in the ship in the harbor
d. In Prospero’s cell
42. Where did Sycorax imprison Ariel?
a. On another island
b. In a cloven pine
c. In a lion’s den
d. Inside a stone
43. What task are both Caliban and Ferdinand forced to perform?
a. Marrying Miranda
b. Singing drunkenly
c. Collecting berries
d. Carrying wood
44. Who persuades Sebastian to try to kill Alonso?
a. Antonio
b. Gonzalo
c. Ariel
d. Alonso
45. What does Prospero intend to “drown” after he has reconciled with his
enemies?
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a.
b.
c.
d.
His magic garments
His book
His staff
Caliban
46. What does Caliban say is his “chief profit” from learning language?
a. He knows how to curse
b. He can show Prospero the “qualities o’ th’ isle”
c. He can woo Miranda
d. He can sing with Trinculo and Stephano
47. Which characters do Stephano and Trinculo most clearly parody?
a. Prospero and Miranda
b. Caliban and Sycorax
c. Alonso and Gonzalo
d. Antonio and Sebastian
48. What is the final task Prospero orders Ariel to perform?
a. To release Sycorax
b. To haul a load of wood
c. To give the fleet calm seas on its return to Italy
d. To take charge of Caliban
49. We are told that one of the following characters has visited England. Which
one?
a. Stephano
b. Prospero
c. Trinculo
d. Alonso
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