Literature

95 Shakespeare Trivia Questions to Test Your Relationship with the Bard

The Elizabethan Renaissance gave us some of the best writers the world has ever known, including the Bard himself. William Shakespeare’s plays have confused, enlightened, and inspired generations of readers. Now you can test your knowledge of Shakespeare with our Shakespeare trivia quiz, and bite your thumb at your rivals! 

Trade your kingdom for these Shakespeare trivia questions and answers! Set the scene, dim the lights, and get ready to see if the play’s the thing. These questions will have your history with Shakespeare put to the test. You might know why “all the world’s a stage,” but if you didn’t pay attention in school, your answers might prove, “what fools these mortals be!”

If Shakespeare isn’t exactly your literature style, check out some of our other quizzes, including Book Quotes, Harry Potter trivia questions, or Famous Authors! To quiz or not to quiz; that is the question!

Puck is a character in which Shakespeare play?

Twelfth Night

The Winter’s Tale

As You Like it

A Midsummer Nights Dream

In the Shakespeare play ‘Cymbeline’ – who is Cymbeline?

King of France

King of Denmark

King of Sicily

King of Britain

William Shakespeare was born in which English town?

Bradford

Hertford

Streatham

Stratford

Be not afeard the isle is full of noises’ is a quote from which Shakespearean character?

Puck

Fluellen

Caliban

Iago

Who won an Oscar for playing Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love?

Helen Mirren

Judi Dench

Maggie Smith

Meryl Streep

In the play ‘Othello’ what is the name of Othello’s wife?

Desdemona

Cassia

Emilia

Bianca

Shylock and Portia are names of characters from which Shakespeare play?

The Merchant of Venice

The Tempest

Romeo and Juliet

A Midsummer Nights Dream

In the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’, who is Escalus?

Juliet’s father

Romeo’s father

Juliet’s suitor

Prince of Verona

Who married Romeo and Juliet?

Friar John

Friar Laurence

The Pope

Friar Tuck

Which description would be appropriate for the play ‘Troilus and Cressida’?

Comedy

Tragedy

History

Romance

The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is set in which country?

Scotland

England

Spain

Italy

Which description would be appropriate for the play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’?

Comedy

History

Tragedy

Romance

William Shakespeare is often referred to as the what of Avon?

Duke

Bard

Poet

Prince

Mercutio is a character in which play?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Merchant of Venice

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Romeo and Juliet

Which description would be appropriate for the play ‘Henry V’?

Comedy

History

Romance

Tragedy

In the Shakespeare play ‘Julius Caesar’, who is Caesar’s wife?

Cressida

Calpurnia

Andromache

Portia

Who was the father of Goneril, Regan and Cordelia?

Macbeth

Othello

Hamlet

King Lear

In the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ – Juliet’s age is said to be what?

Fourteen

Sixteen

Fifteen

Thirteen

Which name did William Shakespeare give to his son?

Hamnet

Humbert

Hamlet

Horatio

The play Macbeth is set in which country?

Scotland

Italy

England

Ireland

In the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ which title is held by Paris?

Lord

Count

Prince

King

In the play ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, what is the name of Katherina’s suitor?

Lucentio

Gremio

Petruchio

Hortensio

In what year did William Shakespeare die?

1756

1716

1656

1616

In which Shakespeare play is there cooking with nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips?

Romeo and Juliet

Hamlet

Macbeth

Othello

What is the fate of Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare’s play?

He Dies; She Lives

They Both Live

He Lives; She Dies

They Both Die

In the Shakespeare play ‘Hamlet’, Hamlet is the Prince of which country?

Sweden

Wales

Denmark

Scotland

In the play ‘King Lear’ – Lear is King of what?

Denmark

Spain

Italy

Britain

In the play ‘Hamlet’, what is the name of Hamlet’s mother?

Gertrude

Griselda

Giselle

Gloria

What is Shakespeare’s shortest play?

All’s Well That Ends Well

The Comedy of Errors

As You Like It

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Which Shakespeare play has the subtitle, ‘The Moor of Venice’?

Coriolanus

The Tempest

Twelfth Night

Othello

Verona is the setting for more than one Shakespeare play. In which country is Verona?

Portugal

Italy

France

Spain

What is the name of the primary antagonist in the Shakespeare play ‘Othello’?

Iago

Edmund

Banquo

Polonius

Which description would be appropriate for the play ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’?

Comedy

History

Tragedy

Romance

Which description would be appropriate for the play ‘Twelfth Night’?

History

Tragedy

Romance

Comedy

Complete the title of the play by William Shakespeare- A Midsummer Night’s ???

Comedy

Journey

Play

Dream

Which description would be appropriate for the play ‘Macbeth’?

Tragedy

Romance

History

Comedy

William Shakespeare had how many daughters?

Two

Zero

Three

One

In the play ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ – Cleopatra is Queen of which country?

Spain

Italy

Egypt

Morocco

Which Shakespeare character said ‘O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’?

Juliet

Helena

Desdemona

Ophelia

The line ‘To be or not to be’ comes from which Shakespeare play?

Hamlet

Cymbaline

Richard III

Othello

What is the name of The Queen of the Fairies in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Titania

Euphoria

Fantasia

Astoria

In the play ‘Othello’ what position is held by Othello?

Senator

General

King

Prince

Which character in Shakespeare was Prince of Tyre?

Cymbeline

Antipholus

Pericles

Leontes

Which description would be appropriate for the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’?

Romance

History

Comedy

Tragedy

William Shakespeare ‘s birthdate is unknown, but he was baptised in April of which year?

1604

1584

1544

1564

Which Shakespeare play opens amid thunder and lightning and a meeting of three witches?

Richard III

Macbeth

Hamlet

King Lear

Which Shakespeare play has the story of two sets of identical twins separated at birth as its central theme?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Comedy of Errors

As You Like It

Twelfth Night

Regan is a daughter of which Shakespeare character?

King Lear

Macbeth

The Merchant of Venice

Timon of Athens

Complete the title of the play by William Shakespeare- Timon of ???

Athens

Argyll

Abilene

Amsterdam

The 2006 film ‘She’s the Man’, in which a girl pretends to be her brother, is a modern day version of which Shakespeare play?

The Comedy of Errors

The Merchant of Venice

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Twelfth Night

Kenneth Branagh, Mel Gibson and Ethan Hawke have all played which Shakespearean character on film?

Brutus

King Lear

Richard II

Hamlet

What was the maiden name of Shakespeare’s mother, Mary?

Garden

Argus

Barter

Arden

Shakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tale’ contains the famous stage direction ‘Exit stage left – pursued by a _________’?

Bear

Horse

Ghost

Policeman

What was the name of William Shakespeare’s wife?

Jane Boleyn

Anne Boleyn

Anne Hathaway

Jane Hathaway

The Cole Porter musical ‘Kiss me Kate’ is based on which play by William Shakespeare?

The Comedy of Errors

The Taming of the Shrew

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Love’s Labour’s Lost

Which description would be appropriate for the play ‘Titus Andronicus’?

Tragedy

History

Comedy

Romance

Which of Shakespeare’s plays is set in Vienna?

The Winter’s Tale

Cymbeline

Measure for Measure

Pericles

In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, what is Romeo’s surname?

Escalus

Montague

Capulet

Paris

Nick Bottom is a character in which Shakespeare play?

A Midsummer Nights Dream

Twelfth Night

The Winter’s Tale

As You Like it

In Shakespeare’s play who killed Macbeth?

Banquo

Macduff

Duncan

Malcolm

The Shakespeare play ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ was followed by ‘Love’s Labour’s__________?

Found

Sought

Rewarded

Won

Which Shakespeare play features fairies called Oberon, Titania and Puck?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Taming of the Shrew

The Merchant of Venice

Much Ado About Nothing

What had been the role of the late Yorick in the play ‘Hamlet’?

Knight

General

Lord Chamberlain

Court Jester

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, what was Romeo’s family name?

Capulet

Montalban

Cartier

Montague

Sir John Falstaff is a character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In which of these does he NOT appear?

Henry IV part 2

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Richard III

Henry IV part 1

Sir Toby Belch is a character from which Shakespeare play?

As You Like It

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Twelfth Night

Much Ado About Nothing

In the play ‘Hamlet’, how is Claudius, King of Denmark, related to Hamlet?

Brother

Uncle

Grandfather

Father

In the play ‘Macbeth’ how is Lady Macbeth related to the central character?

Aunt

Wife

Daughter

Mother

What was the location of the battle in Shakespeare’s play Richard III?

Bosworth Field

Sedgemoor

Soldier Field

Prestonpans

In Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth becomes king of which country?

England

Ireland

Wales

Scotland

Who are the Shakespeare characters Valentine and Proteus?

Friends of Romeo

Sons of Titus Andronicus

Servants of King Lear

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in which town?

Stratford-upon-Avon

Ashton-under-Lyme

Kingston-upon-Thames

Chorlton-cum-Hardy

In the play Richard III, King Richard is depicted as having what physical deformity?

Bad haircut

Club foot

Hunchback

Withered Arm

What position is held by the Shakespeare character Tutus Andronicus?

Merchant

Judge

General

King

Richard III was a member of which Royal House?

Lancaster

Windsor

Saxe-Coburg

York

In the play Hamlet, what is the name of Polonius’s daughter?

Ophelia

Amelia

Aurelia

Juliet

Prospero is the main character in which Shakespeare play?

Twelfth Night

The Tempest

All’s Well That Ends Well

Measure for Measure

In the play Hamlet, the central character refers to the skull of a dead friend by what name?

Rosencrantz

Osric

Yorick

Horatio

How many plays did Shakespeare write?

37

27

47

17

How many suicides are there in Shakespeare plays?

Twenty

Thirteen

Three

Thirty

The Nurse is a major character in which Shakespeare play?

Romeo and Juliet

Love’s Labour’s Lost

Troilus and Cressida

The Merchant of Venice

The skull of a deceased character called Yorick is featured in which Shakespeare play?

Richard III

Macbeth

Henry IV part 1

Hamlet

In the ‘Merchant of Venice’ – who is the ‘merchant’ of the title?

Shylock

Balthazar

Bassonio

Antonio

Though born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare spent much of his career as a playwright and actor in which city?

London

Manchester

Birmingham

Liverpool

Who is Propero’s daughter in ‘Twelfth Night’?

Sycorax

Miranda

Ariel

Iris

Which Shakespeare character is the victim of a spell that puts a donkey’s head on his shoulders?

Banquo

Puck

Horatio

Bottom

What were the respective family names of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?

Macbeth and Macduff

Montague and Capulet

Cassio and Montano

Starveling and Lysander

Which good-natured braggart appears in Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’ and ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’?

Camillo

Leontes

Falstaff

Mamillius

Which Shakespeare character is also referred to as the ‘Thane of Cawdor’?

Richard III

King Lear

Macbeth

Hamlet

Portia is the heroine of which Shakespeare play?

The Merchant of Venice

The Winter’s Tale

The Merry Wives of Windsor

The Comedy of Errors

Now is the winter of our discontent’ is a line from which Shakespeare play?

Richard III

Macbeth

King Lear

Hamlet

In ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ – what is the name of the ‘shrew’?

Kathleena

Katherina

Cressida

Carolina

In Shakespeare’s play ‘Richard III’ during a battle, Richard offers what in exchange for a horse?

His Kingdom

His Palace

His Gold

His Wife

In the play ‘Troilus and Cressida’ Troilus’s father is King of Troy. What is his name?

Priam

Paris

Hector

Achilles

Who played the role of William Shakespeare in the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’?

Aksel Hennie

Joseph Fiennes

John Hurt

Rufus Sewell

You can do better

Not bad

Great!

My passion for travel seamlessly integrates with my love for trivia, as I spend a lot of time on the road. I create engaging trivia quizzes based on the information I gather about new locations, food, music, customs, and people.

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