KBC Questions and Quiz, Multiple Choice Questions and Answers

Question: The mysterious death of this writer has led some people to suspect that this man's death was faked. Who was he?

1. Ben Jonson
   
2. Earl of Oxford
   
3. Francis Bacon
   
4. Christopher Marlowe
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
Marlowe was almost certainly working as some type of political operative in the highly political Elizabethan world. The man who killed him (and the man's companions) were also probably involved in "spying" activities. His death came at a time when he was under investigation for charges of heresy -- a very serious charge in those days. It has been suggested that he faked his death and resumed writing, using the name Shakespeare as an alias.

Personalities Quiz

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Question: Who was played by Kenneth Branagh in "Hamlet" (1996)?

1. Horatio
   
2. Laertes
   
3. Polonius
   
4. Hamlet
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
Kate Winslet also starred in this movie.

Books Quiz

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Question: Where in England did William Shakespeare die, on 23 April 1616?

1. Stratford upon Avon
   
2. Oxford
   
3. London
   
4. Hastings
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
He died on his 52nd birthday.

Personalities Quiz

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Question: Even though Shakespeare continued his theatrical career in London, he invested a considerable amount in property in which English town?

1. Newcastle under Lyme
   
2. Ely
   
3. Stratford upon Avon
   
4. Bath
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
In 1597, he bought one of the town's largest houses, "New Place".

Personalities Quiz

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Question: How many of Shakespeare's plays were published in his lifetime?

1. About a quarter of them
   
2. All of them
   
3. None of them
   
4. About half of them
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
Those that were published were done so in a "quarto". A quarto was a book made from one piece of paper, which had been folded twice. At the time, these would have cost sixpence.

Personalities Quiz

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Question: Which of these is the most commonly believed theory on Shakespeare's "lost years"?

1. He was a schoolmaster.
   
2. He was a lawyer.
   
3. He was a doctor.
   
4. He was a journalist.
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
There are also other theories about William's "lost years" including suggestions that he went travelling to Italy, and that he became a priest. Scholars deem the schoolmaster theory the most likely.

Personalities Quiz

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Question: William Shakespeare and his wife became the parents of twins in 1585 (a boy and a girl). What were they named?

1. Otello and Francesca
   
2. Hamnet and Judith
   
3. Leir and Violet
   
4. Benquo and Natasha
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
They were named after friends of William, Hamnet and Judith Sadler. Sadly, Hamnet Shakespeare died in 1596, aged 11. It is interesting that William wrote "Hamlet" shortly after his son's death, about a son whose father had recently died, and the son's anger at the separation imposed by this loss.

Personalities Quiz

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Question: What was the name of William Shakespeare's first daughter?

1. Susanna
   
2. Marianna
   
3. Joanna
   
4. Leanna
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
Susanna was baptized on 26 May 1583.

Personalities Quiz

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Question: What was the name of the woman whom William married in November 1582?(eight years his senior)

1. Mary Arden
   
2. Catherine Milford
   
3. Eliza Graham
   
4. Anne Hathaway
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
When they married, William was 18 years old, and Anne was 26. She was also three months pregnant on their wedding day. Their marriage licence bond was issued on 28 November 1582.

Personalities Quiz

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Question: In which year was William Shakespeare born?

1. 1566
   
2. 1564
   
3. 1561
   
4. 1559
   

Incorrect Answer

Correct Answer
The records of the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, show that William Shakespeare was baptized on 26 April 1564. At this time, most babies were baptized a day or two after they were born. It has been estimated that William was born on 23 April. The Shakepeare's had already lost their first two daughters in infancy, Joan and Margaret, when their first son William was born. The couple went on to have five more children - Gilbert, Joan (named after their first child), Anne (who died at the age of eight), Richard and Edmund.

Personalities Quiz

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