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While readingChapters 1–3 1 Answer these questions. a What percentage (%) of the population of

Stratford-upon-Avon died in the plague of 1564?

……………………………………………… b What did John Shakespeare’s business make? ……………………………………………… c Why was it unusual for Mary Arden’s father

to make her responsible for his will and to leave her his best property?

……………………………………………… d What three languages do we know that

Shakespeare could read as well as English? ………………………………………………

2 Match the dates and numbers to the sentences.

3 8 150 1581 summer 1582 November 1582 1586 a Shakespeare began a relationship with Anne

Hathaway at this time. b The number of years age difference between

Shakespeare and Anne. c The number of sonnets published by

Shakespeare. d The year that Anne Hathaway’s father died. e The month when Shakespeare and Anne

married. f The number of children that Shakespeare and

Anne had. g The year when Shakespeare probably left

Stratford for London.

3 Circle the mistakes in these sentences. There may be more than one in each sentence. Write the correct words.

a Robert Greene liked Shakespeare because he had been to university.

b Like writers in Hollywood, dramatists in Elizabethan London usually kept control over their work.

c All of Shakespeare’s plays were published before he died.

d Shakespeare was the only good dramatist of his time.

e Shakespeare’s early plays are all in the same style.

f The Taming of the Shrew is very popular with modern audiences.

Chapters 4–5 4 Use these names to complete the sentences. Anna of Denmark Lord Burghley Christopher Marlowe the Earl of Essex James Burbage the Earl of Southampton James I a In some of his sonnets Shakespeare describes

his love for a handsome young man. Some people think that the young man is ……………… .

b ……………… was put to death by Queen Elizabeth I in 1601.

c The next king of England after Queen Elizabeth died was ……………… .

d ……………… was the wife of King James I. e ……………… wanted the Earl of

Southampton to marry his granddaughter. f ……………… was killed in a pub in London

in 1594. g Philip Henslowe and ……………… ran rival

theatre companies.

5 Write the name of the play next to each of these sentences.

a A fairy king and queen make life difficult for two pairs of young lovers.

b Falstaff is the hero of this funny play. It has many characters with silly accents.

c This play is set in Italy and the famous villain is a Jew.

d In this play a cousin of the king rebels and takes the throne.

e Love between two young people from rival families ends in tragedy.

Chapters 6–76 Put these events in the order they happened. a c Shakespeare became a partner in the

Burbage theatre. b c They carried their theatre, piece by piece,

outside the city walls and across the river. c c They built a new theatre – the Globe. d c The Burbage theatre company was not

allowed to use their theatre inside the city of London.

e c In 1598 there was a cold winter.

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7 Match the names and the descriptions of these characters from Hamlet.

a Horatio …. . b Laertes …. . c Claudius …. . d Gertrude …. . e Hamlet …. . f Ophelia …. . 1) son of the king, nephew of Claudius 2) Hamlet’s uncle, who murdered Hamlet’s

father and married Hamlet’s mother 3) Hamlet’s friend 4) Polonius’s daughter 5) Polonius’s son 6) Hamlet’s mother

8 Use these words to complete the sentences. against enjoyed executed friends lucky people perform rebel The Earl of Essex and the Earl of Southampton

were close (a) …………… . Essex was sent to stop the Irish rebellion (b) …………… the English in 1599. In 1601 Essex decided to (c) …………… against the queen. Before he rode to her palace, he watched Shakespeare’s company (d) …………… Richard II. (e) …………… in the country did not support or follow Essex. He was (f ) …………… by Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare and his company were (g) …………… the Queen (h) …………… plays.

Chapters 8–99 Who are these people? a This is a man who does not understand what

real love is. He dies of a broken heart with his dead daughter in his arms. ……………

b This is a man who loves his wife but does not understand why she loves him. He believes the lies of his evil officer about his wife. ……………

c This is a woman who really loves her father. Her sisters love only his money and land. ……………

d This is a man who wants power and will perform any crime to get it. ……………

e This is a very clever man who loves to tell lies. ……………

f This is a woman who loves her husband more than herself. ……………

10 Answer these questions. a Which people from the past did Elizabethans

admire most? ……………………………………………… b What dead language did schoolboys learn? ……………………………………………… c Who played the women’s parts in

Shakespeare’s plays? ……………………………………………… d Who does Plutarch blame for the failure of

Mark Antony? ……………………………………………… e Why does Cleopatra kill herself at the end of

Shakespeare’s play? ……………………………………………… f What job did Coriolanus have before he

becomes a governor of the city of Rome? ……………………………………………… g What did Shakespeare publish for the first

time in 1609? ………………………………………………

Chapters 10–12 11 Find the correct second half for each

sentence. a The Blackfriars theatre was different from

the Globe …. . b The new fashion in plays in 1607–8 …. . c Shakespeare’s most successful play in this new

style …. . d The Winter’s Tale is about an imaginary love

affair …. . e In this play we can find events …. . 1) is The Winter’s Tale. 2) like those in Shakespeare’s own life. 3) because it had a roof. 4) mixed tragedy with comedy. 5) between Leontes’s wife and his best

friend.

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1 Put the following events in chronological order.a c Elizabeth became Queen of England.b c William married Anne Hathaway.c c Shakespeare was born.d c Shakespeare wrote Venus and Adonis.e c The first real theatre was opened in London by

James Burbage.f c Shakespeare’s daughter, Susanna, was born.g c Henry VIII became King of England.h c Judith and Hammock were born.i c Alleyn left Burbage’s company and joined their

rival: Phillip Henslowe.j c Shakespeare wrote Much Ado about Nothing.

2 Circle the correct answer.a Shakespeare wrote five / eight plays between 1594

and 1598.b Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet / A Midsummer

Night´s Dream for the wedding of his patron’s granddaughter.

c Much Ado about nothing / Julius Ceasar is a comedy.d The Globe was built inside / outside the city.e Claudio and Hero had modern / traditional views

about love.

3 Are the following statements true (T) or false (F) about Hamlet?a It is difficult to decide whether Hamlet is really mad

or is pretending. c

b Kyd had written The Spanish Tragedy. c

c Hamlet believes that the ghost that appears is not the Devil. c

d Hamlet kills Ophelia. c

e Hamlet kills Polonius. c

f Ophelia goes mad as a consequence of her brother’s death. c

g The Elizabethan audience believed it was natural for Hamlet’s mother to marry his uncle. c

h Hamlet changes during the play. c

i The tradition in revenge plays is similar to the tradition in a Western film. c

j The villain’s death should be caused by his rival. c

4 Complete the sentences with the correct word from the box.

Ben Jonson George Wilkins LeontesHerminges and Cordell Susanna John Fletcher

Ovid Perdita Prospero Robert Greene

a ………………………… wrote the first part of Pericles.

b Shakespeare got the idea for The Winter’s Tale from ………………………… .

c ………………………… is the King of Sicily’s daughter in The Winter’s Tale.

d ………………………… is the main character in The Tempest.

e ………………………… wrote Shakespeare’s favourite Latin poem.

f ………………………… was the main dramatist for the King’s Men after Shakespeare.

g ………………………… received the most from Shakespeare’s will.

h ………………………… published eighteen of Shakespeare’s thirty-seven plays.

i ………………………… said that Shakespeare ‘was not of an age but for all time.’

j ………………………… is the King of Sicily in The Winter’s Tale.

5 Match the play with the theme it analyses.

a The Winter’s Tale 1) jealousyb King Lear 2) politics and the

attitude of the different social classes

c Coriolanus 3) relationship between parents and children

d Othello 4) madnesse Hamlet 5) forgiveness for

the past