William Shakespeare is widely considered one of the greatest playwrights in the English language. He lived during the 16th and 17th centuries in England and wrote approximately 38 plays and 154 sonnets during his lifetime. Shakespeare's works are known for their universal themes, complex characters, and beautiful language, and continue to be performed and studied all over the world. Some of his most famous works include "Romeo and Juliet," "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "Othello."
Shakespeare's impact on literature, culture, and language is immeasurable. His plays and sonnets have been translated into many languages and performed countless times, making him one of the most widely-read and influential writers in history. In addition, many common phrases and expressions that we use today can be traced back to Shakespeare's works, demonstrating just how deeply his writing has influenced the English language.
So, whether you are a Shakespeare scholar or simply a fan of his works, test your knowledge with these Shakespeare trivia questions. Can you answer questions about the plots and characters of his plays, the historical context in which they were written, and Shakespeare's life and legacy?
41 Shakespeare Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- Set in Verona featuring two star-cross’d lovers, which famous English playwright wrote the play Romeo and Juliet? He also wrote the famous plays Hamlet and Macbeth.
Answer: William Shakespeare
- Which two members of the phonetic alphabet double as Shakespearean star-crossed lovers?
Answer: Romeo, Juliet
- Don't say Christopher Marlowe: poppy and mandrake make up one of the floral displays at a San Francisco garden dedicated to flowers name-dropped in the sonnets and plays of what English dude?
Answer: William Shakespeare
- Europe's largest library, the Library of Birmingham has the 1623 First Folio of what playwright and poet with a whole memorial collection in the building?
Answer: William Shakespeare
- One of the earliest mentions of the idiom "wild goose chase" is when Mercutio says, "Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goose chase" during a conversation with one of the two title characters of what Shakespeare play?
Answer: Romeo and Juliet
- Iambic pentameter is a type of metric line used in English verse, most famously by William Shakespeare. While "iambic" describes the unstressed/stressed pattern of each two-syllable "foot," the word "pentameter" indicates that there are how many feet within a given line?
Answer: Five
- All the moons of Uranus are named after characters that appear in the works of Alexander Pope and which English playwright who died on St George’s day in 1616?
Answer: William Shakespeare
- What classic Leonard Bernstein Broadway musical re-envisioned Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in the world of white and Puerto Rican gangs fighting in New York City?
Answer: West Side Story
- "The language I have learn'd these forty years / My native English, now I must forego" is a line spoken by Thomas Mowbray in "Richard II," a work by what legendary playwright?
Answer: William Shakespeare
- In 2015, NYC's Metropolitan Opera decided to stop asking performers to wear blackface makeup to perform the title role of what Shakespeare-based opera by Giuseppe Verdi?
Answer: Otello
- Two of Uranus's moons are named Oberon and Titania, after fairy characters from what comedy play by William Shakespeare?
Answer: A Midsummer Night's Dream
- In Shakespeare's famous "Romeo and Juliet," what is the family name of Juliet?
Answer: Capulet
- In Shakespeare’s works when you hear and owl at night, it often means something bad is happening. What play does the following line come from referring to what the titular Lady hears during Duncan’s murder? Hark! Peace! | It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, | Which gives the sternest good night
Answer: Macbeth
- Felix Mendelssohn's famous "Wedding March" comes from the incidental music he wrote for what Shakespeare play, which centers on the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta?
Answer: A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Ira Aldridge was an African-American actor who made his fame after moving to London in 1824, largely for appearing in stage works by what Bard of Elizabethan theater?
Answer: William Shakespeare
- Passwords have been in existence long prior to the digital world. From Shakespeare, Bernardo uses what four-word password to verify his identity to Hamlet? It is the second half of the phrase, "the king is dead."
Answer: Long Live the King
- What Italy-based Shakespeare play involves a lengthy courtroom scene in which Shylock is tried for his crimes?
Answer: The Merchant of Venice
- At 4,000 lines, what is Shakespeare's longest play? The titular protagonist accounts for 37% of the play's script, making it the meatiest role in Shakespeare's canon.
Answer: Hamlet
- Although he's the title character in the play Julius Caesar, the man himself actually has more lines in what other Shakespeare play?
Answer: Antony and Cleopatra
- "Beware the Ides of March" is a line from what Shakespeare play set in ancient Rome?
Answer: Julius Caesar
- The line, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark", comes from what Shakespeare play, which also includes the famous "To be, or not to be" speech?
Answer: Hamlet
- You can ride Bird scooters in Verona, an Italian city famous as the setting for the two young, tragic lovers in what Shakespeare play from the 1590s?
Answer: Romeo and Juliet
- In 2022, sculptor Niclas Castello placed a giant cube made of what metallic element in New York’s Central Park for one day? Atomic number 79, William Shakespeare once noted that “all that glitters is not” this metal.
Answer: Gold
- The Folger Library located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. is home to large collection of printed works by what Bard of English poetry and plays?
Answer: William Shakespeare
- Which modern version of the strategy game Reversi is named after a play by Shakespeare? Apart from the titular character, protagonists of this play include Iago and Desdemona.
Answer: Othello
- According to various sources, what Florida city is either named for a distinguished soldier in the Seminole Wars, or a character from the Shakespeare play As You Like It?
Answer: Orlando
- The Lion King's villain Scar is inspired by what character from Shakespeare's Hamlet, another uncle who murders the protagonist's father?
Answer: Claudius
- Hypoplectrus is a genus of fish that are more commonly known by what name? They share this name with Shakespeare's longest play.
Answer: Hamlet
- In what Shakespeare history play did the Bard write "Thou ominous and fearful Owl of Death" and "An Owl shriek'd at thy birth, an evil sign"?
Answer: Henry VI
- What jokester and comic glutton of Shakespeare's Henry IV plays was so popular that Shakespeare wrote him his own play, The Merry Wives of Windsor, reportedly at the request of Elizabeth I?
Answer: Falstaff
- Featuring historic characters including Calpurnia, Claudius and Cicero, what Shakespearean tragedy was one of the first plays performed at the Globe Theatre when the performance venue first opened in 1599 in London?
Answer: “Julius Caesar”
- Starring Heath Ledger, "10 Things I Hate About You" is a film loosely based on which Shakespeare play?
Answer: The Taming of the Shrew
- A creepy traveling carnival is at the center of the action of what 1962 Ray Bradbury novel, whose title comes from a line in Shakespeare's "Macbeth?"
Answer: Something Wicked This Way Comes
- What joint in the human body is named after a word that was invented by William Shakespeare?
Answer: Elbow
- The Danish castle of Kronborg was immortalized as "Elsinore" in what play by William Shakespeare?
Answer: Hamlet
- What was the name of Shakespeare's son that passed away at age 11? The young boy's name was only one letter different from one of Shakespeare's most famous plays.
Answer: Hamnet
- What Shakespearean play, in which two couples wind up marrying, coined a modern-day term for an unnecessary dispute?
Answer: Much Ado About Nothing
- The impolite, unpleasant Katherina is referred to metaphorically by the name of a small mammal in the name of what Shakespeare play?
Answer: The Taming of the Shrew
- What body of work by William Shakespeare is sometimes split into sections called "Fair Youth" and "Dark Lady"?
Answer: Sonnets
- With a title that refers to a quote from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," what 1930 novel by Somerset Maugham has sweet food and a type of beer in its title?
Answer: Cakes and Ale
- In ancient Greece, owls were often seen as a symbol of good fortune, but other cultures saw them as more foreboding. In a Shakespeare play, we hear an owl hooting in a scene leading up to what title character's death?
Answer: Julius Caesar
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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