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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is another aspect of Will’s early life that impacted his later theatrical career?
(a) Studying with renowned playwrights of his day
(b) Attending local festivals at which plays were presented
(c) Traveling extensively outside of his home town
(d) Being selected as the winner of a national contest

2. Which of these WAS an aspect of life inside the ancient Roman wall in London?
(a) Crowding
(b) Extreme good health
(c) Fresh air
(d) Healthy places to eat

3. Where did Will go after leaving the county where he met Campion?
(a) Stratford
(b) Paris
(c) London
(d) Birmingham

4. What character in King Lear may reflect the plight of Edmund Campion?
(a) Iago
(b) Romeo
(c) Falstaff
(d) Edgar

5. Where did Will possibly live between the time of his school days and his marriage?
(a) Paris
(b) Lancashire
(c) Birmingham
(d) London

6. Chapter 1 gives the most information about Will’s…
(a) Brothers
(b) Sisters
(c) Mother
(d) Father

7. Which early farcical play written by Will was likely influenced by his studies in school?
(a) Hamlet
(b) Comedy of Errors
(c) Macbeth
(d) Henry IV

8. Chapter 1 ends with a discussion of…
(a) Will’s brilliance
(b) Will’s claim to fame
(c) Will’s rural roots
(d) Will’s religious preferences

9. What aspect of social life was very important in Will’s time?
(a) Status
(b) Honesty
(c) Health
(d) Generosity

10. What illegal activity was Will possibly involved in?
(a) Illicit wool trading
(b) Deer poaching
(c) Whiskey brewing
(d) Stealing from the rich

11. What did Will see upon entering his new home city that made him afraid?
(a) An army of soldiers coming out to meet him
(b) The crumbling defenses of the city
(c) People dying from the plague
(d) Heads of executed men impaled on spears

12. Which of Will’s plays does NOT discuss loss of social status?
(a) The Merchant of Venice
(b) Romeo and Juliet
(c) Twelfth Night
(d) The Tempest

13. Why did “The Queen’s Men” supposedly need an additional actor?
(a) One of their members had been killed
(b) One of their members had been arrested
(c) One of their members had gotten the plague
(d) One of their members had quit

14. What particular aspect did the public want in their plays during Will’s day?
(a) Romance
(b) Honesty
(c) Human dignity
(d) Violence

15. What eventually happened to Edmund Campion?
(a) He died of old age
(b) He was executed
(c) He was made mayor
(d) He was given a large sum of money

Short Answer Questions

1. What main theme in presented in Chapter 4 as occurring in many of Will’s later theatrical works?

2. Choose the word that best describes the family of Will’s mother.

3. What is a possible evidence for John’s Shakespeare’s suspected alcoholism?

4. Who was the prominent and hunted Catholic leader that Will met during this time?

5. In what city did Will live next?

(see the answer keys)

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