This quiz works best with JavaScript enabled. Home > English Literature > Genres > Drama > Shakespearean Tragedy – Quiz 1 🏠 Homepage 📘 Download PDF Books 📕 Premium PDF Books Shakespearean Tragedy Quiz 1 (60 MCQs) Quiz Instructions Select an option to see the correct answer instantly. 1. Which of the following is FALSE? A) The hero will come to regret his/her choices. B) The hero is influenced by a serious character flaw. C) The hero makes poor decisions. D) The hero must die a brutal death. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) The hero must die a brutal death. 2. Rhetorical questions A) Suffer complete ruin or death. B) Use words or phrases more than once to emphasize ideas. C) Must be paired with a correct answer. D) Require no answer. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Require no answer. 3. True or False? The hero is responsible for his/her own downfall. A) False. B) True. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) True. 4. What is the main focus of Shakespeare's tragedies, according to one critic? A) The metaphysical truth of the worldview. B) The emotional truth of the struggle. C) The cause of suffering. D) The resolution of conflicts. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) The emotional truth of the struggle. 5. A character whose personality and attitude contrast sharply with those of another character A) Foil. B) Aside. C) Tragedy. D) Allusion. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Foil. 6. What does the tragic madness in Shakespeare's heroes contain? A) Punishment and joy. B) Insight and happiness. C) Insight and peace. D) Punishment and insight. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Punishment and insight. 7. The point of no return during; the hero makes an irreversible (undoable) decision A) Exposition. B) Inciting action. C) Rising action. D) Climax. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Climax. 8. "Thrice to thine, and thrice to mineAnd thrice again, to make up nine." is an example of A) Blank verse. B) Parallelism. C) Soliloquy. D) Repetition. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Repetition. 9. The peripeteia occurs in this act. A) Act 5. B) Act 2. C) Act 3. D) Act 4. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Act 3. 10. Why/when does Juliet use OXYMORONS? A) She is angry about her arranged marriage to Paris. B) She is angry that her new husband just killed her cousin. C) She is fearful that the sleeping potion may not work. D) She sees Romeo for the first time at the party. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) She is angry that her new husband just killed her cousin. 11. What is an oxymoron? A) A term with opposite words to show conflicting feelings or ideas. B) An outside character who appears only once in the play. C) A character who remains nameless but helps stir the conflict. D) A conflict that makes things appear different from what they really are. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) A term with opposite words to show conflicting feelings or ideas. 12. The hero's downfall A) Adventure. B) Inciting action. C) Catastrophe. D) Crisis. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Catastrophe. 13. The force working against the protagonist A) Character flaw. B) Antagonist. C) Protagonist. D) Soliloquy. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) Antagonist. 14. A humorous/ funny scene that relieves the tension A) Comic Relief. B) Tension Relief. C) Aside. D) Foil. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Comic Relief. 15. The audience's emotional reaction or cleansing of emotions A) Catastrophe. B) Catharsis. C) Hamartia. D) Identification. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) Catharsis. 16. A SPEECH given by a character alone that exposes their thoughts and feelings to the audience A) Dialogue. B) Monologue. C) Aside. D) Soliloquy. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Soliloquy. 17. A character's remarks (1-2 lines) that reveals a character private thoughts; NOT A SPEECH A) Aside. B) Dialogue. C) Soliloquy. D) Monologue. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Aside. 18. Which critic has written that Shakespeare's tragedies are primarily about 'uncompensated suffering'? A) Cast. B) The advantages. C) Carstain. D) Chestnut. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Chestnut. 19. Humor resulting from words that sound the same, but has different meanings is A) The pun. B) Alliteration. C) Aside. D) Monologue. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) The pun. 20. The hero's personality/character flaw A) Denouement. B) Climax. C) Identification. D) Hamartia. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Hamartia. 21. A humorous scene or speech intended to lighten the mood A) Dramatic irony. B) Comic relief. C) Tragedy. D) Character flaw. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) Comic relief. 22. Macbeth is a story about A) Power, ambition, and betrayal. B) Two star-crossed lovers. C) Shakespeare's experience with Lady Macbeth. D) Waging peace between two countries. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Power, ambition, and betrayal. 23. What is a character defect that causes the downfall of a protagonist in a tragedy? A) Greed. B) Bitterness. C) Tragic flaw. D) Desire for power. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Tragic flaw. 24. A reference to a well-known literary or historical person, event, or place that the audience is expected to know is A) An allusion. B) Irony. C) The pun. D) Characterization. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) An allusion. 25. What type of plays did the Greeks and Shakespeare differ in terms of violence? A) Romances. B) Histories. C) Tragedies. D) Comedies. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Tragedies. 26. Blank verse that is made up of 5 unstressed syllables, each followed by 5 stressed syllables A) Iambic pentameter. B) Allusion. C) Comic relief. D) Dramatic irony. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Iambic pentameter. 27. The hero's recognition or confession of his/her wrongdoings A) Catastrophe. B) Catharsis. C) Identification. D) Adventure. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Identification. 28. The hero's flaw is introduced in this act. A) Act 3. B) Act 2. C) Act 4. D) Act 1. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Act 1. 29. What is a defining characteristic of Shakespearean tragedies? A) Happy endings. B) Lack of action. C) Simple language. D) Mix of seriousness and merriment. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Mix of seriousness and merriment. 30. True or False? The catharsis refers to the hero's emotions. A) False. B) True. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) False. 31. The adversary or opposing/ hostile force of the protagonist A) Foil Character. B) Protagonist. C) Tragic Hero. D) Antagonist. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Antagonist. 32. What is the function of a soliloquy in a play? A) To provide comic relief. B) To engage in a conversation with other characters. C) To reveal the character's private thoughts. D) To build suspense. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) To reveal the character's private thoughts. 33. What is the main theme explored in Shakespeare's tragedies? A) The power of fate. B) The importance of revenge. C) The struggle between good and evil. D) The complexities of human nature. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) The complexities of human nature. 34. A reference within a work to something that the audience is expected to know. A) Dramatic irony. B) Allusion. C) Soliloquy. D) Antagonist. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) Allusion. 35. What were the main features of the outdoor Elizabethan playhouse? A) Large stage with elaborate sets. B) Indoor seating for the audience. C) Wireless headset mics for actors. D) Semi-circular seating and a pit. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Semi-circular seating and a pit. 36. The personality/character flaw associated with pride A) Adventure. B) Hamartia. C) Identification. D) Hubris. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Hubris. 37. What is the main characteristic of Shakespeare's tragic heroes? A) They are leaders in the state. B) They are always women. C) They are always peasants. D) They are minor characters. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) They are leaders in the state. 38. What is the dramatic irony in a play? A) When the characters know everything. B) When the audience knows less than the characters. C) When the audience knows more than the characters. D) When the characters are unaware of their surroundings. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) When the audience knows more than the characters. 39. A drama that ends in catastrophe for the main characters A) Comic relief. B) Soliloquy. C) Tragedy. D) Aside. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Tragedy. 40. What is the significance of madness in Shakespeare's tragedies? A) It is a symbol of love. B) It is a form of punishment. C) It is a sign of happiness. D) It is a representation of peace. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) It is a form of punishment. 41. Which of the following is NOT a feeling associated with catharsis? A) Pride. B) Fear. C) Apprehension (anxiety). D) Pity. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Pride. 42. How many acts does a Shakespearean tragedy have? A) 4. B) 5. C) 2. D) 3. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) 5. 43. What did actors in Shakespeare's company have to do besides acting? A) Sing and dance. B) Write scripts. C) Design sets. D) Sell tickets. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Sing and dance. 44. When the audience knows more than the characters A) Situational irony. B) Dramatic irony. C) Sarcasm. D) Verbal Irony. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) Dramatic irony. 45. True or False:Playwrights use dramatic irony to "lighten the mood" in a tragedy. A) True. B) False. Show Answer Correct Answer: B) False. 46. What is the purpose of comic relief in a play? A) To introduce a new character. B) To make the play more serious. C) To provide a tragic ending. D) To heighten the seriousness of the main action by contrast. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) To heighten the seriousness of the main action by contrast. 47. According to Hamlet, how should actors deliver their lines? A) Yell and gesticulate wildly. B) Mouth the words dramatically. C) Speak trippingly on the tongue. D) Saw the air with their hands. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Speak trippingly on the tongue. 48. A drama that results in a catastrophe for the main characters is called a A) Soliloquy. B) Good story. C) Comic relief. D) Tragedy. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Tragedy. 49. A character who fails because of a character flaw (imperfection) or cruel twist of fate is the A) Foil Character. B) Protagonist. C) Antagonist. D) Tragic Hero. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Tragic Hero. 50. What Shakespearean Tragedy will we be studying? A) Hamlet. B) MacBeth. C) King Lear. D) Romeo and Juliet. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Hamlet. 51. What were the staging conventions of Elizabethan drama? A) Sumptuous costumes. B) Minimalist sets. C) Wireless headset mics. D) Offstage violence. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Sumptuous costumes. 52. When an audience knows more about the characters and this knowledge helps build suspense, that is called A) Soliloquy. B) A tragedy. C) Dramatic irony. D) An aside. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Dramatic irony. 53. When does the audience think briefly that the hero might be okay? A) During the falling action. B) During the climax. C) During the moment of final suspense. D) During the exposition. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) During the moment of final suspense. 54. The tragic hero usually fails or dies because of this. A) Dramatic irony. B) Comic relief. C) Character flaw. D) Antagonist. Show Answer Correct Answer: C) Character flaw. 55. A joke that results from multiple word meanings. A) Soliloquy. B) Aside. C) Tragedy. D) Pun. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Pun. 56. According to Chaucer, what is the definition of tragedy? A) A tale of prosperity ending in wretchedness. B) A story of love and loss. C) A narrative of heroic deeds. D) A comedy with a tragic ending. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) A tale of prosperity ending in wretchedness. 57. What is the essential ingredient in tragedy according to Shakespeare? A) Unexpected suffering and calamity. B) Happiness and prosperity. C) Comedic relief. D) Peace and tranquility. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Unexpected suffering and calamity. 58. What did actors receive instead of the full script? A) Pages of lines and cues. B) Character descriptions. C) Scene breakdowns. D) Stage directions. Show Answer Correct Answer: A) Pages of lines and cues. 59. What does the legendary figure of Cassandra symbolize in relation to Shakespearean tragic heroes? A) Insight and peace. B) Insight and happiness. C) Punishment and joy. D) Punishment and insight. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Punishment and insight. 60. A drama that results in a catastrophe-most often death for the main character is a A) Comedy. B) Fiction. C) History. D) Tragedy. Show Answer Correct Answer: D) Tragedy. 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