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Shakespeare Scavenger Hunt
(30 pts)
The answers to the below questions can be found in your Language of Literature textbook, pp 683-685.
1. What accomplishment did Shakespeare reach that no other writer has?
2.
When was Shakespeare born?
3.
What theater company was Shakespeare affiliated with from the early 1590s? To what degree was Shakespeare involved with
them?
4.
Describe the Globe Theatre. (What did it look like? How was the seating arranged?)
5.
Why did so many people from different classes enjoy Shakespeare’s play?
6.
What did Shakespeare want to do, as a playwright?
7.
What limitations were the performers under at the Globe? What sort of technical problems did they have? How did they
compensate?
8.
Why do readers and theatergoers continue to enjoy Shakespeare’s plays now?
9.
Complete the sentence: To understand Shakespeare’s plays is ___________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
Rewrite this in your own words.
10. What was the difference (in views) between the Middle Ages & the Renaissance?
11. What did Queen Elizabeth I support during her reign?
12. What did London have more of than any other city in Europe?
13. What happened to Shakespeare in 1599?
14. What event underscored England’s emergence as a major European power?
15. What topped the list of the era’s fine literature? What is it (give the definition!)?
Shakespeare Scavenger Hunt (KEY)
(30 pts)
The answers to the below questions can be found in your Language of Literature textbook, pp 683-685.
1. What accomplishment did Shakespeare reach that no other writer has?
“No other writer, before or since, has developed the potential of the English language to such heights.”
2. When was Shakespeare born? “In 1564, when Shakespeare was born…”
3. What theater company was Shakespeare affiliated with from the early 1590s? To what degree was Shakespeare involved with
them?
“From the early 1590s, Shakespeare was affiliated with a theater company known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men…Not only
did Shakespeare write the company’s plays; he was also a shareholder, or part owner, and at first even performed
occasionally as an actor.”
4. Describe the Globe Theatre. (What did it look like? How was the seating arranged?)
“Located on the banks of the River Thames in central London, the Globe Theatre was a three-story wooden building that held
up to three thousand theatergoers. In the center was an open-air courtyard with a platform stage on which the plays were
performed. Those paying the lowest admission charges, known as groundlings, stood in the pit, the part of the courtyard right
near the stage. Wealthier theatergoers sat in the building’s interior balconies, or galleries, which surrounded all sides of the
courtyard except for the part of the building directly behind the stage.”
5. Why did so many people from different classes enjoy Shakespeare’s play?
“Judging from the success of Shakespeare’s company, both classes of theatergoers seem to have enjoyed his plays. That’s
probably because they included something for everyone—powerful speeches, fancy sword fights, humor, eerie supernatural
events, and insightful observations about human nature.”
6. What did Shakespeare want to do, as a playwright? “As a playwright, [Shakespeare] wanted to explore human behavior, to
understand how different people deal with universal problems.”
7. What limitations were the performers under at the Globe? What sort of technical problems did they have? How did they
compensate?
“Since the Globe had no artificial lighting or heating, performances were given in daylight in warmer weather. The stage also
had no scenery; usually, lines of dialogue told the audience where a scene was taking place. Despite the lack of scenery,
productions were by no means drab; costumes could be quite ornate, and props such as swords, shields, and swirling banners
added to the colorful display. From behind the stage came sound effects—the chiming of a clock, for instance, or the sound
of a cannon. The stage had no curtain. Instead, performers usually walked on and off in full view of the audience.”
8. Why do readers and theatergoers continue to enjoy Shakespeare’s plays now?
“One answer is that Shakespeare thoroughly understood the theater and knew all the tricks of stagecraft: how to move an
audience, create an exciting scene, sketch out a setting using only the spoken word. Another answer lies in Shakespeare’s
language—the beautiful lines and phrases that resound in the minds of all who experience his plays…Still another answer lies
in Shakespeare’s profound understanding of human psychology, revealed in the unforgettable characters he created.”
9. Complete the sentence: To understand Shakespeare’s plays is to understand what is most important about human beings and
about life.
Rewrite this in your own words. (Answers may vary)
10. What was the difference (in views) between the Middle Ages & the Renaissance?
“During the Middle Ages, the European world view had focused on God and the afterlife, but with the Renaissance came a
renewal of interest in individual human achievement and in life right here on earth.”
11. What did Queen Elizabeth I support during her reign?
“Elizabeth I supported all the arts—literature, painting, sculpture, music, and theater.”
12. What did London have more of than any other city in Europe?
“…and by the end of the 16th century, London had more theaters than any other city in Europe.”
13. What happened to Shakespeare in 1599?
“In 1599, with the other company shareholders, [Shakespeare] became part owner of the Globe Theatre, the new London
home of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.”
14. What event underscored England’s emergence as a major European power?
“…in 1588 the English defeated an attempted invasion by the Spanish Armada, a powerful naval fleet. The victory, which
was aided by the weather, underscored England’s emergence as a major European power.”
15. What topped the list of the era’s fine literature? What is it (give the definition!)?
“Topping the list of the era’s fine literature, however, was its verse drama, plays in which the dialogue consists mostly or
entirely of poetry.”