# Help with Shakespeare trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 15, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870 "2010-09-15T17:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/21 "2010-09-16T03:11:19Z")
> [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > 1. In any of Shakespeare’s “pants roles,” do any of the women handle a sword? In addition to Viola, Imogen in _Cymbeline_ becomes page to the Roman general Lucius and accompanies him into battle, so it would certainly be plausible to have her handle a sword in performance, even though it’s not specifically mentioned in the text. _Cymbeline_ also has a totally goofy ghost scene in which all of Posthumus’s deceased family members pay him a visit, so it provides yet another answer to #3. > [@](#): > > 1. What would you say is the _sexiest_ love scene in the plays? Any scene in _Antony and Cleopatra_ that isn’t set in Rome (and Cleopatra is plenty seductive). > [@](#): > > 1. What are some of the well-known brother-sister roles, besides Viola and Sebastian? Do they have to interact? If not, Mamillius and Perdita in _A Winter’s Tale_ would qualify (but he dies shortly after her birth, so they don’t have any scenes together). And there are Anne and William Page in _The Merry Wives of Windsor_, but they don’t have much onstage interaction either. Imogen has a rather sweet scene with her two long-lost brothers (seriously, _Cymbeline_ has _everything!_) although they don’t know they’re siblings at the time. Of course, none of this is exactly “well-known play” territory… > [@](#): > > 1. Lastly, can you think of anything that would make a Shakespearean actor groan? Something on the scale of Greedo firing first? The most obvious example is someone saying that Francis Bacon actually wrote the plays, but is there some other controversy (besides authorship) that would make actors get into a quarrel? Do you want an interpretation that is so cliched and just-plain-dumb that _most_ actors would shudder at it even though it’s popular with the general public, or one where there are multiple, reasonable ways to play it, but people tend to be so convinced theirs is the One True Way that they’ll fight over it? I’d vote for Oedipal Hamlet for the first one, and “exactly how sexist (or not) is _The Taming of the Shrew?_” for the second. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/22 "2010-09-16T04:14:17Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I can recall seeing a production where the Regan and Edmund scene was piping hot. I recently saw a production of _Hamlet_ in which Rosencranz and Guildenstern were women (and pretty evidently lovers), which gives a very interesting tone to the scene after the Players, especially given his blunt friskiness with Ophelia. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/23 "2010-09-16T04:14:27Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > > [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > > > 1. Lastly, can you think of anything that would make a Shakespearean actor groan? Something on the scale of Greedo firing first? The most obvious example is someone saying that Francis Bacon actually wrote the plays, but is there some other controversy (besides authorship) that would make actors get into a quarrel? > > I answered this one earlier but I did it from the standpoint of actors arguing with each other. If you’re talking about something that makes the actors groan and slap their foreheads, I’d say it’s having Juliet recite the line “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” while putting her hand to her brow and looking around for Romeo. Wherefore means _why_, not where, and when people get it wrong, actors and Shakespeare buffs go crazy. It’s like nails on the chalkboards of their souls. This is a very good one. Another good one might be to have someone say “Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him well.” The correct quote is “Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, _Horatio_.” Most people who are reasonably familiar with William Shakespeare know that he died on his birthday. It isn’t strictly true; we know the date of his baptism, and so we can infer his birthdate, but not with total certainty. What many people don’t know is that Shakespeare, probably the greatest English writer of his age, died on the same day in the same year as Miguel de Cervantes, probably the greatest Spanish writer of his age. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/24 "2010-09-16T11:46:30Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Most people who are reasonably familiar with William Shakespeare know that he died on his birthday. It isn’t strictly true; we know the date of his baptism, and so we can infer his birthdate, but not with total certainty. What many people don’t know is that Shakespeare, probably the greatest English writer of his age, died on the same day in the same year as Miguel de Cervantes, probably the greatest Spanish writer of his age. They both died on April 23, 1616. But at the time England was using the Julian calendar and Spain was on the Gregorian calendar, so Cervantes actually died ten days before Shakespeare. The really tantalizing connection between the two is that Shakespeare may have adapted some of Cervantes’ work in _Cardenio_. But the play, or at least anything that may have been written by Shakespeare, is lost. The thought of Shakespeare writing for Don Quixote and Sancho is something to be wondered at. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/25 "2010-09-16T11:51:02Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > > [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > > > I’m struggling to think of another. > > Try the Taming of the Shrew. > > That was the first that came to my mind. > > Kathryn and …Beatrix??? Can’t remember, > > Best wishes, > hh Katherina and Bianca are sisters, unless the production changes genders. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/26 "2010-09-16T12:00:06Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Superstitious actors call Macbeth “The Scottish Play” and call his wife “Lady M.” What do they call Macbeth himself? [The theme song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIY4-_LeQtA) from the second series of Slings and Arrows - "Sorry; I won’t play ‘Makkers’ " About 1:15 in, unless you want to catch Eric Peterson (Brent Butt’s father from ‘Corner Gas’, among other accomplishments) in his cameo as the psychotic school teacher. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/27 "2010-09-16T12:11:55Z")
1. Titus Andronicus features Lavinia plus at least four of her brothers (Lucius, Quintus, Martius, Mutius). ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/28 "2010-09-16T12:47:56Z")
[QUOTE=Flying Saucer] 7. Lastly, can you think of anything that would make a Shakespearean actor groan? [/quote] Hamlet kissing his mom. It’s not in the play. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/29 "2010-09-16T12:50:57Z")
> [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > can you think of anything that would make a Shakespearean actor groan? A really fat Cordelia? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/30 "2010-09-16T13:35:19Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Especially when they cast it in an all-girl’s school. I don’t know about you, but I certainly would look forward to seeing a female Bottom. _A Winter’s Tale_ has the famous stage direction “Exit, pursued by a Bear”. Obviously, then, the actors onstage have a bear behind. 😃 I was going to suggest Richard III seduction of Lady Anne, but **NAF1138** beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/31 "2010-09-16T14:41:21Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I really think you should watch the 18 episodes of ‘Slings and Arrows’ for some insider information on how actors can quarrel about _anything_. Hijack: I highly recommend that series to anyone and everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/32 "2010-09-16T15:10:19Z")
> [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > Some very interesting responses, thanks. > > When it comes to sexy scenes, can anyone think of an example where the _woman_ seduces the _man_? That’s really what I was looking for. My thoughts tend towards Beatrice and Benedick or Petruchio and Kate, but I’m not sure that’s sexy as much as just banter. Means’t thou to enjoy him? _Lear_ ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/33 "2010-09-16T15:20:01Z")
> [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > … > 7. Lastly, can you think of anything that would make a Shakespearean actor groan? Something on the scale of Greedo firing first? The most obvious example is someone saying that Francis Bacon actually wrote the plays, but is there some other controversy (besides authorship) that would make actors get into a quarrel? > … Who is the 3rd Murderer? _Macbeth_ Enobarbus dies, how exactly? _Anthony & Cleo_ Shakespeare a Catholic? ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/34 "2010-09-16T16:11:50Z")
There are no bad quartos, only misunderstood little books. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/35 "2010-09-16T16:31:47Z")
> [@Flying\_Saucer](#): > > 1. Lastly, can you think of anything that would make a Shakespearean actor groan? Something on the scale of Greedo firing first? The most obvious example is someone saying that Francis Bacon actually wrote the plays, but is there some other controversy (besides authorship) that would make actors get into a quarrel? Complaints about the historical accuracy of the plays perhaps. There’s a whole [society dedicated to redeeming Richard III](http://www.richardiii.net/)for instance. While it’s true that anything historically accurate in the plays is coincidental their truth value is totally unnecessary and would probably cause many to groan. People who confuse the movie _Shakespeare in Love_ with a biography of Shakespeare (and I’m sure some exist) probably would. Directors who want a memorable new take on Shakespeare so they do something that’s far more gimmick than innovative. (“Let’s set ROMEO & JULIET in Nazi Germany!” or “A lesbian production of TAMING OF THE SHREW!”). I recently watched _Me and Orson Welles_ (great performance by McKay as Welles incidentally) in which Orson’s late 1930s radio production of HAMLET was mentioned. He had to condense the play to an hour so he cut the _To Be or Not to Be_ soliloquy, stating that dramatically it was the most expendable part of the play. Since _Hamlet_ if shown in its entirety can easily run four hours most productions are edited but his is the only one I’ve heard of that struck that one- I can see that causing massive groans. Misattribution would probably bother Shakespearean enthusiasts. I’ve heard "Music hath charm to soothe the savage b[r]east"or “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” and lots of other familiar adages attributed to him by public figures over the years when in fact none were from his writings. Somebody praising Mel Gibson’s _Hamlet_ or saying _West Side Story_ is better than _Romeo & Juliet_ perhaps. Really dedicated Shakespeareans are very prejudiced as well: every famous Shakespearean actor has many detractors who claim he’s murdering the Bard. Praise Kenneth Branagh or John Gielgud or Maurice Evans and you’ll have some in the group sigh “ah, the greatest” while others will insist “ugh! What a total ham!” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/36 "2010-09-16T19:06:13Z")
1. What are some of the well-known brother-sister roles, besides Viola and Sebastian? Laertes and Ophelia, _Hamlet_ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/37 "2010-09-16T19:12:53Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Directors who want a memorable new take on Shakespeare so they do something that’s far more gimmick than innovative. (“Let’s set ROMEO & JULIET in Nazi Germany!” or “A lesbian production of TAMING OF THE SHREW!”). Putting any Shakespeare play in a Nazi-type setting has turned into a groan inducing cliche in its own right. That’s not to say nobody should do it or it can’t be done well - Orson Welles did a facist Julius Caesar that was supposed to be great, and Ian MacKellen’s Richard III is amazing - just that it’s an obvious choice and an unoriginal one. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/38 "2010-09-16T19:18:41Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I was going to suggest Richard III seduction of Lady Anne, but **NAF1138** beat me to it. So I’m not the only weirdo! It’s one of my favorite scenes in all of Shakespeare not just my favorite seduction. I particularly love this bit. Richard and Anne are talking usually over the coffin of Anne’s dead husband, who they both know Richard just had murdered. Anne hates him and says she wants him dead, so Richard hands her his sword and kneels in front of her asking him to kill him because\* he loves her that much\*. This exchange follows: [Quote=Richard III Act i Scene 2] LADY ANNE ``` Arise, dissembler: though I wish thy death, I will not be the executioner. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` Then bid me kill myself, and I will do it. ``` LADY ANNE ``` I have already. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` Tush, that was in thy rage: Speak it again, and, even with the word, That hand, which, for thy love, did kill thy love, Shall, for thy love, kill a far truer love; To both their deaths thou shalt be accessary. ``` LADY ANNE ``` I would I knew thy heart. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` 'Tis figured in my tongue. ``` LADY ANNE ``` I fear me both are false. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` Then never man was true. ``` LADY ANNE ``` Well, well, put up your sword. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` Say, then, my peace is made. ``` LADY ANNE ``` That shall you know hereafter. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` But shall I live in hope? ``` LADY ANNE ``` All men, I hope, live so. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` Vouchsafe to wear this ring. ``` LADY ANNE ``` To take is not to give. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` Look, how this ring encompasseth finger. Even so thy breast encloseth my poor heart; Wear both of them, for both of them are thine. And if thy poor devoted suppliant may But beg one favour at thy gracious hand, Thou dost confirm his happiness for ever. ``` LADY ANNE ``` What is it? ``` GLOUCESTER ``` That it would please thee leave these sad designs To him that hath more cause to be a mourner, And presently repair to Crosby Place; Where, after I have solemnly interr'd At Chertsey monastery this noble king, And wet his grave with my repentant tears, I will with all expedient duty see you: For divers unknown reasons. I beseech you, Grant me this boon. ``` LADY ANNE ``` With all my heart; and much it joys me too, To see you are become so penitent. Tressel and Berkeley, go along with me. ``` GLOUCESTER ``` Bid me farewell. ``` LADY ANNE ``` 'Tis more than you deserve; But since you teach me how to flatter you, Imagine I have said farewell already. Exeunt LADY ANNE, TRESSEL, and BERKELEY ``` GLOUCESTER ``` Sirs, take up the corse. ``` GENTLEMEN ``` Towards Chertsey, noble lord? ``` GLOUCESTER ``` No, to White-Friars; there attend my coining. Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER Was ever woman in this humour woo'd? Was ever woman in this humour won?... ``` [/quote] For my money that’s the best back and forth between two characters in Shakespeare. He has better monologues and soliloquies, but I don’t think there is a better 2 person dialogue scene. ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Saucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Flying\_Saucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Saucer)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/39 "2010-09-18T00:45:43Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I really think you should watch the 18 episodes of ‘Slings and Arrows’ for some insider information on how actors can quarrel about _anything_. Thanks for the tip. I’ve watched the first four and I love them. A very nice balance of comedy and drama underscored by a real love of theatre and acting. Now I, too, recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870/40 "2010-09-19T22:04:35Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Lastly, can you think of anything that would make a Shakespearean actor groan? Something on the scale of Greedo firing first? The most obvious example is someone saying that Francis Bacon actually wrote the plays, but is there some other controversy (besides authorship) that would make actors get into a quarrel? Groaner that has come up for me as a former working actor regarding Shakespeare is the idea that “Wherefore” means “Where” and not “Why”. It will drive experienced Shakespearian actors up a wall. I have seen an argument arise between actors about whether Tybalt and Lady Capulet were cuckolding Lord Capulet. Of course, there are the arguments on how to perform Shakespeare in the modern theater. More tension will come out of that than almost any other thing regarading Shakespeare. In fact at one time major violence (roving gangs) shut down performances in the U.S. that were not done in the acting style that they agreed with). One of the best sources on all things Shakespeare is the book, _Shakespeare 101_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-shakespeare-trivia/553870.md?page=3)