All Free English Literature MCQs with Answers

• A. Elizabeth Marlowe
• B. Joan Shakespeare
• C. Anne Hathaway
• D. Juliet Shakespeare

Explanation: Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582. The other names are either fictional or unrelated to his marriage.

• A. Christopher Marlow
• B. William Shakespeare
• C. Philip Sidney
• D. The Earl of Oxford

Explanation: The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is Christopher Marlowe’s famous Elizabethan tragedy about a scholar who exchanges his soul for…

• A. Ben Johnson
• B. Christopher Marlow
• C. Philip Sidney
• D. Thomas Kyd

Explanation: Christopher Marlowe strongly influenced Shakespeare through his powerful blank verse, tragic heroes, and ambitious dramatic style.

• A. Nobility
• B. Peasants
• C. Yeomen
• D. The gentry

Explanation: Peasants occupied the lowest level among these broad social groups in Shakespeare’s England, below the gentry, yeomen, and nobility.

• A. Catholicism
• B. Buddhism
• C. Protestantism
• D. Mormonism

Explanation: Protestantism held the greatest political and social power in Shakespeare’s England, particularly under Elizabeth I.

• A. "Doctor Faustus"
• B. "The Faerie Queen"
• C. "Titus Andronicus"
• D. "The Jew of Malta"

Explanation: Titus Andronicus is generally accepted as one of Shakespeare’s early tragedies.

• A. 1564
• B. 1580
• C. 1577
• D. 1550

Explanation: William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe were both born in 1564, although Shakespeare's exact birth date is traditionally recorded as…

• A. 15th century
• B. 16th century
• C. 14th century
• D. 17th century

Explanation: Henry V’s action centres on the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, placing the main events in the fifteenth century.

• A. Richmond
• B. Queen Elizabeth
• C. Richard III
• D. The princes

Explanation: Richard speaks the opening soliloquy beginning “Now is the winter of our discontent,” immediately presenting his ambition and resentment.

• A. Lady Anne
• B. Queen Elizabeth
• C. Duchess of York
• D. Margaret

Explanation: Richard manipulates Lady Anne into marrying him even though he has helped cause the deaths of her husband and father-in-law.

• A. Falstaff
• B. Henry V
• C. Nim
• D. Catherine

Explanation: Henry speaks these lines in the St Crispin’s Day speech before the Battle of Agincourt.

• A. Catherine
• B. Alice
• C. The Hostess
• D. Nim

Explanation: Catherine is the daughter of Charles VI, King of France, and becomes Henry V’s betrothed at the end of the play.

• A. England
• B. Spain
• C. France
• D. Denmark

Explanation: Henry claims the French crown and leads the English invasion of France, culminating in the victory at Agincourt.

• A. In a tower
• B. In a pit
• C. In a prison
• D. In another country

Explanation: Richard has the young princes confined in the Tower of London, where they become known as the Princes in the Tower.

• A. That it is a satire of European monarchies
• B. That none of the characters undergo
• C. a remarkable shift in personality over the course of the play
• D. That it is historically accurate
• E. That it is an incomplete play and possibly not authored by Shakespeare

Explanation: Ian Johnson’s view is that the characters in Henry V do not undergo a remarkable change in personality during the play.

• A. Comedy
• B. History
• C. Tragedy
• D. Epic poem

Explanation: Hamlet is a Shakespearean tragedy because its central conflict ends in suffering, death, and the fall of the protagonist.

• A. Macbeth
• B. Banquo
• C. Duncan
• D. Donalbain

Explanation: Duncan is the reigning King of Scotland when Macbeth begins. Macbeth becomes king only after Duncan’s murder, while Banquo is a nobleman…

• A. Denmark
• B. Norway
• C. England
• D. France

Explanation: Hamlet is set chiefly in Denmark, especially at Elsinore Castle. Norway and England appear in the political background, but neither is the…

• A. Claudius
• B. Horatio
• C. Hamlet
• D. Marcellus

Explanation: Marcellus says, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” after the guards encounter the Ghost.

• A. Polonius
• B. Claudius
• C. Horatio
• D. Fortinbras

Explanation: Claudius is Hamlet’s uncle because he is the brother of Hamlet’s dead father, King Hamlet.