All Free English Literature MCQs with Answers
Every English Literature question in the bank, across all chapters, each with the correct answer and a written explanation. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
3,192 questions · page 27 of 160
- A. The Thames
- B. The Avon
- C. The Tyburn
- D. The Seven
Explanation: Stratford-upon-Avon stands on the River Avon, whose name is therefore closely associated with Shakespeare's birthplace.
Correct answer: The Avon- A. 16th
- B. 14th
- C. 15th
- D. 17th
Explanation: Shakespeare was born in 1564, placing his birth in the sixteenth century.
Correct answer: 16th- A. 1626
- B. 1621
- C. 1623
- D. 1629
Explanation: The First Folio, formally titled Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, was published in 1623, seven years after…
Correct answer: 1623- A. Cymbeline
- B. Hamlet
- C. Titus Andronicus
- D. Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Explanation: Polonius gives this advice to Laertes in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3. The speech is ironic because Polonius himself is often verbose and…
Correct answer: Hamlet- A. Titus Andronicus
- B. The Tempest
- C. Cymbeline
- D. Shakespeare in love
Explanation: Titus Andronicus, The Tempest, and Cymbeline are all Shakespeare plays.
Correct answer: Shakespeare in love- A. Macbeth
- B. Twelfth Night
- C. A Midsummer Night's dream
- D. Hamlet
Explanation: Hamlet speaks the soliloquy beginning “To be or not to be” while contemplating existence, suffering, and death.
Correct answer: Hamlet- A. 48
- B. 52
- C. 60
- D. 63
Explanation: Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616, making him 52 at death. His exact birth date is not recorded, but the commonly accepted…
Correct answer: 52- A. London
- B. Cambridge
- C. Stratford
- D. Oxford
Explanation: William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1564.
Correct answer: Stratford- A. 18
- B. 22
- C. 19
- D. 23
Explanation: Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582, when he was 18, while she was older than him.
Correct answer: 18- A. Bard of London
- B. Bard of Avon
- C. Master Dramatist
- D. Supreme Poet
Explanation: Shakespeare is traditionally called the Bard of Avon because he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Correct answer: Bard of Avon531. Between what time period did William Shakespeare begin a successful career in London as an actor ?
- A. between1579 and 1583
- B. between1585 and 1592
- C. between1579 and 1587
- D. between1580 and 1591
Explanation: Shakespeare’s London career is generally placed in the period known as the “lost years,” from about 1585 to 1592.
Correct answer: between1585 and 1592- A. Medieval Mystery Plays
- B. Greek Epic
- C. Greek Drama
- D. French Chanson de Gestes
Explanation: The Chorus is a major structural feature of Greek drama, especially Greek tragedy, where it comments on events and reflects the…
Correct answer: Greek Drama- A. the prediction is never fulfilled.
- B. the prophet Enoch had made the same prediction centuries earlier.
- C. Samson doesn't know he himself will fulfill the prediction.
- D. the prediction is finally fulfilled much later when Jesus defeats Dagon
Explanation: Samson unknowingly becomes the instrument of the prediction when he brings down the temple of Dagon, killing himself and destroying the…
Correct answer: Samson doesn't know he himself will fulfill the prediction.- A. get revenge on his enemies
- B. re-instated as a Judge
- C. retire
- D. convert
Explanation: Manoa seeks Samson's release so that his son can leave imprisonment and withdraw into a quieter, retired life.
Correct answer: retire- A. France
- B. Germany
- C. Spain
- D. Italy
Explanation: The English masque developed from elaborate Italian court entertainments combining music, dance, spectacle, and allegory.
Correct answer: Italy- A. Pastoral elegy
- B. Prose polemic
- C. Blank verse tragedy
- D. Masque
Explanation: Comus is a masque, a courtly dramatic entertainment combining music, song, dialogue, dance, and spectacle.
Correct answer: Masque- A. it can be acted out on a very small stage.
- B. it was written to be read but not acted upon a stage.
- C. people will read it in secret and not publically admit they read it.
- D. it was written to be acted in a church.
Explanation: A closet drama is composed primarily for private reading rather than theatrical performance, often because its scale, form, or subject…
Correct answer: it was written to be read but not acted upon a stage.- A. He experiences some "rousing motions" which might be from God.
- B. Manoa convinces him to do it or the Philistines will execute Samson.
- C. The Chorus demands he stay in his prison cell and Samson reacts against them.
- D. He wishes to see Dalila one last time in the crowd.
Explanation: Samson feels sudden “rousing motions” within him and interprets them as a possible divine prompting.
Correct answer: He experiences some "rousing motions" which might be from God.- A. Westminster Abbey
- B. Trinity Church
- C. Protestant Cemetery
- D. None of above
Explanation: Shakespeare is buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was also baptised.
Correct answer: Trinity Church- A. 1590
- B. 1591
- C. 1592
- D. 1593
Explanation: By 1592, Greene’s reference to Shakespeare in Groats-Worth of Wit shows that he was already recognised in London as both an actor and a…
Correct answer: 1592