Webquest Questions

Question 1

When and where was Shakespeare born?

Answer 1

• April 23 , 1564

Question 2

Describe his upbringing and education.

Answer 2

he went to Stratford Grammar School at the age of 7

Question 3

What were the four types of plays he wrote?

Answer 3

Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth

Question 4

Besides writing plays, what other skills made Shakespeare a “jack of all trades?”

Answer 4

Shakespeare’s plays were performed on stages in private theatres, provincial theatres, and playhouses.

Question 5

When and where did Shakespeare die?

Answer 5

Holy Trinity church says that it is a mystery how he died but believe that he over drank and died of a fever.

Question 6

Why do we still read his works today? (Hint: think of theme)

Answer 6

the most common answer is “His themes and universal and timeless”. People can identify with the events he describes and with which he deals. His work is also remarkable.

Question 7

Find at least three famous quotes and/or words that originated in Shakespeare’s works. Mention the works from which they come.

Answer 7

“Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.”

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

Question 8

Who was Queen of England during the time Shakespeare began to write? Who ruled after her?

Answer 8

Queen Elizabeth Henry VII

Question 9

Give the approximate dates of the Elizabethan period.

Answer 9

1558-1603 “Elizabethan Era

Question 10

Identify the social classes during Shakespeare’s time.

Answer 10

Monarch, Nobility, Gentry, Merchant, Laborer

Question 11

Describe the status of women. How would a young woman respond to a request from her father?

Answer 11

They had very little rights, they said yes to their fathers.

Question 12

What is primogeniture?

Answer 12

The state of being the first born child.

Question 13

What was the Bubonic Plague and how did it affect society during Shakespeare’s time?

Answer 13

The Bubonic Plague was a plague the wiped out a lot of Europe and it killed many in Shakespeare’s society.

Question 14

Describe these aspects of Elizabethan life. 
food
socizaltion
cit life, hygyine, crime
homes

Answer 14

a. food
Food varied by wealth and meat was a sign of wealth.
b. socialization
People enjoyed holidays since there was little time for leisure in their lives. “Elizabethan.”
c. city life, hygiene, crime
There many crimes that were met with the death penalty, life was bad many were poor.
d. homes
The architecture was very distinctive.

Question 15

Describe the hierarchy of beings or “chain of beings” believed in by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

Answer 15

The four elements thought to compose the universe were Air, Earth, water and Fire

Question 16

What was the relationships between humours and illnesses.

Answer 16

If all humours in the body are in balance a person is healthy, if a persons humours get out of balance a illness occurs

Question 17

What type of medicine was administered and by whom was it dispensed during this time period?

Answer 17

Medicine was administered by Elizabethan doctors which depended on your class and the types of medicine were all basic like how to get rid of a headache

Question 18

Describe the religious climate during this time.

Answer 18

The religion was mainly catholic and protestant religions, these religions fought against each other it ended up in executions in people who believed in a certain religion

Question 19

What was considered to be the center of the universe at this time? Who controlled it?

Answer 19

The people in this time believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that all other things rotated around it, they thought that the God Marotous controlled it

Question 20

Describe the hierarchy of beings or “chain of beings” believed in by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

Answer 20

Shakespeares beliefs in the chain of beings was that everything in the universe has a specific place and rank in order of their perceived importance and “spiritual” nature. The more “spirit” a person or object had, the more power he or she had.

Question 21

sonnet

Answer 21

(Shakespearean)- a fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines that are typically 5-foot iambics rhyming according to a prescribed scheme; also : a poem in this pattern

Question 22

iambic pentameter

Answer 22

-Iambic pentameter is the name given to a line of verse that consists of five iambs

Question 23

blank verse

Answer 23

• is any verse comprised of unrhymed lines all in the same meter, usually iambic pentameter

Question 24

soliloquy

Answer 24

-an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play

Question 25

apostrophe

Answer 25

-Poem which is directly addressed to a person or thing

Question 26

oxymoron

Answer 26

-a combination of words that have opposite or very different meanings

Question 27

hyperbole

Answer 27

-a way of speaking or writing that makes someone or something sound much bigger, better, smaller, worse, more unusual, etc., than they are

Question 28

irony (dramatic)

Answer 28

-irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play.

Question 29

irony (verbal)

Answer 29

• a person says one thing but means the opposite, can be sarcasm.

Question 30

allusion

Answer 30

-Where a poem makes reference to another poem or text

Question 31

motif

Answer 31

-something (such as an important idea or subject) that is repeated throughout a book, story, etc.

Question 32

pun

Answer 32

-a humorous way of using a word or phrase so that more than one meaning is suggested

Question 33

couplet

Answer 33

-two lines of poetry that form a unit