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Secondary 4 English · Shakespeare and drama

Name: ______________________

Date: ____________

1. What is a soliloquy?
- ☐ (a) A conversation between two characters
- ☐ (b) A speech in which a character, usually alone, speaks their private thoughts aloud
- ☐ (c) A song performed at the end of a play
- ☐ (d) A list of the characters in a play
2. What term describes the situation when the audience knows something a character does not? (two words)
3. How many syllables are in a regular line of iambic pentameter?
4. A character says a short line to the audience that the other characters on stage do not hear. This is…
- ☐ (a) A soliloquy
- ☐ (b) An aside
- ☐ (c) A prologue
- ☐ (d) A stage direction
5. In the original performances of Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare's theatre, who would most likely have played Juliet?
- ☐ (a) A famous actress
- ☐ (b) A boy or young man
- ☐ (c) Shakespeare's daughter
- ☐ (d) No one – the part was only read aloud
6. Why did Shakespeare often describe the time of day or the weather in characters' speeches?
- ☐ (a) Because his theatre had little scenery and performed in daylight, so words had to create the setting
- ☐ (b) Because he was paid by the word
- ☐ (c) Because audiences could not see the stage
- ☐ (d) Because stage directions were not allowed
7. In many Shakespeare plays, noble characters speak in verse while servants and comic characters often speak in…
- ☐ (a) Rhyming couplets only
- ☐ (b) Prose
- ☐ (c) Song
- ☐ (d) Silence
8. 'Exit, pursued by a bear' from The Winter's Tale is an example of what kind of writing in a play script? (two words)

Answer sheet

1. A speech in which a character, usually alone, speaks their private thoughts aloud — A soliloquy reveals a character's inner thoughts directly to the audience.
2. dramatic irony — Dramatic irony creates tension because we watch characters act without knowing the truth.
3. 10 — Pentameter has five feet, and each iamb has two syllables: 5 × 2 = 10.
4. An aside — An aside is a brief private remark made while others are present.
5. A boy or young man — Women did not act on the public stage in England then, so boys or young men played female roles.
6. Because his theatre had little scenery and performed in daylight, so words had to create the setting — This 'word scenery' helped the audience imagine night, storms or other settings.
7. Prose — Prose (ordinary sentences without metre) often marks lower-status, comic or chaotic moments.
8. stage direction — Stage directions tell actors what to do, such as when to enter or leave.