Q 01/05

In which city, ruled by the absent Duke Vincentio, does Shakespeare set Measure for Measure?

A) Venice

B) Verona

C) Vienna

D) Padua

Answer · why

C) Vienna

Vienna is an odd home for a play full of Italian names, and some scholars argue the action was moved there from Italy when the text was later revised.

Q 02/05

What disguise does Duke Vincentio wear to spy on his deputy Angelo in Measure for Measure?

A) A soldier

B) A friar

C) A beggar

D) A merchant

Answer · why

B) A friar

A friar can go anywhere, so the Duke visits the prison, counsels the condemned Claudio and quietly steers the whole plot from under his hood.

Q 03/05

What does Angelo demand from Isabella in return for sparing her brother Claudio in Measure for Measure?

A) Her family estate

B) Her silence

C) Her dowry

D) Her virginity

Answer · why

D) Her virginity

Her virginity is the price, and Isabella refuses, declaring that her chastity matters more than her brother's life.

Q 04/05

In Measure for Measure, the head sent to Angelo in place of Claudio's belonged to what kind of criminal?

A) A pirate

B) A highwayman

C) A forger

D) A poacher

Answer · why

A) A pirate

A pirate named Ragozine had died of fever in the prison that morning, and he happened to be Claudio's age with the same colour of beard.

Q 05/05

How does Isabella answer in the text when Duke Vincentio proposes marriage at the end of Measure for Measure?

A) She accepts gladly

B) She refuses him

C) She says nothing

D) She asks for time

Answer · why

C) She says nothing

She says nothing: Shakespeare gives her no reply at all, so every production has to decide for itself what her silence means.