Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble. Who chants these words?

The ghosts of Banquo and Duncan

Shakespeare Quotes Quiz: Which Play Is This Line From?

This Shakespeare quotes quiz asks you to match famous lines to their plays and characters, from Hamlet's To be, or not to be and Juliet's balcony speech to the witches of Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Richard III, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Twelfth Night and The Tempest. Fifteen questions on the most quoted writer in English.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 15 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 15 Time: 150s

Hamlet
To be, or not to be: that is the question. Which play is this line from?
Romeo and Juliet
In Juliet's line O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?, what does wherefore mean?
As You Like It
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. Which play is this from?
Julius Caesar
Who says Et tu, Brute? as he is attacked?
Macbeth
Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble. Who chants these words?
Richard III
Now is the winter of our discontent opens which play?
Richard III
A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse is cried by which king?
Dream
The course of true love never did run smooth. Which comedy is this line from?
Twelfth Night
If music be the food of love, play on opens which play?
The Tempest
We are such stuff as dreams are made on is spoken by which character?
Macbeth
Out, damned spot; out, I say. Who says these words while sleepwalking?
Hamlet
Something is rotten in the state of... which country?
Romeo and Juliet
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Who says this?
Julius Caesar
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears is the start of whose speech?
Sonnets
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? begins which of Shakespeare's works?

Explanations: answer key for all 15 questions

Q1: To be, or not to be: that is the question. Which play is this line from?
Answer: Hamlet
Prince Hamlet speaks the line while thinking about life and death. It is probably the most famous line in English drama.
Q2: In Juliet's line O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?, what does wherefore mean?
Answer: Why
Juliet is not asking where Romeo is. She is asking why he has to be a Montague, the enemy of her family.
Q3: All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. Which play is this from?
Answer: As You Like It
The melancholy character Jaques speaks the line. He goes on to describe the seven ages of a person's life.
Q4: Who says Et tu, Brute? as he is attacked?
Answer: Julius Caesar
Caesar is shocked that his friend Brutus has joined the plotters. The Latin words mean And you, Brutus?
Q5: Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble. Who chants these words?
Answer: The three witches
The witches in Macbeth chant over their cauldron as they prepare a spell. Their prophecies drive Macbeth toward murder.
Q6: Now is the winter of our discontent opens which play?
Answer: Richard III
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, speaks the opening lines. Winter of discontent later became a phrase for hard times in British politics.
Q7: A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse is cried by which king?
Answer: Richard III
Richard cries for a horse at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He loses his life and his crown.
Q8: The course of true love never did run smooth. Which comedy is this line from?
Answer: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Lysander says it to Hermia when her father forbids their marriage. The play's lovers end up lost in an enchanted forest.
Q9: If music be the food of love, play on opens which play?
Answer: Twelfth Night
Duke Orsino speaks the opening line of the play. He is lovesick for the Countess Olivia, who refuses his love.
Q10: We are such stuff as dreams are made on is spoken by which character?
Answer: Prospero
Prospero speaks these lines near the end of The Tempest. Many people see the speech as Shakespeare's farewell to the stage.
Q11: Out, damned spot; out, I say. Who says these words while sleepwalking?
Answer: Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth imagines blood on her hands that will not wash away. Guilt has driven her to madness.
Q12: Something is rotten in the state of... which country?
Answer: Denmark
The guard Marcellus says this after seeing the ghost of the dead king. The play is set in Elsinore Castle.
Q13: What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Who says this?
Answer: Juliet
Juliet argues that Romeo's family name should not matter. The line is still quoted when people discuss labels.
Q14: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears is the start of whose speech?
Answer: Mark Antony
Mark Antony speaks at Caesar's funeral and turns the crowd against the plotters. It is a classic example of persuasion.
Q15: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? begins which of Shakespeare's works?
Answer: Sonnet 18
Sonnet 18 praises a loved one whose beauty will live forever in the poem. It is the most famous of his 154 sonnets.

Shakespeare Quotes Quiz – Words That Live Forever

William Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, wrote lines that are still quoted more than 400 years later. Many everyday expressions come from his plays, and actors, politicians and writers borrow his words all the time.

His tragedies are full of famous speeches. Hamlet asks To be, or not to be, the witches of Macbeth chant Double, double toil and trouble, and Lady Macbeth cries Out, damned spot In Julius Caesar, the dying Caesar asks Et tu, Brute?, and Mark Antony begins his funeral speech with Friends, Romans, countrymen.

Shakespeare's history plays and comedies are just as quotable. Richard III opens with Now is the winter of our discontent and ends with the king calling for a horse. A Midsummer Night's Dream reminds us that the course of true love never did run smooth, and Twelfth Night begins with If music be the food of love, play on.

Romeo and Juliet gave us wherefore art thou Romeo, which means why, not where, and What's in a name? His sonnets, such as Sonnet 18, show his skill with poetry. Learning these lines is a great way into his plays.

What This Quiz Teaches

Famous lines from Hamlet and Macbeth
Quotes from Romeo and Juliet
Julius Caesar and Richard III
Comedies such as Twelfth Night
The Tempest and Prospero
Sonnet 18

Quick Facts About Shakespeare's Words

Shakespeare is credited with inventing or first recording many English words.
Phrases like break the ice and wild-goose chase appear in his plays.
He wrote about 37 plays and 154 sonnets.
Hamlet is his longest play.
His works have been translated into more than 100 languages.
The Globe Theatre in London performs his plays today.