Tuesday, January 19, 2016

1902 Shakespeare quiz, Part 5

30) Give the pleadings and arguments in the action of William Visor of Wincot, against Clement Perkes of the Hill?
31) What was the color of Orlando's hair? Who punned on his own name on his deathbed?
32) What dainties did Perdita provide for the sheep-shearing feast?
33) What was Shakespeare's favorite ballad judging from the fact that it is the one oftenest alluded to in the plays.
34) What six characters in the plays are palpably thumbnail sketches for six characters in the later ones?
35) What Scriptural story did Falstaff think fittest to be represented on tapestry?
36) What women in the plays had beards?
37) What character in the plays owed his life to his ability to write a clerky or engrossing hand?
38) What character in the plays was punished for his crimes by being buried breast deep in the earth and left to starve?
39) What character in the plays made a plume for his hat out of a pack of playing cards?

3 comments:

Fretful Porpentine said...

30) OMG OMG THIS IS A QUESTION ABOUT MY DISSERTATION!!! Ahem. Working purely from memory, so the quotes may not be exact: We are not told what the case is about, but Davy, Justice Shallow's servant, asks Shallow to favor Visor. Shallow objects that Visor is known to be a knave, and that there have been many complaints against him. Davy acknowledges that Visor is indeed a knave, but argues that it's only fair that "a knave should have some countenance at his friend's request," since an honest man is able to speak for himself, but a knave is not. Davy also points out that Visor is his "honest friend," and that his own record of honest service to Shallow ought to count for something, or else he has "but little credit with your Worship." Shallow agrees that Visor "shall have no wrong." (At this point I am tempted to throw in ten pages of social history and an argument that Shallow is better at his job than he might appear, but I shall restrain myself.)
31) Orlando's hair is red, or chestnut, depending on whether Rosalind is in a good mood or not. John of Gaunt puns on his name on his deathbed. I have no idea how these two questions are related.
32) Perdita's shopping list includes sugar, currants, rice, saffron for warden pies, mace, nutmegs, ginger, prunes, and raisins.
33) No idea. There are so many of them! I'm going to take a wild stab and suggest "The Beggar and the King," a.k.a. "King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid," but this is only a guess.
34) Dude, that isn't a trivia question, that's an inkblot!
35) The Prodigal Son, I think? At any rate, that's what he's got in his chambers at the Garter in Merry Wives.
36) The witches in Macbeth. (Also, Falstaff, when he's in drag.)
37) Hamlet, when he forges the letter to the King of England.
38) Aaron in Titus Andronicus.
39) ??? I have no idea (and searching on "plume" and "cards" turns up nothing), but this sounds intriguing!

Bardiac said...

Boy, do I feel stupid. I'd have gotten two of these (36 and 38). Who is this Shakespeare guy anyway?

Bardiac said...

PS. I do love your answer about the inkblot :)