It Puzzles the Will — Answers

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Quizologist

Pursuit of the Trivial

Here are the answers to today’s questions.

The unaltered title page from 1609 edition of *Shake-Speares Sonnets*.
Image Wikimedia Commons

The first question concerns an event that happened on May 20th and, like the others, is connected to ‘Shakespeare’.

One

On this day, Shakespeare’s sonnets were first published. In what town or city, and in which century, was this?

Answer: London; 17th century.

In London on 20 May 1609, Thomas Thorpe produced the first publication of Shakespeare’s Sonnets — with the hyphen in the name. It’s unclear whether Thorpe used an authorised manuscript of Shakespeare as his source or an unauthorised copy. This publication is the primary source of the sonnets and contains 154 sonnets and the poem A Lover’s Complaint. The sonnets explore themes like time, love, and mortality, with the first 126 addressed to a young man and the last 28 to a woman.

Two

Who portrayed Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love?

Answer: Judi Dench.

Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 romantic comedy film about a fictional love affair between William Shakespeare and Viola de Lesseps during the writing of Romeo and Juliet. The film received critical acclaim, grossed $289 million, and won seven Oscars, including Best Picture.

Three

Falstaff is a comic opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play … and scenes from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare.

This quote from the text of the Wikipedia article about Verdi’s Falstaff has had a Shakespeare play removed from it. What play?

Answer: The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Falstaff is a comic opera by Giuseppe Verdi, based on Shakespeare’s works. Though not as popular as his earlier operas, it is now part of the standard repertory, championed by conductors like Toscanini, Karajan, Solti, and Bernstein.

Four

In Julie Taymor’s 2010 film adaptation of which Shakespeare play did Helen Mirren play Prospera, Duchess of Milan?

Answer: The Tempest.

The Tempest (2010) is a fantasy comedy-drama film based on Shakespeare’s 1611 play. Written and directed by Julie Taymor, who deviates from the original by changing the main character, Prospero, into a female, Prospera, played by Helen Mirren.

Five

The port-city of Messina is the setting for a Shakespeare comedy. What comedy, and on what island is the port-city of Messina?

Answers: Much Ado About Nothing; Sicily.

Much Ado About Nothing, a Shakespearean comedy, centres on two Messina romances. Claudio and Hero’s love faces challenges from Don John, while Benedick and Beatrice’s witty banter drives the humour.