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Stender's Trivia!

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Think you know Macbeth? Here are questions Mr. Stender was GENEROUS enough to give us for extra credit, considering his cruel policy of giving us impossible assignments that only a few get A's on.J/K :-D. Oh well...guess he's a NICE guy over all.
Trivia #1Who was the "Upstart Crow"?
The "Upstart Crow" was a crow in a fable where the crow picks up the feathers of peacocks and tries to look like them. Robert Greene was an English writer and a contemporary of Shakespeare, who referred to Shakespeare as the upstart crow in Greene's Groatsworth of Wit(1592).
Trivia #2Shakespeare fact:
Shakespeare was eighteeen years old when he married twenty-six year old Anne Hathaway. Hm...sick...AND she was pregnant two months before marriage.
Trivia #3Why did Shakespeare leave Stratford?
Shakespeare is believed to have left his family for some twenty years to pursue his craft in London, four days ride away from Stratford. He only visited his family in 1609 during period of Lent. What a great husband and father!
Trivia #4How did Shakespeare become wealthy?
William made his greatest financial gain in 1605 when he purchased leases of real estate near Stratford. This investment of some four hundred and forty pounds doubled in value and earned him 60 pounds income each year. Some academics speculate that this investment gave the Bard the time he needed to write plays uninterrupted and we know that he was indeed thought of as a businessman in the Stratford area. Hm...why did he waste that free time writing plays? How boring!
Trivia #5What's the rumor concerning Shakespeare and the Bible?
Say Shakespeare was a secreet translator of the King James Version. He was 46 when the King James Version was completed. So we go to the 46th Psalm, count 46 words and we come to SHAKE. Then by counting backwards in the chapter by 46 words, we come to SPEAR. Also, figuring his birthdate as April 23 and also his death as April 23, we get 23+23=46, THE AGE HE DIED! OH MY GOODNESS!! Are you a believer?
Trivia #6Who, besides Bacon, was supposed to have written Shakespeare?
Other than Francis Bacon (what idiots to think he wrote Shakespeare!), Edward de Vere, the SEVENTEENTH earl of OXFORD, supposedly wrote Shakespeare. What a NICE title!
Trivia #7What's written on Shakespeare's tombstone?
Written upon William Shakespeare’s tombstone is an appeal that he be left to rest in peace with a curse on those who would move his bones...
Good friend, for Jesus´ sake forbeare
To digg the dust enclosed here!
Blest be ye man that spares thes stones
And curst be he that moues my bones.
In ENGLISH this means:
Good friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here;
Blest be the man that spares these stones
And curst he that moves my bones.
Trivia #8Who was the third assassin in Macbeth, at Banquo's assassination?
Well well well Mr.Stender. Nice trick question you got here. The usual suspects are Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, a servant or thane. Ross, a noble, is shown to be the third murderer in Polanski's version of Macbeth. So, who IS the third assassin? YOU GET TO DECIDE FOR YOURSELF! Amazing, eh?
Trivia #9Why do actors call it the "Scottish Play" or "That Play"?
It has been called so due to the mysterious occurences when ever Macbeth was played, like an actor's arm being cut off or an actor almost strangled to death. Go to http://www.auschron.com/issues/dispatch/2000-10-13/arts_feature2.html for all the juicy bits and the full story behind the scenes.
Trivia #10What were the Astor Place riots?
The riots were centered around a Shakespearean actor named Charles Macready, whom the New York's working class and Irish hated, since he was an Englishman and a snob; a symbol of England's oppression on the Irish and rich lording over poor. For the full story, check out http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode2/topic4/e2_t4_s2-ap.html.
Trivia #11Did Lady Macbeth commit suicide?
Yes(hey...the shortest answer yet!). How IRONIC! Lady Macbeth is worried about Macbeth not being able to handle the murders he has committed but here she goes killing herself. Boy did SHE underestimate her conscience!
Trivia #12What's in the witches' brew?
Fillet of a fenny snake, eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat, tongue of dog, adder's fork, blindworm's sting, lizard's leg, howlet's wing, scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, witch's mummy, salt-sea shark, root of hemlock, liver of blaspheming Jew, gall of goat, slip of yew, nose of Turk, Tartar's lips, a baby's fingera (from a baby delivered by a prostitute in a ditch, and which she strangled right afterwards, YUM), tiger's chaudron, baboon's blood, second witch's blood, sow's blood, and "grease that's sweaten from the murderers' gibbet. Sheesh...some dinner. Just read Act Four Scene One to make sure-_-
Trivia #13"Grease that's sweaten from the murderer's gibbet". Whose finger is that?
The bodies of murderers were left hanging on the gallows (gibbet) until they were skeletonized, which takes weeks. At about ten days in suitable weather, there are enough weak points in the skin that the bodyfat, which has liquified, can start dripping through. There will be a puddle of oil underneath the body. But, Mr. Stender, what do you mean by 'whose finger is that'? If you mean the baby's finger the witches put in the brew, it is from a baby delivered by a prostitute in a ditch, and which she strangled right afterwards.
Trivia #14Who is Banquo in real life?
He is an ancestor of James I of England (who, for some odd reason, was James IV of Scotland) whose son, Fleance, was the one to carry on the family line. He was also a co-conspirator of Macbeth's scheme.
Trivia #15What was the Gunpowder Plot of 1685? Jesuits?
On 5 November 1605, a plot was discovered to blow up parliament, at its opening, with a stash of gunpowder stored in the cellars below the House of Lords. Although the event is closely linked to the name of Guy (or Guido) Fawkes, he was not the leader of the group of conspirators. Instead, Robert Catesby was acknowledged as the foremost of the Catholic conspirators.
James, who had already escaped assassination attempts in Scotland, declared November 5 a day of national celebration. Guy Fawkes Day is still celebrated today (although the symbolic figure initially burned was the Pope rather than the plot's agent). As for Jesuits...I am guessing Mr. Stender is referring to the Catholic conspirators.
Trivia #16What the heck is a Thane?
According to The New Folger Library's version of Macbeth, Thane is a title used in Scotland as the equivalent of "baron".
Well well well, that's the end of that. More facts about Shakespeare might be under the Shakepseare section. Only way to find out is go there! Click the link there or go back home.
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