Shakespearean Synopses

Question 1

After both being separated from their twins in a shipwreck, Antipholus and his slave Dromio go to Ephesus to find them. The other set of twins lives in Ephesus, and the new arrivals cause a series of incidents of mistaken identity.

Answer 1

Comedy of Errors

Question 2

A Roman general returns from ten years of war with only four out of twenty-five sons left. He has captured Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her three sons, and Aaron the Moor. In obedience to Roman rituals, he sacrifices her eldest son to his own dead sons, which earns him Tamora’s unending hatred and her promise of revenge.

Answer 2

Titus Andronicus

Question 3

Two best friends, Proteus and Valentine, both travel to the court of the Duke of Milan and fall for his daughter, Silvia. Julia, who loves Proteus, disguises herself as a man and follows Proteus to the Duke’s court.

Answer 3

Two Gentlemen of Verona

Question 4

A wealthy Padua merchant, Baptista, has two daughters. One day Lucentio, a student, comes to Padua, sees Bianca, the younger sister, and falls madly in love with her. … Gremio hires Lucentio, disguised as a Latin tutor, to woo Bianca on his behalf.

Answer 4

Taming of the Shrew

Question 5

After Henry V’s death, and while the next king is young, nobles rule England and fight the French, including Joan of Arc. As the King gains authority, the noble houses begin to divide and take sides between York and Lancaster.

Answer 5

Henry VI Part 1

Question 6

Against the wishes of the nobles, the King marries the penniless Margaret who plots against him with her lover. As tensions between York and Lancaster build, the Duke of York gathers supporters for his claim to the throne

Answer 6

Henry VI Part 2

Question 7

After York’s claims to the throne, the King changes the succession and makes York his heir, disinheriting his own son. His queen kills York, and York’s son Edward seizes the throne. He is imprisoned several times and eventually killed by King Edward’s brother, Richard.

Answer 7

Henry VI Part 3

Question 8

Jealous and crippled, the title protagonist wants to be King of England and uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal. He murders his brothers, nephews, and any opposition to become King. In the end, Henry of Richmond raises an army, kills him in battle, and becomes King Henry VII.

Answer 8

Richard III

Question 9

After vowing to avoid women, the King and three of his friends have to host a princess and her three ladies. The four men fall in love and decide to court the women. In the end, the women must return to their kingdom for a year after which they will marry the king and his friends, providing they remain true to them.

Answer 9

Love’s Labour’s Lost

Question 10

Four Athenians run away to the forest only to have Puck the fairy make both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. The four run through the forest pursuing each other while Puck helps his master play a trick on the fairy queen. In the end, Puck reverses the magic, and the two couples reconcile and marry.

Answer 10

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Question 11

An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed. A group of masked men crash a rival family’s party. A young lovesick lad falls instantly in love with a girl from the other family, who is due to marry her father’s choice. With the help of her nurse, the women arrange for the couple to marry the next day. The boy’s attempt to halt a street fight leads to the death of his love’s cousin, for which he is banished.
After the protagonists die, the grieving families agree to end their feud.

Answer 11

Romeo and Juliet

Question 12

The King banishes Henry Bolingbroke, seizes noble land, and uses the money to fund wars. Henry returns to England to reclaim his land, gathers an army of those opposed to the King, and deposes him. Now as Henry IV, Henry imprisons him, and he is murdered in prison.

Answer 12

Richard II

Question 13

This King goes to war against the French after claims that his nephew should be king instead. He has conflict with the church, orders his nephew’s death, and turns the nobles against himself. In the end, he dies from poison, the French retreat, and his son becomes King.

Answer 13

King John

Question 14

Antonio, an antisemitic merchant, takes a loan from the Jew Shylock to help his friend to court Portia. Antonio can’t repay the loan, and without mercy, Shylock demands a pound of his flesh. The heiress Portia, now the wife of Antonio’s friend, dresses as a lawyer and saves Antonio.

Answer 14

The Merchant of Venice

Question 15

While his son Price Hal spends time in the taverns, this King argues with his former ally Hotspur. Angry, Hotspur gathers a rebellion, and he and Hal go to battle to stop him. His army wins the battle, while Hal redeems himself from his wild youth and kills Hotspur.

Answer 15

Henry IV Part 1

Question 16

This King suffers from illness, so his youngest son Prince John fights the rebels, while Prince Hal prepares to be king. Meanwhile, Hal’s friend Falstaff causes trouble, recruits, and speaks ill of Hal. The King dies, and Hal becomes King Henry V. He banishes Falstaff from court, ready to wage war on France.

Answer 16

Henry IV Part 2

Question 17

Count Claudio falls in love with Hero, the daughter of his host. Hero’s cousin Beatrice (a confirmed spinster) and Benedict (an eternal bachelor) are each duped into believing the other is in love with them. Claudio is deceived by a malicious plot and denounces Hero as unchaste before they marry. She faints and is believed dead, but recovers to be proved innocent by a chance discovery. Benedict wins Beatrice’s love defending her cousin’s honor, and to his surprise, Claudio is reunited with Hero, who he believed dead.

Answer 17

Much Ado About Nothing

Question 18

After an insult from the French Dauphin, this King of England invades France to claim the throne he believes should be his. He stops an assassination plot, gives powerful speeches, and wins battles against the odds. In the end, he woos and marries the Princess of France, linking the two nations.

Answer 18

Henry V

Question 19

Jealous conspirators convince the protagonist’s friend Brutus to join their assassination plot against him. To stop him from gaining too much power, Brutus and the conspirators kill him on the Ides of March. Mark Antony drives the conspirators out of Rome and fights them in a battle. Brutus and his friend Cassius lose and kill themselves, leaving Antony to rule in Rome.

Answer 19

Julius Caesar

Question 20

Rosalind and her cousin escape into the forest and find Orlando, Rosalind’s love. Disguised as a boy shepherd, Rosalind has Orlando woo her under the guise of “curing” him of his love for Rosalind. Rosalind reveals she is a girl and marries Orlando during a group wedding at the end of the play.

Answer 20

As You Like It

Question 21

The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son to avenge his murder by killing the new king. He feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill him. The play ends with a duel, during which the King, Queen, his opponent and he himself are all killed.

Answer 21

Hamlet

Question 22

Viola, separated from her twin Sebastian, dresses as a boy and works for the Duke Orsino, whom she falls in love with. Orsino is in love with the Countess Olivia, and sends Viola to court her for him, but Olivia falls for Viola instead. Sebastian arrives, causing a flood of mistaken identity, and marries Olivia. Viola then reveals she is a girl and marries Orsino.

Answer 22

Twelfth Night

Question 23

A Trojan prince falls in love with a Trojan woman, as war rages around them. After vowing to be faithful, she is traded to the Greek camp, where she then agrees to see another man. He witnesses her unfaithfulness and vows to put more effort into the war. The play ends after further deaths on both sides, and with no resolution in sight.

Answer 23

Troilus and Cressida

Question 24

The Duke leaves Angelo in charge of Vienna, where he quickly condemns Claudio to death for immoral behavior. Angelo offers to pardon Claudio if his sister, Isabella, sleeps with him. Isabella agrees but has Angelo’s fiance switch places with her. The Duke returns to spare Claudio, punish Angelo, and propose to Isabella.

Answer 24

Measure for Measure

Question 25

Iago is furious about being overlooked for promotion and plots to take revenge against his General; The Moor of Venice. Iago manipulates him into believing his wife Desdemona is unfaithful, stirring his jealousy. The General allows jealousy to consume him, murders Desdemona, and then kills himself.

Answer 25

Othello

Question 26

Helen heals the King of France, and the King grants her permission to marry Bertram, the man she loves. Bertram rejects her and leaves a list of tasks that she must do to have him acknowledge their marriage. She follows him to Italy, completes all the tasks, and Bertram accepts her as his wife.

Answer 26

All’s Well That Ends Well

Question 27

A wealthy and popular misanthrope helps his friends, gives many gifts, and holds a feast. After ignoring his true friends’ warnings, he runs out of money, and none of his “friends” will help him. He runs away to a cave where he curses humanity, finds gold, funds someone to destroy his hometown, and dies.

Answer 27

Timon of Athens

Question 28

This King divides his kingdom among the two daughters who flatter him and banishes the third one who loves him. His eldest daughters both then reject him at their homes, so Lear goes mad and wanders through a storm. His banished daughter returns with an army, but they lose the battle and the King, all his daughters and more, die.

Answer 28

King Lear

Question 29

Three witches tell the Scottish general that he will be King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, he kills the king, becomes the new king, and kills more people out of paranoia. Civil war erupts to overthrow him, resulting in more death. Death, death, deathity-death.

Answer 29

Macbeth

Question 30

A man, one of three rulers of Rome, is in love with the Queen of Egypt. He is summoned back to Rome, where he clashes with another ruler, Octavius, before returning to the Queen in Egypt. Now in battle with Octavius, both suffer losses and miscommunication, and both eventually commit suicide.

Answer 30

Antony and Cleopatra

Question 31

A Prince in Lebanon leaves home to escape death, only to win a jousting contest and marry a princess. Once he can return home, his family sails with him, but a storm separates them, so he returns alone. Years later, he finds his daughter and reunites with the wife he had thought was dead.

Answer 31

Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Question 32

A Roman general makes his name defeating an enemy army and defending Rome. The Senate nominates him as consul but he cannot win the people’s vote, so he is banished from Rome and allies with his old enemy. He comes to attack Rome, his mother persuades him not to, and his new-found ally kills him for the betrayal.

Answer 32

Coriolanus

Question 33

The jealous King Leontes falsely accuses his wife Hermione of infidelity with his best friend, and she dies. Leontes exiles his newborn daughter Perdita, who is raised by shepherds for sixteen years and falls in love with the son of Leontes’ friend. When Perdita returns home, a statue of Hermione “comes to life”, and everyone is reconciled.

Answer 33

The Winter’s tale

Question 34

This British King banishes his daughter Innogen’s husband, who then makes a bet on Innogen’s fidelity. Innogen is accused of being unfaithful, runs away, and becomes a page for the Roman army as it invades Britain. In the end, Innogen clears her name, discovers her long-lost brothers and reunites with her husband while the King makes peace with Rome.

Answer 34

Cymbeline

Question 35

Prospero uses magic to conjure a storm and torment the survivors of a shipwreck, including the King of Naples and Prospero’s treacherous brother, Antonio. Prospero’s slave, Caliban, plots to rid himself of his master, but is thwarted by Prospero’s spirit-servant Ariel. The King’s young son Ferdinand, thought to be dead, falls in love with Prospero’s daughter Miranda. Their celebrations are cut short when Prospero confronts his brother and reveals his identity as the usurped Duke of Milan. The families are reunited and all conflict is resolved. Prospero grants Ariel his freedom and prepares to leave the island.

Answer 35

The Tempest

Question 36

This King listens to Cardinal Wolsey too much and gives him power, which the Cardinal uses to convict a duke of treason. He meets Anne Boleyn, divorces his wife Katharine, and marries Anne. Anne gives birth to Princess Elizabeth who the Archbishop prophesies will become great.

Answer 36

Henry VIII