SHAKESPEARE RIDDLES

King Lear tests his daughters' love by the strength of their protestations. What a foolish fond old man!

Goneril says amongst other things that Lear is 'dearer than eyesight, space and liberty'. Regan professes that she is 'an enemy to all other joys'. Cordelia the favorite daughter is tongue-tied and she offers one word only '________'.

Fill in the blank.

The third apparition in "Macbeth", a child carrying a tree (what a hint), says that Macbeth shall not vanquished be 'until Great Birnam wood to high _________ hill shall come against him'.

What is the name of the hill?

The second apparition in "Macbeth", the bloody child, recommends 'be bloody, bold and resolute, laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth'. How was the Thane of Fife able to kill Macbeth in the light of this prophecy?

Macbeth is given three pieces of oracular information by the apparitions. The first apparition, an armed head, states 'beware _____, beware the Thane of Fife'. Who was the Thane of Fife? (He had a wife).

In "All's Well that Ends Well", Helena gets Bertram to acknowledge her as his wife, after much travail. How did she fulfill his stipulation?:

"When from my finger you can get this ring and are by me with child", when he will not sleep with her?

Moth, Adriano de Armado's servant in "Loves Labours Lost", riddles with his foolish master. He will carry the message:

"ADRIANO DE ARMADO: The way is but short: away!
MOTH: As swift as ____, sir."

What is missing?

Pericles must answer Antiochus' riddle to win the hand of his daughter. If he fails he will face death. The riddle is:

"I am no viper, yet I feed
On mother's flesh which did me breed.
I sought a husband, in which labour
I found that kindness in a father:
He's father, son, and husband mild;
I mother, wife, and yet his child.
How they may be, and yet in two,
As you will live, resolve it you."

What does Pericles do?

In "The Merchant of Venice" Bassanio, Portia's favored suitor, picks which casket and why?

The Prince of Arragon is one suitor to Portia, prepared to risk his dignity in the trial by Caskets. What does his choice of casket contain, actually and metaphorically?

The casket scene in "The Merchant of Venice" contains several riddles. Which of these nobles was NOT a suitor to Portia? This odd-man-out noble might easily be confused with the contender who chose 'Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.'

How does the writer of the M, O, A, I letter riddle in "Twelfth Night" sign off?

How does Nerissa describe the trial of the caskets in "The Merchant of Venice"?

Fill in the gap. "NERISSA: Your father was ever virtuous; and holy men at their death have good inspirations: therefore ___ _______, that he hath devised in these three chests of gold, silver and lead, whereof who chooses his meaning chooses you, will, no doubt, never be chosen by any rightly but one who shall rightly love."

Who actually wrote the M, O, A, I letter riddle in "Twelfth Night"?

"I may command where I adore;
But silence, like a Lucrece knife,
With bloodless stroke my heart doth gore:
M, O, A, I, doth sway my life."

This riddle is dropped in the way of whom, as part of a trap?

Im to make dirty money youll probably wash;
Im put over your shoes like a snow-day galosh;
The loud clamorous noise you might hear at a mosh;
And the hand-held equipment for tennis or squash.

Who am I?

Can you come up with a cool, funny or clever Shakespeare Riddles of your own? Post it below (without the answer) to see if you can stump our users.

1. I once saw a bard playing dice

2. His puns were sharp as knife

3. He’d say "To brie or not to brie"

4. And "Something is Shakespeare-ing me"

5. "I cannot dupe myself, alas!"

6. "But I’ll give my love more than glass"

7. "My heart’s been pierced, like Cupid’s dart"

8. "And I’m drowning in a sea of art"

9. "All the world’s a stage, they say"

10. "But I’ll be happy if friends stay"

11. "I’ll make thee baste thy pate with rhymes"

12. "And let’s make sure they’re not like limes"

13. "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou"

14. "Didst thou forget thy vows?"

15. "A pound of flesh, that is the debt"

16. "Why not take a break and let’s play bet?"

17. "To thine own self be true"

18. "And to thy friends, give ale and stew"

19. "The play’s the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king"

20. "But first, let’s bring some wine and sing"

21. "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy"

22. "Instead, let’s eat some celery"

23. "Break not your sleeps for that"

24. "Let’s just sit down and eat a fat"

25. "There’s a divinity that shapes our ends"

26. "Let’s hope it’s not all about amends"

27. "This above all: to thine own self be true"

28. "But if not, let’s make some barbecue"

29. "The fool doth think he is wise"

30. "But I think we should improvise"

31. "To be, or not to be: that is the question"

32. "But first, let’s have a taste of suggestion"

33. "Our doubts are traitors"

34. "But our drinks will be true players"

35. "How bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes"

36. "But how sweet it is to share drinks and pies"

37. "The course of true love never did run smooth"

38. "But the course of ale, that we can soothe"

39. "God has given you one face, and you make yourself another"

40. "But let’s not make another, we can share this pitcher"

41. "All that glitters is not gold"

42. "But all that shimmers, that we can hold"

43. "Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice"

44. "And let’s give everyone a choice, to laugh or hoist"

45. "Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit"

46. "But I’d rather be a fool with friends, every bit"

47. "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind"

48. "And let’s love not just with our eyes, but with our wine"

49. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks"

50. "But a lady with ale, oh how she winks!"