Thomas Heywood

Study questions Thomas Heywood

The English Traveller

The English Traveller MCQs

A Woman Killed with Kindness

A Woman Killed with Kindness MCQs

Facts about Thomas Heywood

➾ The earliest likely year given for Thomas Heywood’s birth, though disputed, is 1570.

➾ The county of his birth was most likely Lincolnshire, which is in the eastern part of England.

➾ He was a prolific writer, claiming involvement in two hundred and twenty plays, though few survive.

➾ A tradition that Heywood was a Fellow of Peterhouse College, Cambridge, was officially dismissed.

➾ His first play, The Four Prentices of London, was satirised by Beaumont and Fletcher’s travesty.

➾ Heywood disliked his works being printed, claiming he never had enough time available to revise them.

➾ The critic Charles Lamb, in high praise, famously described Thomas Heywood as a “prose Shakespeare”.

➾ He delighted in scenes of “coarse, broad farce,” which he personally referred to as “merry accidents”.

➾ Heywood inexplicably stopped all activity as a player in his company for five years, between 1619 and 1624.

➾ Printer William Jaggard appropriated two of Heywood’s poems for publication in The Passionate Pilgrim.

➾ His burial in August 1641 may have been expedited due to a possible oppressive summer heatwave.

Thomas Heywood MCQs

1. What is the earliest likely year generally for Thomas Heywood’s birth?

A. 1570
B. 1573
C. 1574
D. 1575

A. 1570.
The earliest year given for Thomas Heywood’s birth is 1570, although other years in the 1570s are also speculated.

2. In which English county was Thomas Heywood most likely born?

A. London England
B. Clerkenwell England
C. Lincolnshire England
D. Cambridge England

C. Lincolnshire England.
Most references concerning Heywood’s life indicate that the county of his birth was, most likely, Lincolnshire in England.

3. What is the documented date of Thomas Heywood’s burial?

A. Early 1570s
B. 16 August 1641
C. 15 July 1633
D. 16 August 1633

B. 16 August 1641.
The only documented date related to his death is his burial date, 16 August 1641, at St. James’s Church, Clerkenwell.

4. Heywood’s main contributions were to late Elizabethan and which other period of theatre?

A. Jacobean theatre
B. Caroline theatre
C. Restoration theatre
D. Medieval drama

A. Jacobean theatre.
Heywood’s main professional contributions were made to both the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods of theatre.

5. Heywood claimed to have had a “hand or at least a maine finger” in how many plays?

A. Twenty three
B. Two hundred
C. Two hundred twenty
D. Two hundred thirty

C. Two hundred twenty.
Heywood was extremely prolific, claiming to have had a hand or a “maine finger in two hundred and twenty plays”.

6. Heywood’s preface to which play provides an opportunity to inform the reader about his prolific output?

A. A Woman Killed
B. The English Traveller
C. The Captives
D. The Four Prentices

B. The English Traveller.
The preface to The English Traveller (1633) is where Heywood describes his involvement in 220 plays.

7. What category of drama is Heywood best known for writing?

A. Classical tragedies
B. Domestic tragedies
C. Chronicle plays
D. Masques pageants

B. Domestic tragedies.
Heywood is best known for his domestic tragedies and comedies, plays set among the English middle classes.

8. What is generally considered to be Thomas Heywood’s dramatic masterpiece?

A. The English Traveller
B. A Woman Killed with Kindness
C. The Rape of Lucrece
D. Love’s Mistress

B. A Woman Killed with Kindness.
A Woman Killed with Kindness is generally considered Heywood’s masterpiece, categorised as a domestic tragedy.

9. A Woman Killed with Kindness was first performed at which specific theatre?

A. Globe Theatre
B. Rose Theatre
C. Swan Theatre
D. Phoenix Theatre

B. Rose Theatre.
Heywood’s masterpiece, A Woman Killed with Kindness, was first performed at the Rose Theatre in 1603.

10. Which acting company first performed A Woman Killed with Kindness in 1603?

A. Admiral’s Men
B. Queen Anne’s Men
C. Worcester’s Men
D. Lord Strange’s

C. Worcester’s Men.
The domestic tragedy A Woman Killed with Kindness was first performed by Worcester’s Men.

11. Which two genres are Heywood’s best-known plays drawn from?

A. Domestic tragedies comedies
B. Chronicle history plays
C. Masques pageants
D. Romances poetry

A. Domestic tragedies and comedies.
Heywood’s best-known plays are his domestic tragedies and comedies, often set among the English middle classes.

12. What university is Thomas Heywood is said to have been educated at?

A. Oxford University
B. Cambridge University
C. Gresham College
D. Peterhouse College

B. Cambridge University.
Heywood is generally said to have been educated at the University of Cambridge, though his specific college is disputed.

13. What institution does persistent tradition say Heywood was a Fellow of, though it was dismissed?

A. Cambridge University
B. Peterhouse College
C. Emmanuel College
D. Trinity College

B. Peterhouse College.
The persistent tradition that Heywood was a Fellow of Peterhouse was discussed and subsequently dismissed by the college’s Master.

14. The first documented mention of Heywood’s dramatic career appears in the diary of which theatre entrepreneur?

A. Charles Lamb
B. Philip Henslowe
C. Christopher Beeston
D. William Jaggard

B. Philip Henslowe.
The first mention of Heywood’s dramatic career is a note in the diary of theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe from October 1596.

15. Heywood was paid for his first recorded play in 1596 by which specific acting company?

A. Lord Strange’s Men
B. Admiral’s Men
C. Worcester’s Men
D. Queen Anne’s Men

B. Admiral’s Men.
Philip Henslowe’s diary notes that Heywood was paid for a play performed by the Admiral’s Men in October 1596.

16. By 1598, Heywood was regularly engaged as what type of important company member?

A. Regular player
B. Playwright only
C. Fellow only
D. Stage manager

A. Regular player.
By 1598, Heywood was regularly engaged as a “player” (actor) in the Admiral’s Men company.

17. Which term describes Heywood’s likely status in the acting company by 1598, since no wages were mentioned?

A. Playwright
B. A sharer
C. A hired man
D. An apprentice

B. A sharer.
Since no wages were mentioned for Heywood in 1598, he was presumably a “sharer” in the company, a standard practice for important members.

18. Heywood eventually became a member of Worcester’s Men, which subsequently became known by what name?

A. Admiral’s Men
B. Lord Strange’s
C. Queen Anne’s Men
D. Lord Southampton’s

C. Queen Anne’s Men.
Heywood was a member of Worcester’s Men, who later changed their name to Queen Anne’s Men.

19. What may have been Heywood’s first play, which was printed in 1615 but acted around fifteen years earlier?

A. Edward IV
B. The Four Prentices of London
C. The English Traveller
D. The Captives

B. The Four Prentices of London.
The Four Prentices of London, which was acted around 1600, may have been Heywood’s very first play.

20. Heywood’s The Four Prentices of London was satirised by Beaumont and Fletcher in which work?

A. The Knight of the Burning Pestle
B. The English Traveller
C. A Woman Killed
D. The Captives

A. The Knight of the Burning Pestle.
The popularity of The Four Prentices of London was satirised in the travesty, The Knight of the Burning Pestle.

21. Heywood’s history play, If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody, concerned the life of which royal figure?

A. Edward IV
B. King Charles I
C. Queen Elizabeth
D. King Brutus

C. Queen Elizabeth.
The two-part history play, If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody, concerns the life and troubles of Queen Elizabeth.

22. If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody contrasts Queen Elizabeth’s life with that of a preeminent merchant.

A. John Heywood
B. Philip Henslowe
C. Thomas Gresham
D. William Jaggard

C. Thomas Gresham.
The play contrasts Queen Elizabeth’s life with that of the powerful merchant and financier, Thomas Gresham.

23. Which critic called Heywood the “model of a light and rare talent”?

A. Charles Lamb
B. Professor Ward
C. Johann Ludwig Tieck
D. Philip Henslowe

C. Johann Ludwig Tieck.
German writer Johann Ludwig Tieck called Thomas Heywood the “model of a light and rare talent”.

24. Which critic famously described Heywood as a “prose Shakespeare”?

A. Professor Ward
B. Johann Ludwig Tieck
C. William Jaggard
D. Charles Lamb

D. Charles Lamb.
Essayist Charles Lamb gave Heywood the high compliment of calling him a “prose Shakespeare”.

25. Professor Ward, a sympathetic editor, pointed out that Heywood’s characterisation was not on par with his what?

A. Stagecraft
B. Inventive fancy
C. Prose writing
D. Coarse farce

A. Stagecraft.
Professor Ward noted that while Heywood had great constructive skill and stagecraft, his powers of characterisation were lacking.

26. Heywood delighted in what he termed “merry accidents,” which referred to what kind of comedy?

A. Moral comedy
B. Coarse broad farce
C. Romantic comedy
D. Domestic situations

B. Coarse broad farce.
Heywood found pleasure in “merry accidents,” meaning coarse and broad farce.

27. The English Traveller is widely admired for being what specific type of farce?

A. Domestic
B. Plautine
C. Roman
D. Romantic

B. Plautine.
The English Traveller (c. 1627) is widely admired as a Plautine farce, meaning it follows ancient Roman comedic structures.

28. Heywood’s citizen comedies are noteworthy for contrasting with conventional generalisations about what specific location?

A. Private homes
B. Sites of commerce
C. Royal court
D. Foreign lands

B. Sites of commerce.
Heywood’s comedies offer a psychò-geography of London that contrasts with conventional generalisations about the sites of commerce.

29. Heywood’s prose works, mostly pamphlets, are now primarily of interest to historians studying what?

A. Literary styles
B. The period
C. Heywood’s biography
D. Puritan attacks

B. The period.
Heywood’s numerous prose works, which were often pamphlets, are now mainly of interest to historians studying that time.

30. What is the title of Heywood’s best-known long essay, which defends the stage?

A. The Life of Merlin
B. An Apology for Actors
C. Gynaikeion
D. England’s Elizabeth

B. An Apology for Actors.
His best-known long essay is An Apology for Actors (1612), a reasoned reply to Puritan attacks on the theatre.

31. An Apology for Actors contains detailed information about actors and what other aspect of the theatre of Heywood’s time?

A. Playwright pay
B. Acting conditions
C. Audience size
D. Puritan beliefs

B. Acting conditions.
An Apology for Actors contains a wealth of detailed information about actors and the acting conditions of Heywood’s era.

32. In the “Epistle to the Printer” of An Apology for Actors, Heywood writes about the appropriation of his poems by whom?

A. Philip Henslowe
B. William Jaggard
C. Thomas Gresham
D. Richard Brome

B. William Jaggard.
Heywood writes about William Jaggard’s appropriation of two of his poems for The Passionate Pilgrim in the epistle of his 1612 work.

33. Which lengthy prose work, printed in 1641, chronicled all the kings of England dating back to King Brutus?

A. England’s Elizabeth
B. The Life of Merlin
C. Troia Britannica
D. Gynaikeion

B. The Life of Merlin.
The Life of Merlin Surnamed Ambrosius (1641) chronicled all English kings from the legendary King Brutus up to King Charles I.

34. What specific type of writing was Heywood engaged in between 1619 and 1624?

A. Acting ceased
B. Prolific writing
C. Publishing only
D. Travelling abroad

A. Acting ceased.
Between 1619 and 1624, Heywood seems to have ceased all activity as an actor, though the reason is unexplained.

35. After 1624, Heywood was primarily associated with Christopher Beeston’s company at which specific theatre?

A. The Rose
B. The Globe
C. The Phoenix
D. The Swan

C. The Phoenix.
From 1624 until his death, Heywood was associated with Christopher Beeston’s company at The Phoenix theatre.

36. Which two of Heywood’s new plays were produced at The Phoenix theatre in his final two decades?

A. The Captives, The English Traveller
B. The Rape of Lucrece, The Captives
C. Edward IV, The English Traveller
D. Love’s Mistress, The Captives

A. The Captives, The English Traveller.
At The Phoenix, Heywood produced new plays including The Captives and The English Traveller.

37. Which lengthy poetic work, published in 1624, was described as “nine books of various history concerning women”?

A. Troia Britannica
B. The Hierarchy
C. Gynaikeion
D. The Life of Merlin

C. Gynaikeion.
Gynaikeion (1624) is a lengthy poetic work described as “nine books of various history concerning women”.

38. Which lengthy didactic poem in nine books did Heywood publish eleven years after Gynaikeion?

A. Troia Britannica
B. The Hierarchy of the Blessed Angels
C. Pleasant Dialogue
D. The Rape of Lucrece

B. The Hierarchy of the Blessed Angels.
The Hierarchy of the Blessed Angels, a didactic poem, was published in 1635, eleven years after Gynaikeion.

39. Love’s Mistress or the Queen’s Masque was reported to have been seen multiple times by which monarch and his queen?

A. King Charles I
B. Queen Anne
C. King Edward IV
D. King James I

A. King Charles I.
Love’s Mistress or the Queen’s Masque (published 1636) was reported to have been seen three times by King Charles I and his queen.

40. Heywood was living in which specific area of London since 1623, where he was also buried?

A. The Rose
B. Clerkenwell
C. Waltham Abbey
D. St. James’s

B. Clerkenwell.
Thomas Heywood had been living in Clerkenwell since 1623, and he was buried there at St. James’s Church.

41. What is the approximate age Thomas Heywood is estimated to have been at his death?

A. Early forties
B. Late sixties
C. Mid seventies
D. Fifty-one

B. Late sixties.
Due to the uncertainty of his birth year, his age can only be estimated, but he was likely in his late sixties.

42. Which of the following plays is categorised as one of Heywood’s domestic tragedies?

A. The Captives
B. A Woman Killed with Kindness
C. The Rape of Lucrece
D. The Wise Woman

B. A Woman Killed with Kindness.
A Woman Killed with Kindness (c. 1603) is listed explicitly as a domestic tragedy.

43. The Rape of Lucrece (1608) is categorised under which genre of play by Heywood?

A. Tragedy
B. Comedy
C. Romance
D. Chronicle

A. Tragedy.
The Rape of Lucrece (1608) is listed as one of Heywood’s tragedies.

44. Which of these is a known comedy by Heywood, performed around 1604?

A. The Four Prentices
B. The Wise Woman of Hoxton
C. The Captives
D. A Maidenhead Well Lost

B. The Wise Woman of Hoxton.
The Wise Woman of Hoxton (performed c. 1604) is listed as one of Heywood’s comedies.

45. Which of Heywood’s comedies was written in collaboration with Richard Brome?

A. The Captives
B. A Maidenhead Well Lost
C. The Late Lancashire Witches
D. The Wise Woman

C. The Late Lancashire Witches.
The Late Lancashire Witches (1634) was a comedy written by Heywood in collaboration with Richard Brome.

46. The story of four apprentices who become knights and travel to Jerusalem is the plot of which play?

A. The Royal King
B. The Four Prentices of London
C. Edward IV
D. The Golden Age

B. The Four Prentices of London.
The Four Prentices of London is a romantic drama telling the tale of four apprentices who travel to Jerusalem.

47. The Fair Maid of the West Parts One and Two (printed 1631) belongs to which theatrical genre?

A. Tragedy
B. Chronicle play
C. Romantic drama
D. Domestic tragedy

C. Romantic drama.
The Fair Maid of the West, Parts One and Two, is categorised as a romantic drama by Heywood.

48. The two-part play, Edward IV, is categorised as which specific type of historical drama?

A. Domestic tragedy
B. Chronicle play
C. Romance
D. City comedy

B. Chronicle play.
Heywood’s two-part play, Edward IV, concerning the Wars of the Roses, is classified as a chronicle play.

49. Which collaborative play by Heywood and William Rowley was printed long after its performance, in 1655?

A. The Late Lancashire Witches
B. Fortune by Land and Sea
C. A Cure for a Cuckold
D. The Thracian Wonder

B. Fortune by Land and Sea.
Fortune by Land and Sea (printed 1655) was written in collaboration with William Rowley.

50. Heywood’s final lengthy published work, The Life of Merlin (1641), was printed in the same year as what related event?

A. His burial
B. His first play
C. King Charles I died
D. His birth

A. His burial.
The Life of Merlin was printed in 1641, the documented year of Thomas Heywood’s burial.

A Woman Killed with Kindness MCQs

A Woman Killed With Kindness MCQs

1. Who suggests playing music and leading the bride in a wedding dance?

A. Master Malby
B. Sir Francis
C. Master Wendoll
D. Sir Charles

B. Sir Francis.
Sir Francis Acton, the bride’s brother, first calls for music and asks who will lead Mistress Anne in a dance.

2. What specific physical activity does Frankford say marriage prevents him from doing easily?

A. Lead well
B. Speak sweetly
C. Caper lightly
D. Keep time

C. Caper lightly.
Frankford mentions that marriage has “yoked my heels,” explaining that he cannot easily caper or jump lightly.

3. How does Sir Charles Mountford specifically describe Mistress Anne’s social status?

A. Highly educated
B. Is noble
C. Very beautiful
D. Is wealthy

B. Is noble.
Sir Charles praises Anne, noting that her “birth Is noble” and her education is fit for a prince’s daughter.

4. What phrase does Sir Francis use immediately to describe Anne after her dutiful reply to Frankford?

A. Sweet wife
B. Perfect wife
C. Good sister
D. Meek lady

B. Perfect wife.
After Anne expresses her desire to please her husband, Sir Francis immediately calls her “A perfect wife already”.

5. Frankford claims Anne inherited her mother’s modesty instead of Sir Francis’s what?

A. His great joy
B. His wild blood
C. His vast land
D. His sad nature

B. His wild blood.
Frankford contrasts Anne’s modesty with Sir Francis, saying their father spent “All his wild blood” on the brother.

6. Sir Charles compares Anne not to a restricting chain but to what valuable decorative item?

A. Golden ring
B. Silken favour
C. Chain of gold
D. Well-made suit

C. Chain of gold.
Sir Charles assures Frankford that Anne is not a curb or yoke, but “a chain of gold to adorn your neck”.

7. What is the initial financial amount Sir Charles wagers on his hawk against Sir Francis’s hawk?

A. Ten angels
B. Fifty pounds
C. One hundred pounds
D. Five hundred

C. One hundred pound.
Sir Charles proposes a match with Sir Francis Acton to fly their hawks for “a hundred pound”.

8. How much money does Master Wendoll wager upon Sir Francis Acton’s hawk and dogs?

A. Ten angels
B. Fifty pounds
C. One hundred
D. Five hundred

A. Ten angels.
Wendoll immediately stakes “Ten angels” on both Sir Francis Acton’s hawk and the dogs.

9. Which servant lists “sheep, oxen, horses, and hogs” as the farm animals they have served?

A. Nicholas
B. Roger Brickbat
C. Jack Slime
D. Jenkin

C. Jack Slime.
Jack Slime recounts his background, saying he was brought up serving farm creatures like oxen, horses, and hogs.

10. What dance does Sisly Milk-pail declare is the one she loves above the others?

A. Rogero
B. The Cushion
C. John, Kiss Me Now
D. Sellenger’s Round

C. John, Come Kiss Me Now.
Sisly explicitly states her preference, saying, “I love no dance so well as ‘John, Come Kiss Me Now’”.

11. What is the surprising title of the dance Nicholas forces the household servants to agree upon?

A. Hunting Fox
B. Rogero
C. Put on Your Smock o’ Monday
D. Shake Your Heels

C. Put on Your Smock o’ Monday.
Nicholas decides the dance will be “Put on Your Smock o’ Monday” after hearing several other suggestions.

12. Sir Charles compares the decisive, fatal strike of his hawk on its prey to what natural phenomenon?

A. Millstone dinting
B. Turning wheel
C. Swift thunderclap
D. Lightning flash

C. Swift thunderclap.
Sir Charles observes his hawk taking the fowl and striking her down to the earth like “a swift thunderclap”.

13. What insulting phrases does Sir Francis use to describe Sir Charles’s dogs during their dispute?

A. Curs and mongrels
B. Untrained beasts
C. Trundle-tails and curs
D. Foul animals

C. Trundle-tails and curs.
Sir Francis Acton deliberately insults Sir Charles by calling his dogs “trundle-tails and curs”.

14. Who is physically victorious in the deadly brawl between the two knights’ parties?

A. Wendoll wins
B. Sir Francis strikes home
C. Sir Charles hath the better
D. They both flee

C. Sir Charles hath the better.
The stage direction confirms that “Sir Charles hath the better” and kills two of Sir Francis’s men.

15. Sir Charles claims the violent murder was perpetrated, not by him, but by what intense feeling?

A. Heat of blood
B. Rage
C. Vengeance
D. Long home

B. Rage.
Sir Charles laments that it was “not I, but rage, did this vile murder,” though he must answer for it.

16. What compelled Susan to visit Sir Charles after news of the fatal fight spread?

A. Her own end
B. The rumour of this fear
C. Acton’s threats
D. Her weary company

B. The rumour of this fear.
Susan tells her brother that “The rumour of this fear stretched to my ears,” causing her to seek him.

17. Sir Charles asks Susan to call a surgeon, not for his body, but for what wounded part of himself?

A. His heart’s debt
B. His soul
C. His scratches
D. His sin

B. His soul.
Overwhelmed by guilt, Sir Charles requests, “Call me a surgeon, sister, for my soul” wounded by murder.

18. What two valuable assets does Sir Charles refuse to sell for a small hope of escaping the law?

A. His house
B. His sister
C. Country and patrimony
D. His good name

C. Country and patrimony.
Sir Charles refuses to fly, declaring he will not sell “My country and my father’s patrimony” for life.

19. Frankford claims to be extensively versed in what specific intellectual area, aside from being a content gentleman?

A. Noble birth
B. Good thoughts
C. All arts
D. Holy orders

C. All arts.
Frankford proudly states that regarding his mind, he is “studied in all arts” and has profited from them.

20. Nicholas observes that Master Wendoll’s horse was covered in mire up to what part of its body upon arrival?

A. The saddle
B. The stirrup
C. The flank in mire
D. The heel

C. The flank in mire.
Nicholas reports that Wendoll’s horse was “booted up to the flank in mire,” suggesting a fast ride.

21. Frankford explains his generosity by noting that Master Wendoll is currently pressured by what hardship?

A. Debt
B. Want
C. Misfortune
D. Great sins

B. Want.
Frankford reveals that Wendoll is a gentleman who is “somewhat pressed by want” (meaning need or poverty).

22. Where is Sir Charles taken following the killing of Sir Francis’s men, according to Wendoll’s news?

A. To the assize
B. To prison
C. To Yorkshire
D. To his house

B. To prison.
Wendoll reports that “poor Sir Charles is to the prison led, To answer at th’ assize”.

23. Frankford generously offers Wendoll the free use of his man, his gelding, and what two other items?

A. His love
B. His wife
C. His table and purse
D. His good name

C. His table and purse.
Frankford tells Wendoll: “Please, you to use my table and my purse: They are yours”.

24. Nicholas expresses his immediate dislike for Wendoll by comparing the gentleman to whom?

A. The groom
B. The Devil
C. A villain
D. A beggar

B. The Devil.
Nicholas immediately dislikes Wendoll, stating that “The Devil and he are all one in my eye”.

25. Sir Charles spent all his father’s revenues in gaining what specific legal outcome regarding the murders?

A. His life
B. His sister
C. His house
D. His pardon

D. His pardon.
Cranwell notes that Sir Charles was cleared of charges, but spent all his wealth gaining “this suit of pardon”.

26. After losing his estate, Sir Charles retains five hundred pounds and what kind of specific property?

A. House of pleasure
B. Small kingdom
C. His sister
D. His land

A. House of pleasure.
Sir Charles explains he has only “a house of pleasure, with some five hundred pounds” remaining.

27. Shafton reveals in an aside that he lent the money to Sir Charles purely for what selfish reason?

A. To win the wager
B. His gain and pleasure
C. To shame Acton
D. To gain revenge

B. His gain and pleasure.
Shafton privately admits that lending the money was “Not for love… But for my gain and pleasure”.

28. Wendoll describes his despairing soul as being drenched and drowned in what color of liquid?

A. Passion
B. Salt water
C. Sorrow
D. Red tears of blood

D. Red tears of blood.
Wendoll expresses his internal torment, noting his soul “Lies drenched and drowned in red tears of blood”.

29. Wendoll feels he should be marked with the most stigmatising title for hatching what crime against Frankford?

A. Murder
B. Treason to so true a friend
C. Lechery
D. Passionate love

B. Treason to so true a friend.
Wendoll identifies himself as a villain, “For hatching treason to so true a friend” like Frankford.

30. What object does Anne state is Master Frankford’s financial reserve, freely available to Wendoll?

A. His friendship
B. His love
C. His purse
D. His table

C. His purse.
Anne reminds Wendoll that Frankford’s “purse is your exchequer” and his table freely serves him.

31. Anne expresses fear that the temptation she is facing will ultimately prove to be the what?

A. Gate to bliss
B. Holy vow
C. Path of shame
D. Labyrinth of sin

D. Labyrinth of sin.
Anne expresses her distress, saying the maze she is in makes her fear it will prove to be the “labyrinth of sin”.

32. Nicholas secretly observes Wendoll performing what physical action upon Anne to “knock at” the gate to bliss?

A. A low bow
B. A deep sigh
C. A solemn oath
D. A kiss

D. A kiss.
Nicholas witnesses Wendoll kissing Anne, which Wendoll calls “The path of pleasure and the gate to bliss”.

33. Sir Charles must keep his small house because it has never been stained by what specific Mountford failing?

A. Acton
B. Any unthrift
C. The world’s eye
D. His poverty

B. Any unthrift.
He must keep the house because it has never been deflowered “By any unthrift of the Mountfords’ line”.

34. After arresting Sir Charles, Shafton threatens him with constant lawsuits resulting in what kind of punishment?

A. Irons
B. Perpetual bondage
C. Death
D. Bad usage

B. Perpetual bondage.
Shafton promises that “Actions and actions shall keep thee in perpetual bondage fast”.

35. Sir Francis Acton originally intended to use a large gift to corrupt Susan’s honour?

A. Large estate
B. Freedom
C. Gold
D. Marriage

C. Gold.
Acton states he will “proffer largely” (bribe her) with gold to make her shame herself.

36. What is the sudden effect of Susan’s piercing eye upon Sir Francis Acton’s plans?

A. His spirit flees
B. His plan succeeds
C. His envious spleen struck dead
D. He seeks revenge

C. His envious spleen struck dead.
Acton admits her look “struck through my soul” and his “envious spleen struck dead”.

37. Nicholas admits he cannot eat dinner, but says he wishes he could eat whose heart?

A. His master’s
B. The villain’s
C. Wendoll’s
D. Cranwell’s

C. Wendoll’s.
Nicholas expresses his intense rage by saying, “I cannot eat, but had I Wendoll’s heart I would eat that”.

38. Nicholas tells Frankford the house is too small to contain Frankford and whom else comfortably?

A. His wife
B. Cranwell
C. Wendoll and I too both
D. Jenkin

C. Wendoll and I too.
Nicholas makes his feelings clear by stating there is no room for both “Wendoll and me too both in one house”.

39. During the card game, Frankford suggests they honour the king and queen, but conspicuously omit whom?

A. The knave
B. The partner
C. The heart
D. The dealer

A. The knave.
Frankford specifies that if they make honours, they must “Honour the king and queen; except the knave”.

40. When cutting the cards to start the game, Wendoll ironically declares himself to be what specific card?

A. A traitor
B. A fool
C. A knave
D. An angel

C. A knave.
Wendoll, lifting the cards to determine the dealer, announces, “I am a knave,” which Nicholas silently confirms.

41. What objects does Frankford secretly have fashioned from wax impressions of his door keys?

A. A knife
B. A light
C. New keys
D. A sword

C. New keys.
Frankford instructs Nicholas to mould the key impressions in wax so that “new keys” can be made.

42. When the Keeper announces Sir Charles’s freedom, Charles immediately assumes he is about to face what?

A. He will be exiled
B. He is doomed to die
C. His family arrived
D. He must serve Acton

B. He is doomed to die.
Sir Charles assumes that since death is “th’end of all calamity,” he must be doomed to die.

43. Who does the Keeper reveal discharged all of Sir Charles’s debts and stopped his appeal to death?

A. Malby
B. A courteous knight
C. His uncle
D. Shafton

B. A courteous knight.
The Keeper identifies the benefactor who paid Sir Charles’s debts as Sir Francis Acton, “A courteous knight”.

44. After finding them, Frankford wishes Time could reverse itself by turning up what specific object?

A. Her soul
B. His swift, sandy glass
C. Her image
D. The hours

B. His swift, sandy glass.
Frankford desperately wishes that Time “could turn up his swift, sandy glass, To untell the days”.

45. After discovering the affair, what specific method does Frankford choose to use to torment Anne’s soul?

A. Shame
B. His sword
C. Kindness
D. Banishment

C. Kindness.
Frankford determines he will not murder her, but “kill thee even with kindness”.

46. Regarding their children, what specific action does Frankford strictly forbid Anne from performing again?

A. Seeing them
B. Naming them
C. Challenge any part
D. Loving them

C. Challenge any part.
Frankford charges Anne never to “challenge any part in my two children” from that day forward.

47. Susan is convinced to sacrifice her honour for Sir Charles to avoid standing indebted to whom?

A. His uncle
B. Malby
C. Acton, my grand foe
D. The keeper

C. Acton, my grand foe.
Sir Charles uses his deep hatred of Acton to convince Susan she must pay his debt to “Acton, my grand foe”.

48. Susan is prepared to use what physical object to end her life immediately rather than yield her honour?

A. A knife
B. A jewel
C. Her tears
D. A rope

A. A knife.
Susan produces a knife, declaring she will use it to “slice out my life” before her honour is stained.

49. Nicholas finds which musical instrument of Anne’s Frankford then orders sent to her?

A. Her flute
B. Her voice
C. Her lute
D. Her harp

C. Her lute.
Nicholas finds Anne’s lute flung in a corner, and Frankford immediately orders it sent after her.

50. Anne declares she will never eat or drink anything that may serve what specific purpose after her parting?

A. Frankford’s good
B. Preserve her life
C. Her children
D. The devil’s lure

B. Preserve her life.
Anne makes a vow that she will never eat or drink anything that “may preserve her life” from that time forward.

Brief Overview

A Woman Killed with Kindness is an early-seventeenth-century tragedy by Thomas Heywood. It was first acted in 1603 and published in 1607. The play explores the destructive themes of marital betrayal, forgiveness, and the consequences of moral weakness within a domestic setting.

The story centers on Master John Frankford and his wife, Mistress Anne. Frankford believes he has a perfectly chaste and loving wife. However, Master Wendoll, a man whom Frankford generously allows to stay in his house as a companion, struggles with his conscience. Wendoll loves Anne and confesses his desire to her.

Anne is fearful of the temptation, calling her desire the “labyrinth of sin.” Nicholas, Frankford’s loyal servant, sees Wendoll kiss Anne and realizes the betrayal, swearing he will act as a spy.

Frankford finds an excuse to leave the house, but secretly returns with new keys he had made. He finds Anne and Wendoll “Close in each other’s arms, and fast asleep.” Frankford spares their lives, choosing not to use his rapier, but he immediately banishes Wendoll.

Frankford’s unique punishment for Anne is to torment her soul by treating her with “more humility” and killing her “even with kindness.” He forces her to move to a manor seven miles away, taking all her possessions, but he forbids her from seeing him or her two children again.

Anne vows to starve herself and never eat or drink anything to preserve her life. She later dies in Frankford’s arms, embracing him and feeling “Pardoned on earth.” Frankford declares her epitaph will be: “Here lies she whom her husband’s kindness killed.”