Who we are
Jane Mallison taught English at Trinity School in Manhattan for over four decades. A longtime bardolator, she counts Daniel Day-Lewis’s Hamlet as her favorite performance on stage or screen.
Christopher Brown has worked in educational publishing, first in Oxford and now Chicago. His favorite performance on stage was The Tempest (dir. Posner and Teller) and, on screen, Twelfth Night (dir. Nunn, 1996).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does this app contain?
● Individual quizzes for 37 plays of William Shakespeare (all 36 plays in the First Folio, plus Pericles, but not The Two Kinsmen) and a bonus Foul Macbeth.
● The number of questions varies by play. Most have between 120 and 220 questions, grouped by act and scene. In all, the app contains almost 8,000 questions.
● All questions are multiple-choice, with four answer options and one correct answer.
How does the quiz work?
First simply select the desired play, then tap/click on the act and scene to start the quiz.
Simply tap or click one of the answer options that appear below the question. If you are correct, the answer turns green and the next question will appear. If you are incorrect, the answer turns red; after a couple of seconds, the red disappears and you are free to select another answer. You must (eventually) select the correct answer to move to the next question or complete the quiz.
Note: some questions include the word except (in green). This indicates a question of omission; the correct answer is the odd-one-out, not an active negative.
How does the scoring work?
You receive a point for a question that is answered correctly first time, but no points for a question that is incorrect (and, for scoring purposes, it doesn’t matter whether you select one or multiple incorrect answers to a particular question). Once you complete a quiz, your final score is converted into a percentage.
The score screen also shows the time taken to complete the quiz and the highest streak of consecutively correct answers. However, these two aspects of your performance are purely for interest; they do not impact your percentage score.
What’s with the slot machine and music on the scoring screen?
At the end of the quiz for each scene, your score is represented in several ways:
● a percentage (see above)
● a medieval slot machine that shows four Bards (for a score of 100%), three Bards (80% – 99%), two Bards (34% – 80%), one Bard (1% – 33%), or no Bards (0%).
● background music, contemporary to Shakespeare. A short extract of a cheerful song will play following a score of 80% and above; a mournful song is the result of a score of less than 80%. See the Music tab in the menu of this website for more details.
● a handwritten note from the Angry Bard (see below)
Not in the mood for over-the-top scoring? Simply stop at the Show My Score screen; click the Scene button at the top of the page to return directly to the previous menu – your score is still saved.
What personal feedback is provided by the Angry Bard?
The Angry Bard provides judgment on your efforts in two ways:
(1) During the quiz, if you make three consecutive mistakes (by answering three questions in a row incorrectly), be prepared for a short verbal and written insult from the Bard. Alternatively, if you have a string of four correct answers, the Bard will provide suitable praise.
(2) At the end of the quiz for each scene, you will receive longer written feedback. Tap the Thou Hast Mail "snap-scroll" to reveal the Angry Bard's opinion.
As far as we (the developers of this app) can tell, the personal feedback that quiz takers will receive from the Angry Bard is inspired by the lanuage (insulting or complimentary) from the specific play in question.
On what editions of Shakespeare's works are the questions based?
No single edition or series has been used for all plays and questions. The Angry Bard Quiz is intended to be applicable for all readers and students, and the Info section within each play provides a listing of characters that includes name variants across all major editions.
Note: direct quotes of lines, phrases, and individual words from Shakespeare’s plays appear in italic and generally use modernized British English spelling. Otherwise, questions and answers use American English.
How do I keep track of my progress?
As soon as you complete the first question, your score for that quiz is saved – even if you don’t complete the full quiz. The score appears as a progress bar and percentage score beneath the set (usually an individual scene) in the menu. Your score is also aggregated at the Act level and at the Play level. Quizzes that you have taken show a progress bar (with the most recent score); quizzes that you have yet to try show no progress bar in the menu.
Note: if you are using the web-based application, your past scores will be lost if you delete cookies in your browser.
Can I save a quiz half-way through?
If you quit a quiz without completing it, you cannot return to it and pick up where you left off; you will need to start again. However, no quiz is longer than 20 questions. If the app contains more than 20 questions for an individual scene, the questions are split into two or more quizzes.
So are do-overs allowed?
Yes, you can retake any quiz as many times as you like; there is no penalty for doing so, and the app keeps only your latest score. Indeed, we encourage you to improve on low scores so that you can achieve a passing grade (75% and above) on your cumulative score for an entire play.
Can I access this app on multiple devices?
The Angry Bard Quiz app is available online (on the home pages of this website, www.angrybardquiz.com) as a web application. It is also available in iOS format (in the iTunes Store, for iPhone and iPad) and for Android devices (in the Amazon App and Google Play stores). However, note that if you access the app on different platforms, your scores will not be synced across devices. No scoring data, nor any personal information, is retrieved or held by the developer of this app.
Help! The app doesn't work!
The web version of Angry Bard Quiz requires the use of Chrome (available free from Google) or Safari (for Apple devices, also free ) as your browser. Sorry, it does not work on Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.
Once you click the Launch button on the home page of angrybardquiz.com, the application opens in a separate window. If the quiz does not appear, check that your browser settings allow pop-ups.
Please note that this app was designed for touch-screen devices. If you are using the web application on a non-touch screen computer, you may initially have difficulty with the menu of plays. To scroll down this screen, treat your mouse or mousepad as if it were your finger. Click and hold down, then move your mouse upward, in order to scroll down the screen.
Do I need Internet access to use the mobile app?
Once you download the mobile app, you can take the quizzes without Internet access. However, for use of the web version of the app, Internet access is obviously required.
How do I give feedback?
If you have downloaded the mobile app, you can rate us in the app store. Praise is appreciated; criticism is also accepted (we recognize the need to receive insults, in the same way that the Angry Bard gives them).
If you have more detailed feedback about the content of this app (queries or corrections, suggestions, etc.), please go to the Contact Us tab on the website menu, or send an email direct it to angrybardquiz@gmail.com.
My question was wrongly graded!
The Angry Bard was not responsible for compiling the questions in this quiz; however, he has been tasked with grading them correct or incorrect. If you disagree with any of his decisions, we first ask for your understanding: remember that it is more than 400 years since the play was originally written. Then please inform us of any error in judgment at angrybardquiz@gmail.com, and we shall tactfully point out the mistake to the Angry Bard, and refresh/reprogram his memory for the next version of the app.
APP TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. The Content is copyrighted work © 2017 by Angry Bard Co., with the exception of the content listed in the Credits section.
2. The user is receiving only a limited right to use the Content for the user’s own internal or personal use. The user may not reproduce, forward, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish, or sublicense the Content or in any way commingle the Content with other third party content, without the consent of Angry Bard Co.
3. The Angry Bard Quiz content is provided on an “as is” basis. Angry Bard Co. makes no guarantees or warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use as to any Angry Bard Co. content or the information therein or any warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, currentness, or results to be obtained from, accessing or using the Angry Bard Co. Any material or data obtained through use of Angry Bard Co. content is at your own discretion and risk and the user understands that it will be solely responsible for any resulting damage to its computer system or loss of data.
4. The Angry Bard Co. does not warrant that the information contained in this Angry Bard Co. content is in every respect accurate or complete, and it is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information. Users are encouraged to confirm the information contained in the Angry Bard Co. content with other sources. Angry Bard Co. shall not be liable to any user or anyone else for any inaccuracy, delay, interruption of service, error or omission, regardless of cause, or for any damages resulting therefrom.
5. In no event will Angry Bard Co. be liable for any indirect, special or consequential damages, including by not limited to, lost time, lost money, lost profits or good will, whether in contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise, and whether or not such damages are foreseen or unforeseen with respect to any use of the Angry Bard Co. content.