Was Shakespeare a Woman? - Page 79

C2 Proficiency · Multiple Choice Cloze · Ready for C2 Proficiency Workbook, Macmillan

For questions 1–8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning.

prolific

copious

lavish

replete

far-fetched

far-reaching

far-gone

far-flung

assigned

attributed

associated

accredited

fore

crest

apex

peak

opulence

plethora

profusion

surfeit

evidently

extraneously

superficially

ostensibly

unaware

unspoken

unheard

unencountered

tantamount

reciprocal

kindred

commensurate

Few topics (0) ___ literature aficionados as much as the perennial question of Shakespeare's true identity. Questions have long been raised over the implausibility of one (1) ___ author single-handedly creating such a monumental body of work, not least because he is not believed to have travelled to the (2) ___ settings of his greatest works. Various theories assert that other men wrote some of the plays (3) ___ to Shakespeare, although why they should have done so under his name remains a mystery. Recently, a new theory has come to the (4) ___ , claiming that the true author may have been a woman. Support comes from the (5) ___ of strong female characters themselves, often serving as the true force behind (6) ___ powerful men, or as rule-breaking heroines in their own right. At the time the plays were written, such female-centric plotlines were (7) ___ of. One prime suspect is a talented poet and early feminist called Emilia Bassano, whose family were immigrants from Venice and who is rumoured to have been the 'Dark Lady' referred to in Shakespeare's sonnets. To many vehement Shakespeare fans, such claims are (8) ___ to heresy, but could they yet turn out to be true?

Was Shakespeare a woman?

gall

pique

rile

vex

Available as a free printable PDF worksheet with an optional answer key.

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