Time to reveal how the matchmaking goes for these romantic heroes and heroines! Hannah was the only one brave enough to submit her answers, and scored 18 points out of 30 – which is a great score as I deliberately included some of Shakespeare's least-known couples.
Also, what a perfect post this is to remind everyone who might have missed it that William Shakespeare's 450th birthday celebrations took place this week, on the 23rd of April. What a legacy that is, to be so avidly commemorated worldwide after so many centuries. The Bard is certainly going nowhere from our theatre stages.
1. Lysander and Hermia, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Puck's shenanigans with love potion get poor Lysander a little sidetracked from his love for Hermia, but in the end they do manage to get out of the fairy-infested woods and even Hermia's father can't stop them from getting married when they get the sympathies of the Duke of Athens on their side.
2. Orlando and Rosalind, As You Like It
Rosalind gets smitten with Orlando when he wins a wrestling match. Once again the lovers must run around in the woods, but this time, the lady has cross-dressed as a man in order to travel more safely. Orlando becomes the forerunner of blogging when he writes love poems to Rosalind and brings them to the public eye by pinning them on trees.
3. Posthumus and Imogen, Cymbeline
These unfortunate souls get separated quite early on in the play, when Posthumus gets banished from King Cymbeline's court and goes to Rome. While there, his "buddy" Iachimo devises a seriously evil plan to make Posthumus believe that Imogen is being unfaithful to him, when all she's been doing is cross-dressing and accidentally finding her long-lost brothers in the wilderness.
4. Benedick and Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing
Everyone in the play knows that Beatrice and Benedick's eternal war of words is just a sign of their obvious romantic chemistry – except for the couple themselves.
5. Lysimachus and Marina, Pericles, Prince of Tyre
By a series of unfortunate events all across the seas, Marina ends up working in a brothel. Luckily, she manages to win the love of Lysimachus, who takes her away before she has to actually serve any customers.
6. Bassanio and Portia, The Merchant of Venice
Bassanio is not quite the typical romantic hero, as his attraction to Portia is initially motivated purely by the fact that she's a rich heiress, and he's broke. Because there just can't be enough of Shakespearean heroines cross-dressing, Portia has to do it too. But she takes the act a step further – she pretends to be a lawyer and just sorts out everyone's problems like a boss.
7. Ferdinand and Miranda, The Tempest
Miranda's dad Prospero is changeable, to say the least. First he makes Ferdinand do all the hard work around the house that he can think of, then he decides that he actually likes him a lot and throws an engagement party to the young couple, complete with magical spirits.
8. Valentine and Silvia, The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Life certainly isn't sunshine and roses for this young couple. Valentine's supposed best friend Proteus decides he wants Silvia for himself, and maneuvers Valentine's banishment from the Duke's (Silvia's father's) court in order to achieve this.
9. Florizel and Perdita, The Winter's Tale
Florizel is the Prince of Bohemia, but neither he nor his shepherdess girlfriend Perdita know that the latter is actually the daughter of the king of Sicilia, who had a really bad falling-out with Florizel's dad a long time ago.
10. Orsino and Viola, Twelfth Night
Viola really likes Orsino, but it's somewhat difficult for her to make this known for him, not only because Orsino is at first fixated with another woman, Olivia, but because Viola is... you guessed it, cross-dressing!
