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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. After telling Ophelia to get to a nunnery, what does Hamlet say about marriage?
(a) We shall have no more marriage.
(b) Marriage is better for women than for men.
(c) Marriage is the best thing Ophelia can do with her life.
(d) Marriage is an old-fashioned institution.

2. In Act 3, Scene 1, after they have had some time to talk to Hamlet, what do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern say about his behavior?
(a) He has lost his mind.
(b) He acts strangely, but does not seem crazy.
(c) He is just unhappy about his father's death.
(d) He has not changed at all. He's normal.

3. At the end of the first act, what does Hamlet warn his friends he might do?
(a) Pretend to be crazy.
(b) Leave the country forever.
(c) Kill somebody.
(d) Get married.

4. Hamlet sees Ophelia just as he finishes the "To be or not to be" speech. How does he act when he first sees her?
(a) He runs away.
(b) He greets her pleasantly.
(c) He yells at her.
(d) He stares at her but says nothing.

5. Polonius gives Reynaldo very specific instructions about how to find the information he wants. What are those instructions?
(a) Lie about him if that helps bring out the truth.
(b) Ask his son directly.
(c) Talk to the local police department.
(d) Ask his son's friends and teachers.

Short Answer Questions

1. The tone of the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia in Act 3, Scene 1 changes abruptly when Ophelia does what?

2. At the end of Act 1, Scene 1, what does Horatio say he intends to do?

3. What does Hamlet say when he first hears about the ghost?

4. Hamlet is delighted that the players, a group of traveling actors, are at Elsinore. He welcomes them and asks them for two favors. What are those two favors?

5. Who is Ophelia?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the end of Act 1, Scene 1, what does Horatio say he will do next?

2. After hearing Ophelia describe Hamlet's behavior in Act 2, Scene 1, what does Polonius decide is the cause of Hamlet's behavior and what does he decide to do about it?

3. When Hamlet rants about love and marriage to Ophelia, he is talking about more than just his own relationship with her. What else is Hamlet talking about?

4. After the play-within-a-play, where is Hamlet asked to go? Who asks him to go there?

5. The first time Claudius appears on stage, he gives a speech describing the current state of affairs in Denmark. He identifies and explains three major events. What are those events?

6. In Act 2, Scene 2, what play does Hamlet ask the players to perform and why?

7. Early in the play, Laertes gives Ophelia advice about her love life. What does she say in response?

8. How does Claudius react to the play-within-a-play?

9. What does Claudius learn about Norway when the Ambassadors he sent at the beginning of the play return?

10. Why does Claudius claim he cannot seek forgiveness for his crimes?

(see the answer keys)

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