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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. Which term describes Kate's speech about the proper behavior of a wife toward a husband?
(a) Harangue.
(b) Liturgy.
(c) Irony.
(d) Soliloquy.

2. What does Feste do to Malvolio?
(a) Torment.
(b) Thwart.
(c) Idealize.
(d) Admire.

3. How does Bloom characterize characters like Hamlet and Falstaff?
(a) Creations of language itself.
(b) Larger than life.
(c) Purely literary.
(d) Pure fiction.

4. Who claims that Shakespeare invented the human personality?
(a) T. S. Eliot.
(b) Hamlet.
(c) Samuel Johnson.
(d) Harold Bloom.

5. What is it about "Richard III" that leaves Bloom dissatisfied?
(a) The improbability of Lady Anne's seduction.
(b) The lack of strong motivations for Richard.
(c) The lack of inner dialogue.
(d) The excess of self-consciousness in the characters.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Bloom characterize Caesar?

2. What does Bloom say "Richard III" is a rehearsal for?

3. Which critic does Bloom say was overwhelmed by Caesar?

4. What first makes the character of Titus Andronicus unsympathetic?

5. Who is the center of the subplot in "Twelfth Night"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Bloom characterize "Much Ado About Nothing"?

2. What does Bloom say is the main action of "Two Gentlemen of Verona"?

3. What is Marlowe's influence on "Titus Andronicus"?

4. What was Nietzsche's influence on Bloom's view of Shakespeare?

5. What does Bloom say is the primary rival for Romeo and Juliet's affections?

6. How does Bloom say the relationship between men and women 'Love's Labor's Lost' is emblematic of the relations between the sexes in other plays?

7. How does Bloom defend "Midsummer Night's Dream" from criticism?

8. Where does Bloom see resonances of "Julius Caesar" in other plays?

9. How does Bloom characterize Richard III?

10. What step does Bloom say Shakespeare took, with "The Merchant of Venice", beyond Marlowe's style?

(see the answer keys)

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