View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Trinculo want to do with Caliban in order to make money?

2. What does Antonio offer to do in order to persuade Sebastian to go along with the plan?

3. How does one character finally get Caliban to calm down in Act II, Scene II?

4. How does Antonio convince Sebastian to go along with the plan in Act II, Scene I?

5. The only two men Miranda has seen prior to meeting Ferdinand are

Short Essay Questions

1. How can Prospero's use/treatment of Miranda be characterized?

2. When Caliban starts babbling to Stephano and Trinculo about what he can show them on the island, what is Trinculo's initial thought?

3. What function in the play is served by Act II, Scene II with Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban?

4. How does Caliban parallel some of Prospero's characteristics in Act II, Scene II?

5. How does the audience learn about Ariel's past on the island?

6. How do Ferdinand's and Miranda's positive qualities function in terms of the other characters?

7. In Act II, Scene II, why does Caliban drop to the ground when Trinculo appears?

8. What is the metaphorical significance of the storm at sea in the exposition of the play?

9. How does Prospero's treatment of Caliban mirror Antonio's past treatment of Prospero?

10. What is the intention of Prospero's plan when he has Ariel lead Ferdinand to Miranda?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose of the musical scenes in The Tempest? What do they do for the plot? The characters? The audience? Cite examples from the play and bear in mind Shakespeare's contemporary period.

Essay Topic 2

Does Prospero truly undergo a "transformation" by the end of The Tempest? What is the evidence to prove or disprove this?

Essay Topic 3

Is Caliban a monster? Is he simply a product of his environment? Argue this question, citing specific examples from the play that either prove or disprove his humanity. What do you think Shakespeare intended?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 946 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample