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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the purpose of this very short scene?

2. What does Romeo ask?

3. What do Desdemona and Juliet say about themselves?

4. What does Constance ask a servant?

5. Who comes through the vortex created by a page from the manuscript?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Tybalt's last actions before he is no longer seen?

2. What reason do Juliet and Desdemona give for being flat characters? Do you agree with the two women's assessment?

3. For whom is Constance searching at the beginning of Act 3, Scene 3 and why is this ironic?

4. What is Tybalt's reaction to Romeo and Juliet's fascination with Constance?

5. What does Juliet theorize is Constance's predication towards homosexuality? Do you agree?

6. How is it again intimated that Constance is playing the role of the Fool?

7. How does the author of this play satirize the real Romeo and Juliet fight scene?

8. Describe what happens when Desdemona and Juliet arrive at the crypt and stand near Constance.

9. How does cross dressing become a theme in this sexually-loaded scene?

10. What is significant about several objects that appear in Constance's office in the "real" world and also in the fantasy world of Verona and Cyprus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

An in-depth understanding of GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA partly hinges on understanding the corresponding characters from Shakespeare's plays Romeo and Juliet and Othello. Choose one of the following questions and write a well-organized essay using detailed examples from the text and your research to support your statements.

1. Compare and contrast the character of Desdemona from the plays GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA by MacDonald and OTHELLO by Shakespeare. Add a concluding paragraph as to which character from the plays is more interesting and has more depth.

2. Compare and contrast the character of Juliet from the plays GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA by MacDonald and ROMEO AND JULIET by Shakespeare. Add a concluding paragraph as to which character from the plays is more interesting and has more depth.

3. Compare and contrast the character of Romeo from the plays GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA by MacDonald and ROMEO AND JULIET by Shakespeare. Add a concluding paragraph as to which character from the plays is more interesting and has more depth.

Essay Topic 2

GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA belongs to the genre of drama. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:

1. What do you think is the definition of drama? Write out your definition and then look up the definition in a literary dictionary. How similar are the two definitions?

2. Drama is written with the intention that it will be performed. How do you think this influences the manner in which the plot unfolds, the dialogue, the set complexity, the number of characters, and the length?

3. Compare GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA to a short story. What are the differences? The similarities? Which do you enjoy reading the most?

Essay Topic 3

In Act 3, Scene 7, Juliet admits she does not know the name of the author and determines to commit suicide in shame. . Choose one of the following questions and write a well-organized essay using detailed examples from the text, your research and personal experience to support your statements:

1. Write an essay and include responses to the following questions: How many times does Juliet either threaten or attempt suicide? Is she ever serious? What is different about Juliet's suicidal tendencies in Goodnight Desdemona compared to Juliet's actual suicide in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? Why do you think the author focuses so much on Juliet's apparent fascination with suicide? How does this thread contribute to the plot? Does Juliet's suicidal tendencies in GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA help make the play a comedy versus her suicide in Romeo and Juliet which contributes to that play being a tragedy?

2. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for children ages 10-17; only car accidents claim more lives in that age range. Discuss why you think this may be true and what you think needs to or could be done to help change this statistic. Be sure to be specific and include any situations of which you have personal knowledge if you are comfortable doing so.

3. In Goodnight Desdemona, most readers would not expect Romeo to kill himself over any of his "true loves" (Juliet, Constance, or Desdemona). Discuss why this is true, giving examples, and what this reveals about Romeo's character in GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA.

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