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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. After the play is performed, what do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ask Hamlet to do?
(a) Ask the players to leave Elsinore.
(b) Go see Ophelia.
(c) Go see Claudius.
(d) Go see his mother.

2. Which two characters is Laertes related to?
(a) Claudius and Hamlet.
(b) Gertrude and Hamlet.
(c) Gertrude and Ophelia.
(d) Polonius and Ophelia.

3. How many times does the ghost appear in Act 1, Scene 1?
(a) Twice.
(b) Four times.
(c) Once.
(d) Three times.

4. Hamlet makes an ominous statement about married people: "those that are married already, all but one, shall live." What does that mean and who is he talking about?
(a) Everyone who is currently married will be killed, except one person: Gertrude.
(b) Everyone who is currently married will stay alive, except one person: Polonius.
(c) Everyone who is currently married will stay alive, except one person: Claudius.
(d) Everyone who plans to be married soon should be killed, except one person: Ophelia.

5. What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Claudius that Hamlet is excited about in Act 3, Scene 1?
(a) Fencing with Laertes.
(b) Seeing Ophelia again.
(c) Committing suicide.
(d) Seeing the players perform.

6. After discussing Hamlet with Polonius in Act 1, how has Ophelia interacted with Hamlet?
(a) She has continued to see him.
(b) She has avoided him entirely.
(c) She has spent even more time with him than she used to.
(d) She has avoided him most of the time.

7. Where does Act 1, Scene 4 take place?
(a) On a ship.
(b) In Hamlet's bedroom.
(c) In the throne room.
(d) On the platform.

8. What is the main idea of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech?
(a) Hamlet is thinking about killing Ophelia.
(b) Hamlet is thinking about killing Claudius.
(c) Hamlet is thinking about killing himself.
(d) Hamlet is thinking about proposing to Ophelia.

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

10. When the ghost first speaks to Hamlet, how does it describe its experience?
(a) It walks all the time, hoping someone will set it free.
(b) It is tortured and burned in a fire all the time.
(c) It walks at night and is frozen in a block of ice during the day.
(d) It walks at night and is tortured by day.

11. How does Hamlet react when he sees the ghost for the first time?
(a) He is upset and starts to cry.
(b) He is frightened and runs away.
(c) He is startled, but tries to talk to it.
(d) He is angry and tries to attack it.

12. Early in Act 2, Polonius believes he has found the cause of Hamlet's behavior. What is the first thing he does to test his theory?
(a) Eavesdrop on him while he prays.
(b) Send him to a doctor.
(c) Eavesdrop on him while he talks to Horatio.
(d) Arrange for him to meet Ophelia and spy on them together.

13. What does Polonius ask Reynaldo to give to his son?
(a) Money and written notes.
(b) Written notes.
(c) Clothes.
(d) Money.

14. After the play, Claudius meets with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to discuss Hamlet's condition. Are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern more sympathetic to Claudius, Hamlet, or someone else?
(a) Hamlet.
(b) Claudius.
(c) Gertrude.
(d) Ophelia.

15. After Hamlet yells at Ophelia to go to a nunnery, what does she say about him?
(a) She is angry because she does not think he is crazy, and he has hurt her feelings.
(b) She is angry at him because she thinks he is crazy.
(c) She is sorry for him and for herself, because she thinks he is crazy.
(d) She is relieved that she did not marry him.

Short Answer Questions

1. As Claudius speaks about his guilt in Act 3, Scene 3, what does he say about repenting?

2. What specific thing does Hamlet determine Claudius must do before Hamlet can murder him?

3. The ghost appears to Horatio and his companions in Act 1, Scene 1, but something seems to scare it into disappearing. What causes it to disappear?

4. When the audience first sees Claudius, he gives a speech about the current situation in Denmark and then speaks to Hamlet about his behavior. What does Claudius say to Hamlet at this early point in the play?

5. What was Ophelia doing when she was frightened by Hamlet in Act 2, Scene 1?

(see the answer keys)

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