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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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?
(a) To perform "The Murder of Gonzago" and to add in a speech with new lines.
(b) To perform "The Murder of Gonzago" and to let Hamlet play a role in it.
(c) To perform both "The Murder of Gonzago" and "Priam and Hecuba" for the court.
(d) Not to perform "The Murder of Gonzago" and to perform Hamlet's favorite play instead.

2. 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?
(a) He is too frightened.
(b) He is too happy.
(c) He is too angry.
(d) He is too sad.

3. In their first conversation together, what important information does Hamlet reveal to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
(a) He tells them that he wants to marry Ophelia.
(b) He feels like he really is going crazy.
(c) He is not crazy -- at least, not all the time.
(d) He tells them about the ghost and his suspicions of Claudius.

4. During his first soliloquy, what does Hamlet say about his mother?
(a) She forgot his father too quickly.
(b) She is responsible for his father's death.
(c) She is grieving too much for his father.
(d) She has too much power over the country.

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

6. What does Hamlet tell his friends about his meeting with the ghost?
(a) He repeats the truth about the last king's death.
(b) He says the ghost is a liar.
(c) He pretends that he did not see a ghost.
(d) He tells them nothing.

7. Does Hamlet think the ghost can harm him?
(a) Only if he is afraid of it.
(b) Yes.
(c) No.
(d) Not if he carries garlic and a crucifix.

8. After watching the players give a speech about Hecuba and Priam, what does Hamlet say impresses him the most?
(a) How confident they are in their performances.
(b) How quickly they can learn new lines in a script.
(c) How intelligent they are.
(d) How much emotion they are able to summon up for a performance.

9. Before he returns to school, what does Laertes tell Ophelia about her boyfriend?
(a) Polonius is an abusive boyfriend.
(b) Hamlet just wants her to sleep with him.
(c) Horatio just wants her to sleep with him.
(d) As a prince, Hamlet may not get to choose who he marries.

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

11. In Act 1, Scene 2, what two events does Claudius describe?
(a) His brother's wedding and the birth of his nephew.
(b) His coronation and the war with Norway.
(c) His brother's death and his own marriage to Gertrude.
(d) The war that killed the last king and the upcoming marriage of his nephew.

12. When Hamlet and his friends first see the ghost, what do Hamlet's friends tell him to do?
(a) Send for a priest.
(b) Tell the king about the ghost.
(c) Go with the ghost.
(d) Do not go with the ghost.

13. In Act 1, Scene 3, what does Polonius ask Ophelia to do about Hamlet?
(a) Flirt with him.
(b) Stay away from him.
(c) Make friends with him.
(d) Spy on him.

14. During "The Mousetrap," Gertrude says, "The lady protests too much, methinks." What is she talking about?
(a) The Player Queen swearing her loyalty to her second husband.
(b) Gertrude is speaking about her own claims of love for Claudius.
(c) The Player Queen swearing her loyalty to her first husband.
(d) Ophelia swearing her loyalty to Hamlet.

15. After Laertes has left in Act 1, Scene 3, Polonius talks to Ophelia about her romance. What does Polonius tell her?
(a) Do not go to bed with him.
(b) Do not trust his promises of love.
(c) Make sure he does not hurt you.
(d) Ask him to marry you.

Short Answer Questions

1. Early in the play, what country does Claudius send messengers to?

2. After telling Ophelia to get to a nunnery, what does Hamlet say about marriage?

3. As Hamlet and the others wait to see the ghost in Act 1, Scene 4, what do they hear in the distance?

4. Who is Horatio?

5. Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

(see the answer keys)

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