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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Polonius tell Gertrude to do in Act 3, Scene 4 regarding Hamlet?
(a) Make sure Hamlet knows that Polonius is listening to their conversation.
(b) Be stern with Hamlet about his behavior.
(c) Be kind to Hamlet and invite him to confide in her.
(d) Convince Hamlet to talk about Ophelia.

2. In Act 4, scene 4, while watching the troops and reflecting on his own behavior, what does Hamlet promise about his future actions?
(a) They will be crafty.
(b) They will be careful.
(c) They will be bloody.
(d) They will be fast.

3. Watching the troops attacking, Hamlet decides that he is less of a man than their leader. Why does he say that?
(a) Hamlet was never in the army, unlike the troops' leader.
(b) He has a better reason to fight than the leader, but he does not fight.
(c) The leader is a common man, while Hamlet is a prince.
(d) Hamlet has only killed one man and the leader has killed many.

4. As Gertrude lays flowers at Ophelia's grave, what does she say?
(a) She is glad Ophelia will be with her father now.
(b) She believes Ophelia is now an angel.
(c) She is sorry Ophelia died so young.
(d) She hoped Ophelia and Hamlet would marry.

5. Laertes comes up with another idea to make sure his duel with Hamlet will result in Hamlet's death. What is it?
(a) Damage Hamlet's armor so he is vulnerable.
(b) Fix Laertes's sword so it is sharp.
(c) Force Hamlet to drink poison before the fight.
(d) Poison the tip of the sword.

6. Claudius suggests a duel between Laertes and Hamlet, but that type of duel usually is not deadly. What does Claudius suggest they do to injure Hamlet?
(a) Bribe the referee.
(b) Fix Laertes's sword so it is sharp.
(c) Damage Hamlet's armor so he is vulnerable.
(d) Force Hamlet to drink poison before the fight.

7. Who is "poor Yorick"?
(a) Hamlet's servant, who is old and tired.
(b) The king's jester, now dead.
(c) Hamlet's grandfather, now dead.
(d) The gravedigger who is old and tired.

8. At the end of Act 4, Scene 5, what does Claudius offer to do for Laertes?
(a) Take care of Ophelia.
(b) Tell Laertes the truth about his father's death.
(c) Help Laertes kill Hamlet.
(d) Show Laertes where his father is buried.

9. When Laertes returns after his father's death, what does he want?
(a) Revenge on the people responsible for his father's death.
(b) To talk to Hamlet.
(c) To visit with his sister.
(d) To take over the throne of Denmark.

10. Where does Claudius want the body of Hamlet's first victim to be taken?
(a) To the graveyard.
(b) To the chapel.
(c) To the doctor.
(d) To the police.

11. What happens to Horatio at the end of the play?
(a) He wants to kill himself, but Fortinbras stops him.
(b) He kills himself.
(c) He wants to kill himself, but Hamlet asks him to live.
(d) He gets poisoned by accident.

12. When Hamlet visits his mother in her room in Act 3, Scene 4, he speaks very harshly to his mother. What makes him stop?
(a) The ghost appears.
(b) Claudius enters the room.
(c) Getrude kills herself.
(d) Ophelia enters the room.

13. What does Ophelia say about violets?
(a) Violets stand for thoughts.
(b) The violets died when her father died.
(c) Violets are her favorite flower.
(d) Violets stand for remembrance.

14. Who does Hamlet kill in his mother's room?
(a) Getrude.
(b) Fortinbras.
(c) Laertes.
(d) Polonius.

15. When Hamlet leaves his mother's room in Act 3, Scene 4, what does he take with him?
(a) A portrait of his dead father.
(b) A portrait of his mother.
(c) The dead body of Polonius.
(d) The dead body of Claudius.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens between Laertes and Hamlet in the graveyard scene?

2. After he leaves the ship, how will Hamlet make his way back to Elsinore?

3. When he is asked where his first victim's body is, what does Hamlet do?

4. While explaining Hamlet's crime to his courtiers, why does Claudius say he has to be gentle with Hamlet?

5. What are the Norwegian soldiers fighting over?

(see the answer keys)

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