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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At the beginning of Act 2, what does Polonius ask Reynaldo to find out?
(a) Find out how his son is doing in school.
(b) Find out if his son is behaving appropriately.
(c) Find out if his son has a girlfriend.
(d) Find out if his son is getting enough to eat.

2. Before the play is performed, Hamlet has a long conversation with the First Player. What is he telling the Player?
(a) Hamlet is asking him about the life of an actor.
(b) Hamlet is complaining about how Ophelia is acting.
(c) Hamlet is coaching him on how to perform.
(d) Hamlet is telling him about the king's death.

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

4. Hamlet sees Ophelia just as he finishes the "To be or not to be" speech. How does he act when he first sees her?
(a) He yells at her.
(b) He stares at her but says nothing.
(c) He greets her pleasantly.
(d) He runs away.

5. After witnessing Hamlet's behavior during the play, what does Claudius say about his condition?
(a) Hamlet is not crazy, but he is dangerous.
(b) Hamlet is crazy, but harmless.
(c) Hamlet is not crazy.
(d) Hamlet is crazy and dangerous.

Short Answer Questions

1. After the play is performed, what does Polonius ask Hamlet to do?

2. When Hamlet and his friends first see the ghost, what do Hamlet's friends tell him to do?

3. Hamlet says of Claudius: "He took my father grossly, full of bread; With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May." What does Hamlet mean by that?

4. During "The Mousetrap," Gertrude says, "The lady protests too much, methinks." What is she talking about?

5. How does Horatio describe the ghost to Hamlet?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Act 1, Scene 2, how does Hamlet act toward Claudius and Gertrude? When he is left alone, what does he say about his feelings toward them?

2. When Hamlet first sees the ghost, he tries to talk to it. How does the ghost respond?

3. When Hamlet meets Ophelia after the "To be or not to be" speech, he is polite or gentle with her at first. What happens to change his attitude? How does his attitude change? What does he say?

4. How does Hamlet act towards Ophelia during the play-within-a-play?

5. After the play-within-a-play, Claudius meets with Hamlet's old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern loyal to? How can you tell?

6. In Act 2, Scene 2, Polonius talks to Hamlet. After that conversation, does Polonius think Hamlet is crazy?

7. When Hamlet follows the ghost, what do his friends decide to do?

8. Once alone after the play-within-a-play, Claudius bemoans his crimes and falls to his knees in prayer. But at the end of the scene, what does he say about his praying?

9. Hamlet says "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt...." This soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 2, is the first introduction of a theme that Hamlet will talk about repeatedly in the play. What does he talk about doing or wanting to do in this soliloquy?

10. The first time Claudius appears on stage, he gives a speech describing the current state of affairs in Denmark. He identifies and explains three major events. What are those events?

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