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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. When Claudius reacts to the play, what does Hamlet say in response?
(a) "It would cost you a groaning to take off my edge. "
(b) "For if the king like not the comedy, Why then, belike, he likes it not, perdy. "
(c) "What, frighted with false fire!"
(d) "Get me a fellowship in a cry of players."

2. How does Horatio describe the ghost to Hamlet?
(a) Frightening.
(b) More angry than sad.
(c) Exciting.
(d) More sad than angry.

3. In Act 1, Scene 5, what does the ghost ask Hamlet to do?
(a) Help the new king.
(b) Hire an exorcist.
(c) Get revenge.
(d) Have a priest pray for its soul.

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

5. 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 stay alive, except one person: Claudius.
(b) Everyone who is currently married will be killed, except one person: Gertrude.
(c) Everyone who plans to be married soon should be killed, except one person: Ophelia.
(d) Everyone who is currently married will stay alive, except one person: Polonius.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the ghost first speaks to Hamlet, how does it describe its experience?

2. At the end of Act 1, Scene 1, what does Horatio say he intends to do?

3. What is the Prince of Norway's name?

4. Who asks Hamlet to sit nearby during the play? Who does Hamlet prefer to sit with?

5. What is the weather like at the beginning of the play?

Short Essay Questions

1. Early in the play, Laertes gives Ophelia advice about her love life. What does she say in response?

2. Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and why do they go to Elsinore?

3. 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?

4. After the play-within-a-play, where is Hamlet asked to go? Who asks him to go there?

5. Who does the ghost tell Hamlet NOT to seek revenge on?

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

7. During Hamlet's first conversation with the ghost, the ghost asks for revenge. Who does the ghost want revenge on and why?

8. Why does Claudius claim he cannot seek forgiveness for his crimes?

9. At the end of Act 1, Scene 1, what does Horatio say he will do next?

10. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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