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

2. What additional method does Claudius suggest so that even if Hamlet wins the duel with Laertes, Hamlet will still die?
(a) Give Hamlet a poisoned drink.
(b) Arrest Hamlet for Polonius's death.
(c) Hire an assassin to kill Hamlet.
(d) Challenge Hamlet to a duel himself.

3. At the end of Act 4, Scene 2, what does Hamlet agree to do?
(a) See a doctor.
(b) Go to England.
(c) Talk to Gertrude.
(d) Go see the king.

4. As the funeral procession makes it way through the graveyard, Hamlet notices there are "maimed rites." What does that signify?
(a) That the person died by suicide.
(b) That the person who died was poor.
(c) That the person died from the plague.
(d) That the person who died was very old.

5. While explaining Hamlet's crime to his courtiers, why does Claudius say he has to be gentle with Hamlet?
(a) The people of Denmark love him.
(b) He is crazy, but not a bad person.
(c) Gertrude will be upset if they are hard on him.
(d) He is still a prince.

Short Answer Questions

1. As Gertrude lays flowers at Ophelia's grave, what does she say?

2. When Hamlet visits his mother in her room in Act 3, Scene 4, he speaks very harshly to his mother. What makes him stop?

3. When Laertes returns after his father's death, what do the common people say about him?

4. Who is Gertrude truly loyal to?

5. As Laertes and Claudius discuss how to kill Hamlet, what news does Gertrude bring?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Act 4, Scene 5, Claudius is almost overthrown by a violent mob. Who does the mob want to be king in his place?

2. In Act 4, Scene 3, what does Claudius reveal to the audience about his plans for Hamlet in England?

3. How does Hamlet avoid going to England?

4. Hamlet calls Rosencrantz and Guildenstern "a sponge." Why does he say that?

5. As Hamlet travels to the boat for England, what or who does Hamlet find on a plain in Denmark?

6. After Polonius's death, who is sent to find Hamlet?

7. In the last scene of Act 3, Polonius is killed. At the end of the scene, what happens to his body?

8. What plan do Laertes and Claudius come up with in Act 4, Scene 7 to kill Hamlet?

9. When Hamlet hears about Fortinbras and his attacks on Poland, what does he say about Fortinbras and about himself?

10. Whose burial does Hamlet witness in Act 5?

(see the answer keys)

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