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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What message is the Norwegian Captain supposed to deliver to Claudius in Act 4, Scene 4?
2. In the letter that the sailors deliver in Act 4, Scene 6, it says: "when thou shalt have overlooked this, give these fellows some means to the king: they have letters for him." What is the writer of the letter asking?
3. When he is asked where his first victim's body is, what does Hamlet do?
4. How does Laertes die?
5. At the end of the play, a messenger arrives from England with news. What is the news?
Short Essay Questions
1. After Polonius's death, what does Gertrude tell Claudius about Hamlet?
2. How does Hamlet suggest that Claudius and his servants might find Polonius's body?
3. When Claudius hears about Polonius's death, what is his first thought?
4. At the end of the play, we learn of the death of two minor characters. Who are they, and how do we learn of their death?
5. As Hamlet travels to the boat for England, what or who does Hamlet find on a plain in Denmark?
6. Who is the first person in Elsinore to find out that Hamlet is on his way back to Denmark instead of going to England? How does that person find out?
7. After Polonius's death, Ophelia comes to see Gertrude. What do we learn about Ophelia in that scene?
8. When Hamlet hears about Fortinbras and his attacks on Poland, what does he say about Fortinbras and about himself?
9. How does Hamlet avoid going to England?
10. List the major characters who die during the last scene of the play.
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
The play focuses a lot on death. There is the death of the old king and Hamlet's "excessive" mourning. There is the appearance of the ghost and its description of the afterlife. There is Hamlet's obsession with suicide and Ophelia's apparent suicide. There is the entire graveyard scene, with its varied perspectives on death. Shakespeare puts forth many different perspectives on this topic in the play. Choose one belief or perspective that is presented in the play; explain it and identify two or three instances in the play where that belief is supported or represented.
Essay Topic 2
There are so many characters in a Shakespeare play that it is sometimes easy to lose track of them. Find a scene in which an important character is mostly silent -- for example, the scene where Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia. Why is that character still in the scene? How is the audience's sense of the scene changed by knowing that character is present? How does the character make its silent presence felt?
Essay Topic 3
Is Hamlet really crazy? Take a stand on this topic and support your stance with specific examples from throughout the text.
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This section contains 869 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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