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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 happens to Ophelia after her father's death?
2. What does Claudius say about Laertes and Ophelia's death?
3. Hamlet finally tells Claudius how to find the body of his first victim: "But indeed, if you find him not within this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby." How is Hamlet saying that they might find the body?
4. Claudius tells Laertes there are two reasons why he has not ordered Hamlet killed. What are those reasons?
5. As Gertrude lays flowers at Ophelia's grave, what does she say?
Short Essay Questions
1. Claudius tells Laertes that Hamlet is responsible for Polonius's death. Claudius says that there are two reasons why he cannot have Hamlet publicly arrested and punished. What are those two reasons?
2. After Polonius's death, what does Gertrude tell Claudius about Hamlet?
3. How does Hamlet avoid going to England?
4. When Hamlet hears about Fortinbras and his attacks on Poland, what does he say about Fortinbras and about himself?
5. List the major characters who die during the last scene of the play.
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. Who is Yorick, and why does he come up in Act 5?
8. After Polonius's death, who is sent to find Hamlet?
9. Whose burial does Hamlet witness in Act 5?
10. In the last scene of Act 3, Polonius is killed. At the end of the scene, what happens to his body?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Study some of the basics of Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince" and apply them to the political situation in Denmark. What would Machiavelli say about Claudius? Polonius? Fortinbras? Hamlet?
Essay Topic 2
Choose a relatively minor character, such as Horatio, and make an argument about why that character is vital to the plot and themes of Hamlet. Choose wisely; some characters will make this essay easier than others.
Essay Topic 3
The question of suicide comes up repeatedly in the play. Hamlet mentions it on multiple occasions and Ophelia's death is potentially a suicide and questionable enough that her funeral rites are "maimed." Discuss the play's treatment of suicide, focusing on the following points:
-- How is suicide presented? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
-- Are there universal truths about death and suicide, as Hamlet seems to suggest in the "To be or not to be" speech? Or does the play contradict that by adding in Ophelia's suicide?
-- Do you think Ophelia does commit suicide? Why or why not?
-- Do you think Hamlet is essentially committing suicide at the end of the play? Why or why not?
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This section contains 890 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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