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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. Who does Agnes’s father marry after her mother dies?

2. What happens at her wedding after Agnes silently asks her mother to show her presence?

3. Where does Hamnet’s father work and write about in his letters from London in Chapter 3?

4. Why does John hurl himself at Edmond at dinner one night in Chapter 8?

5. Which young character is sick at the start of Hamnet?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Ned?

2. How does the Latin tutor’s father treat his children, in particular his oldest son?

3. Why does the Latin tutor’s father receive the news of Agnes’s pregnancy much calmer than his mother?

4. Who is Hamnet looking for at the start of the novel and why?

5. What did Agnes predict when she was eight, as described in Chapter 2?

6. What does Susanna feel about her mother, according to the description in Chapter 3?

7. What does Agnes do to people’s hands, and what does she think she can learn by doing this?

8. How does Agnes feel her husband behaves when around his family?

9. Describe Hamnet’s encounter with his drunk grandfather in Chapter 1 when he is searching for help with his sister.

10. What is the Latin Tutor doing at Hewlands in Chapter 2 and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the narrative structure of Hamnet. What effect does this have on the story and the reader? Use direct examples from the novel to support your analysis.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining the significance of the title of Hamnet. How does the title support the overall narrative tone and theme of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay comparing and contrasting the families of Agnes and her husband. How do these differences play out in the storyline?

(see the answer keys)

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