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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern identified in Stoppard's script?
(a) Ros and Guil
(b) Crantz and Stern
(c) Gentleman one and Gentleman two
(d) Rose and Guild

2. After everyone else has left the stage, how does the speech of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern change?
(a) They speak in riddles.
(b) They sound terrified.
(c) They stop speaking French.
(d) They revert to common language.

3. What concession do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern make to Claudius and Gertrude?
(a) They will get the troupe to help them.
(b) They commit to stay and to do whatever they can do to assist.
(c) They will not tell Hamlet what Gertrude said.
(d) They will play one game of coins.

4. When Guildenstern assures Rosencrantz that they will be all right, what is Rosencrantz's reply?
(a) Rosencrantz says that is easy for him to say.
(b) Rosencrantz says he has gotten them into a fine mess.
(c) Rosencrantz asks for how long.
(d) Rosencrantz asks how he knows that.

5. As the scene changes from exterior to interior, who enters the stage?
(a) Anthony and Cleopatra
(b) Romeo and Juliet
(c) Ariel and Puck
(d) Hamlet and Ophelia

6. How does Guildenstern reply to Rosencrantz's idea about how Guildenstern must be feeling?
(a) He says there are plenty more coins where those came from.
(b) He says there is suspense while the coins are in the air.
(c) He says that he doesn't mind losing because Rosencrantz is his friend.
(d) He says he is not really thinking about the game.

7. Leaving Claudius and Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are met by which character?
(a) Ophelia
(b) Polonius
(c) Hamlet
(d) Romeo

8. Trying to determine what Rosencrantz wants to see, what does the Player mention not too subtly?
(a) Adam and Eve in the Garden in their original costumes
(b) Bawdy barroom ballads acted out by the mimes as the musician splay and sing
(c) Rapes are mentioned and he alludes to wives and "ravished virgins" and asks if he is getting warm.
(d) Great Tragedies and comedies they have performed before kings

9. What is Polonius' message for Claudius?
(a) That the ambassadors from Norway have returned
(b) That Ophelia has lost her mind
(c) That the Danish army is revolting
(d) That Hamlet is suicidal

10. How does the dialogue change when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern speak with Claudius and Gertrude?
(a) They use Shakespearean English.
(b) The speak French.
(c) They speak in riddles.
(d) They are too stunned to speak.

11. What is Guildenstern's observation about their strange situation?
(a) That Claudius will explain everyting to them.
(b) That they are fortunate that they are presented with alternatives.
(c) That it is probably all a dream.
(d) That it will soon be over and they can go home.

12. What type of play does the Player mention that comes at another cost?
(a) Plays where the audience participates
(b) Plays from classical Greek drama
(c) Plays that have never been performed before
(d) Plays that last over three hours

13. How does Hamlet react when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern confront him?
(a) Hamlet does not recognize them.
(b) Hamlet asks them what they are doing at court.
(c) Hamlet shouts and runs off stage.
(d) Hamlet refers to them as friends and asks how they are.

14. Still trying to explain his run of bad luck, why does Guildenstern think about time?
(a) He wonders if the time of day is affecting the magnetic fields.
(b) He wonders if his timing is all wrong when spinning the coins.
(c) He wonders if it has stood still and he has actually spun the coin only once.
(d) He wonders if time is actually going backward making his spins go the opposite way.

15. What is Guildenstern's angry reply to the Player's suggestion?
(a) He laughs in the Player's face and calls him stupid.
(b) He says he was prepared for any kind of messenger, but instead he is approached by prostitutes.
(c) He draws his sword and tells the Player if he suggests that again, he will kill him.
(d) He calls the Player a pimp and orders him to leave with his troupe.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Guildenstern continue doing with the coin tosses?

2. How does Guildenstern win money from the Player and the troupe?

3. What blunder does Rosencrantz make with the introductions?

4. Grabbing hold of the Player angrily, how does Guildenstern excuse himself?

5. What does Guildenstern mean when he says he is afraid, too?

(see the answer keys)

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