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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do writers tend toward, after Shakespeare, according to Bloom?
(a) Self-reflection.
(b) Oedipal urges.
(c) Political visions.
(d) Sadomasochism.

2. What does T. S. Eliot say overwhelms "Romeo and Juliet"?
(a) The conservatism of the feuding families.
(b) The power of the love between Romeo and Juliet.
(c) The tragic ending.
(d) The improbability of the deaths.

3. What makes "Love's Labor's Lost" one of Bloom's favorite plays?
(a) Verbal fireworks.
(b) Complex plotting.
(c) Subtlety of inner dialogue.
(d) Loveable characters.

4. What are the men overcome by, in "Love's Labor's Lost"?
(a) Their own desires.
(b) Female wit.
(c) War.
(d) Evil manipulations.

5. To whom does Bloom characterize Rosalind in "As You Like It"?
(a) Beatrice.
(b) Othello.
(c) Hamlet.
(d) Iago.

6. What does Bloom say is the relationship between "The Merchant of Venice" and "The Jew of Malta"?
(a) A turning away.
(b) A transference.
(c) A reaction formation.
(d) An inversion.

7. Who is Queen Mab, according to Bloom?
(a) The whore Mab.
(b) Mercutio's wife.
(c) The powerful mobs of London.
(d) Queen Elizabeth I.

8. How does "Taming of the Shrew" begin?
(a) With a murder.
(b) With a battle.
(c) With a play within a play.
(d) With a marriage.

9. What kind of play is "Taming of the Shrew"?
(a) Comedy.
(b) History.
(c) Tragedy.
(d) Farce.

10. What does Bloom say "Love's Labor's Lost" has in common with other plays?
(a) Heroes brought low and villains elevated.
(b) Mixing of social classes.
(c) Love winning out against the odds.
(d) Surprising twists and turns.

11. Who does Proteus drive into exile?
(a) Silvia.
(b) Valentine.
(c) Launce.
(d) Julia.

12. Who does Bloom say steals the show in "Romeo and Juliet"?
(a) Mercutio and the Nurse.
(b) Romeo and Juliet.
(c) Lords Capulet and Montague.
(d) Tybalt.

13. How does Bloom characterize the end of "Richard III"?
(a) Disorganized.
(b) Symphonic.
(c) Repetitive.
(d) Fulfilling.

14. What is it about "Richard III" that leaves Bloom dissatisfied?
(a) The lack of inner dialogue.
(b) The improbability of Lady Anne's seduction.
(c) The lack of strong motivations for Richard.
(d) The excess of self-consciousness in the characters.

15. Who was NOT a contemporary of Shakespeare's?
(a) John Fletcher.
(b) William Chaucer.
(c) Ben Jonson.
(d) Christopher Marlowe.

Short Answer Questions

1. What play does Bloom say "Henry VI" resembles?

2. What upsets Bloom about the ending of "The Merchant of Venice"?

3. Who is Faulconbridge's father?

4. How does Bloom characterize "Richard III"?

5. How does Bloom characterize Richard II's metaphors?

(see the answer keys)

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