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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What is Richard III's most famous line?
(a) A rose by any other name would be as sweet.
(b) Is this a dagger I see before me?
(c) To be or not to be.
(d) My kingdom for a horse.

3. In what way does Bloom say Shakespeare departs from Marlowe's precursor "The Jew of Malta"?
(a) The Jews are more caricaturist.
(b) The Jew is more monstrous.
(c) The play is more overtly anti-Semitic.
(d) The Christians are as vicious as the Jew.

4. To whom does Bloom compare Hamlet and Falstaff?
(a) Adam in 'Paradise Lost'.
(b) The Old Testament God.
(c) Melville's Captain Ahab.
(d) The Knight in Chaucer's 'Knight's Tale'.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How is Joan of Arc depicted in "Henry VI", in Bloom's account?

2. How does Shakespeare use "As You Like It" to comment on his own politics?

3. What are the men overcome by, in "Love's Labor's Lost"?

4. What does Faulconbridge save of his father's?

5. For whom is Shylock a predecessor, in Bloom's interpretation?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Bloom characterize Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus"?

2. What aspect of Nietzsche's philosophy is present in "Richard II", in Bloom's interpretation?

3. How does Bloom say the relationship between men and women 'Love's Labor's Lost' is emblematic of the relations between the sexes in other plays?

4. Who are the prominent critics Bloom cites as the most influential critics of Shakespeare?

5. How does Bloom say Shakespeare confronts the viewer's personality in "Comedy of Errors"?

6. What step does Bloom say Shakespeare took, with "The Merchant of Venice", beyond Marlowe's style?

7. What does Bloom say is the true subject of "Julius Caesar"?

8. What does Bloom say is the primary rival for Romeo and Juliet's affections?

9. What is Bloom's estimation of "Two Gentlemen of Verona"?

10. What was Nietzsche's influence on Bloom's view of Shakespeare?

(see the answer keys)

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