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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. Why does Bloom say "Timon of Athens" was never performed?
(a) Shakespeare's patron was offended by the play.
(b) Shakespeare felt the play was too personal.
(c) Shakespeare died before he finished it.
(d) Shakespeare used the play to denounce contemporary London.

2. What does Bloom say in response to Hamlet's claim that he was a prisoner in Denmark?
(a) That he is only partly correct.
(b) That he is not in fact imprisoned, except in the metaphor of imprisonment.
(c) That he is a free personality.
(d) That imprisonment is a human condition.

3. What does Bloom say is the heart of "Antony and Cleopatra"?
(a) The battle between the sexes.
(b) The battle between East and West.
(c) The battle between Rome and Egypt.
(d) The battle between love and politics.

4. What does Bloom say T. S. Eliot says about "Hamlet"?
(a) That it is too long.
(b) That it is the masterpiece of our culture.
(c) That it is too confusing.
(d) That it is improbable and stagey.

5. What does Bloom say he suspects Shakespeare of, in "Henry V"?
(a) Disloyalty.
(b) Patriotism.
(c) Fear for his own safety.
(d) Irony.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Bloom characterize the Falstaff of "The Merry Wives of Windsor"?

2. Who whom does Fluellen compare Henry V?

3. Why does Janet Adelman say that Cordelia had to be murdered in "King Lear"?

4. What does Ben Jonson say "Winter's Tale" unites with the dark fears of Leontes?

5. How does Bloom characterize Coriolanus as a character of Shakespeare's?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Bloom say "Winter's Tale" sits in Shakespeare's folio?

2. What does Bloom say is the political subtext of "Troilus and Cressida"?

3. How does Bloom characterize the play "Pericles"?

4. What does Bloom say is the flaw of "Coriolanus"?

5. What is the role of love in "King Lear", according to Bloom?

6. What does Bloom say is the focus of "Antony and Cleopatra"?

7. What does Bloom say makes "Hamlet" so fascinating?

8. What view does Bloom take on Iago's character?

9. What does Bloom say is the difference between 'Othello' "Cymbeline"?

10. Why does Bloom say "Timon of Athens" was not performed in Shakespeare's lifetime?

(see the answer keys)

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