View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does William Hazlitt say is the center of "Othello"?
(a) Iago.
(b) Desdemona's innocence.
(c) Othello's blackness.
(d) Othello's jealousy.

2. In what way does Bloom say "The Merry Wives of Windsor" could be considered funny?
(a) As an existential comedy.
(b) As a comedy of errors.
(c) As a sadomasochistic exercise.
(d) As slapstick.

3. What id Dryden's objection to Caliban's depiction?
(a) That he is still a European political persona.
(b) That he cannot be savage if he can speak.
(c) That he is only truly savage under the influence of drink, and cannot be bestial otherwise.
(d) That a half-man is not a natural man.

4. What does Bloom say constitutes the darkness of "Cymbeline"?
(a) Iachino is not killed off, but he can continue his evil ways.
(b) Posthumous is ineffective against Iachino's manipulations.
(c) There is a suggestion that Imogen might be unfaithful at heart.
(d) Cymbeline is still jealous, even after he repents sentencing his wife to death for betrayal.

5. What aspect of Nietzsche's philosophy does Iago embody, according to Bloom?
(a) The evil.
(b) The nihilism.
(c) The playfulness.
(d) The literariness.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bloom say he suspects Shakespeare of, in "Henry V"?

2. What does the character Timon of Athens do to his guests?

3. How does Bloom characterize Theseus in "Two Noble Kinsmen"?

4. Whose marriage does Bloom say is happiest in all of Shakespeare's plays?

5. What does critic Marc Shell say Shakespeare is criticizing in Angelo's strict enforcement of law in 'Measure for Measure'?

Short Essay Questions

1. What parallel does Bloom describe between characters Henry V and Alexander the Great?

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

3. What insight does Bloom say "All's Well That Ends Well" gives us into marriage?

4. What is the moral of "Measure for Measure", in Bloom's account?

5. What does Bloom say was Shakespeare's role in "Two Noble Kinsmen"?

6. What warning does Bloom say Emerson makes about ''King Lear"?

7. What is Bloom's estimation of "Henry VIII"?

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

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

10. What does Bloom say is the heart of "Macbeth"?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 810 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample