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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bloom say is the lesson of "Two Gentlemen of Verona"?

2. What does Bloom say almost overwhelms him about "Richard III"?

3. What doe G. K. Chesterton say Rosalind is seeking in the woods?

4. Who does Bloom say is the chief rival for each of the young lovers?

5. What gets better as the king's fate gets worse in "Richard II"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Marlowe's influence on "Titus Andronicus"?

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

3. What is the cause of the comedy in "Love's Labor's Lost", according to Bloom?

4. What are the main themes of "King John", in Bloom's interpretation?

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

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

7. What does Bloom say "Henry VI" did for Shakespeare?

8. What is Bloom's estimation of "Richard III"?

9. How does Bloom characterize Richard III?

10. How does Bloom describe the meaning of his title, "The Invention of the Human"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In many of his other works of criticism, Bloom describes his affinity for the Gnostic idea that there is one eternal, living moment, and we enter into it and depart from it, but the flame itself stays alive, transcendent and human. Where do you think the flame that is burning in Shakespeare is burning today?

Essay Topic 2

Bloom says that he values interior development, but what is it that he wants to see characters be aware of? Where does the actual world of lived experience figure in Bloom's analysis of Shakespeare's writing or of writing in general?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Shakespeare's hierarchy of values. What is most important to him. What is least? Similarly, describe Bloom's hierarchy of values.

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