View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. The ghost of which character appears at Macbeth's banquet?

2. In what city does A Midsummer Night's Dream begin?

3. How does Lady Macbeth convince her husband to kill Duncan?

4. What act of fidelity do Julia and Proteus commit when parting ways at the the beginning of Two Gentlemen of Verona?

5. Which of the following characters dies at the end of Cymbeline?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Valentine becomes the leader of bandits in Two Gentlemen of Verona?

2. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, how does Oberon change the hearts of the Athenian youths?

3. How are Orlando and Oliver reconciled in As You Like It?

4. How does Posthumus return to Britain at the end of Cymbeline?

5. Who does Valentine offer Silvia to Proteus at the end of Two Gentlemen of Verona?

6. What is the rift in the spirit room at the beginning of A Midsummer Night's Dream?

7. How does Lady Macbeth convince Macbeth to kill Duncan?

8. How does Leontes respond to his new daughter at the beginning of The Winter's Tale?

9. Under what circumstances does Lear go mad?

10. Why is Posthumus banished at the beginning of Cymbeline?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Shakespeare's comedies are driven often by a sense of confusion and mistaken identity. People are not who they appear to be. In an essay, compare three comedies that make frequent use of mistaken identity to drive the plot. Is the confusion manufactured or accidental? Does it cause pain to anyone involved? How is it resolved, and are all the mysteries solved?

Part 1) Much Ado About Nothing

Part 2) Comedy of Errors

Part 3) Twelfth Night

Essay Topic 2

In Shakespeare's day, sea travel was the most common form of extended travel, particularly in the Mediterranean. As such, ship travel and ship wrecks play an important role in his plays as drivers of narrative. Write an essay, citing three stories, of the use of maritime travel in Shakespeare. How does sea travel offer narrative opportunities that land travel does not? Why do so many stories begin with a shipwreck? What narrative needs does he shipwreck provide?

Essay Topic 3

Love is a frequent theme of Shakespeare's narratives, but love in his comedies is markedly different from love in his tragedies. Write an essay comparing the way couples interact in Shakespearean comedy and tragedy. What does the courtship - provided it is shown - look like? Is deception involved? In comedies, why does Shakespeare always end after the marriage? What occurs after the marriage in Shakespeare's tragedies? What does this say about Shakespeare's attitude toward the institution of marriage?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,045 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample