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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 head of state is with Antonio on the ship in The Tempest?

2. Lying to his father in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Proteus says his letter from Julia is from whom?

3. Which character concocts a devious plot to break up a marriage in Much Ado Ado Nothing?

4. What does the juice of the purple flower do to people in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

5. What name does Kent take to follow Lear in disguise?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Claudio think Hero is cheating on him in Much Ado About Nothing?

3. In The Winter's Tale, how does Paulita convince the king of Bohemia to let her marry his son?

4. Why does Macbeth kill Banquo?

5. How does Oliver try to kill Orlando in As You Like It?

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

7. What is Don Pedro's attitude to Beatrice and Benedick at the beginning of Much Ado About Nothing?

8. Why does Kent have to disguise himself to follow King Lear?

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

10. Why is Cordelia banished at the beginning of King Lear?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Shakespeare's comedies involve betrayal and reconciliation between family members and friends. Write an essay about three comedies and discuss how friends and family members betray each other. What compels them to do this? What is the fallout from this betrayal? Discuss what events occur that lead to reconciliation among them? What does this redemption say about the nature of friendship, family and love?

Part 1) The Winter's Tale

Part 2) Two Gentlemen of Verona

Part 3) As You Like It

Essay Topic 2

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare famously said the course of true love never did run smooth. Write an essay charting the arc of a particularly tumultuous courtship in one of the stories. What two characters are in love, and what obstacles prevent their complete happiness? How do they respond to these obstacles? Do they over come them or break apart from each other? Through this courtship, what is Shakespeare saying about romance and commitment?

Essay Topic 3

Shakespeare - like all writers of the Renaissance - has a central amount of stock character types that recur in his stories: the tenacious lover, the jealous companion, the conniving monarch, etc. In an essay, choose a character type that recurs throughout several stories. How does this character generally function in the story? Does he or she generally find success or ruin? Why do you think this is? Cite from the appropriate stories to illustrate your essay.

(see the answer keys)

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