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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. Who has gone to war with Britain in Cymbeline?

2. How does Lamb describe Hero at the beginning of Much Ado About Nothing?

3. What non-medial condition kills Mamillius in The Winter's Tale?

4. What does Portia disguise herself as at the end of Merchant of Venice?

5. Where does Camillo offer to marry Perdita and Florizel to avoid Leontes' wrath in The Winter's Tale?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe the interaction between Prospero and his enemies on the island at the end of The Tempest.

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

4. How does Proteus betray his friend Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona?

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

6. What is the problem among the young lovers at the beginning of A Midsummer Night's Dream?

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

8. How are Hero and Claudio reunited at the end of Much Ado About Nothing?

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

10. In The Tempest, how does Prospero bring his enemies to the island?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In much of Shakespeare's canon, death is not necessarily a complete end to an individual's influence over human events. Using The Winter's Tale, Hamlet, and Macbeth as subjects, write an essay discussing the role of ghosts and reincarnation in Shakespeare. Who returns to the realm of the living after death? When these characters return, how do they affect the world of the living? What is the nature of this return?

Essay Topic 2

Many Shakespearean stories involve an individual attempting to subvert a social structure: Macbeth, Othello, Shylock, Hamlet, Katharine. Write an essay about three such characters and discuss how this attempt progresses in the story. Why does this character choose to subvert this system? What does he or she want to achieve, and what subversive actions does he or she take? How does this character end up as a result?

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?

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