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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. At the end of As You Like It, whom does the duke's brother meet as he enters the forest to kill him?

2. Where does Iachomo tell Pisanio to kill Imogen in Cymbeline?

3. Why does the French duke of As You Like It move to Arden?

4. Who concocts the scheme to marry Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing?

5. In what state does Cordelia's army find the mad Lear?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. At the end of As You Like It, what happy news arrives concerning the banished duke?

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

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

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

10. How does Prospero find Ariel in The Tempest?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Shakespeare's stories can span the range of possible settings: some exist in one day and one location, while others take place over many lands and many years. In an essay, compare the two most extreme examples: The Tempest and Pericles. Which is the more compact of the narrative and which the more expansive? What common plot devises and character types do they share? How does each one end, and how does the setting affect the progression of the plot to this finality?

Essay Topic 2

In his stories, Shakespeare deals with individuals that hurt and betray their fellow man. These characters have many disparate reasons for doing this. Discuss three such malefactors and their motivations in an essay:

Part 1) Why does Macbeth choose to kill Duncan, his king? What external forces impel him to commit this evil act, and why does he acquiesce to them? Discuss how Macbeth makes progressively more evil choices to protect himself. What is Shakespeare saying about the way evil men are made?

Part 2) What drives Shylock to insist upon a pound of flesh as payment from his rival Antonio? What does his place in Venetian society have to do with this? To what extent does Antonio represent this marginalized place?

Part 3) How is Iago different from the other villains in Shakespeare's stories? What drives him to destroy Othello, Cassio, and Desdemona? Does he hold a grievance against all of them? To what extent does Shakespeare present Iago as a portrait of pure evil?

Essay Topic 3

Coincidence plays an important role in all of the Shakespearean narratives. Individuals lose and find each other often, and always at just the right moment. Write an essay three cases of coincidence that are important to drawing the narrative forward in the story:

Part 1) How does Hermione end up in the cave where her long-estranged brothers live? Discuss the series of unconnected circumstances that drew her to this place, and why she immediately leaves it. How is all made right and this reunion explained in the end of Cymbeline?

Part 2) Discuss how Leontes loses his child at the beginning of The Winter's Tale. What series of events bring her back to him with a significant suitor? Were any of these events perpetrated by the repentant Leontes? What is the result of Paulina's return at the end of the play?

Part 3) How does the life of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, mean that coincidence is always a factor for him? Discuss the process by which Pericles loses his entire family and how he gets them back. What factors - supernatural and natural - contribute to this reunion?

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