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

2. What news does the wicked Queen tell the King at the beginning of Cymbeline?

3. In As You Like It, what is Orlando doing the first time Rosalind sees him?

4. In As You Like it, how does Oliver plan to kill Orlando after his initial plan fails?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Macbeth kill Banquo?

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

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

5. Why does Belarius think Imogen is dead in Cymbeline?

6. How does Prospero find Ariel in The Tempest?

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

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

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

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 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 2

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 3

The tragic figure of Shakespeare's stories suffer because they make rash decisions without considering the full ramifications of their actions. Write an essay discussing three tragic figures from the collection and the decisions they make. What drives the most destructive of these choices? What does the character want to accomplish, and what does he or she not consider regarding the ramifications of these choices? How do these choices undo this character, and what is Shakespeare saying about the human condition with this reversal?

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