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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 request does Timon make of Alcibiades at the end of his story?

2. What is Diana given at the end of All's Well That Ends Well as a reward?

3. What does Angelo threaten the disguised Duke with at the end of Measure for Measure?

4. How does Pericles win the Thaisa's hand in marriage?

5. In Comedy of Errors, how can a merchant from Syracuse avoid death in Ephesus?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Pericles, how does Marina become a slave?

2. Why is Romeo banished from Verona?

3. Describe Iago's revenge against Othello.

4. How does Timon of Athens lose faith in mankind?

5. Why does Hamlet kill Polonius?

6. How is the opening of Twelfth Night similar to the story that begins Comedy of Errors?

7. What happens when Viola, in disguise, goes to Olivia on Orsino's behalf?

8. What challenge does Bertram make to Helena in All's Well That Ends Well?

9. How is Angelo corrupted in Measure for Measure?

10. How does Pericles reunite with his daughter and wife at the end of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In much of Shakespeare's writing, the natural and the supernatural interact, with mysticism coloring and driving the course of human events. Write an essay about three such instances, discussing the function and form of supernatural events:

Part 1) What is the story of A Midsummer Night's Dream before the introduction of the fairy world? How do the fairies affect the human world? Is this effect intentional or incidental to their business? Discuss how the events of this fairy world color the events of the Athenian youths.

Part 2) How does the realm of magic come into play in The Tempest? Who is reacting and fighting against magic, and who is controlling it? Discuss the way magic is used in the narrative as a driver of story. What magical figures are central to this story, and what specific actions do they undertake?

Part 3) What do the witches of Macbeth represent? How are they catalysts for the action, driving human interaction and rash action? Chart their appearances throughout the story. What promises do they make to the main character, and how do these promises prove false in the end?

Essay Topic 2

Many of Shakespeare's stories take place in the court of ruling people. In such stories - like Cymbeline, Macbeth, King Lear, or Hamlet - the acquisition power is the driver of conflict. Write an essay charting the way power changes hands in three such stories. Who loses power who should control it? What usurper or group of usurpers takes power, and how is this unnatural acquisition reighted by the end of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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