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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. How is Laertes killed at the end of Hamlet?

2. What rank has Cassio recently attained at the beginning of Othello?

3. What happens to Timon when he asks his friends for money?

4. How long does Aegeon search for his wife and other son before coming to Ephesus?

5. In Measure for Measure the law citizens of Vienna are constantly breaking concerns what?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What plot does Claudius concoct to be rid of Hamlet at the end of the story?

3. How is Angelo corrupted in Measure for Measure?

4. How does Pericles lose Thaisa at sea?

5. Why does Hamlet kill Polonius?

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

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

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

9. Why is Hamlet dissolute at the beginning of the story?

10. Why is Othello summoned before the Duke of Venice for his marriage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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