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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 does Prospero bury in the earth?

2. What part of the scene in which Caliban plans the assassination is somewhat poetic and shows the depth of Caliban?

3. By the beginning of Act III, Scene II, what is the state of Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano?

4. In Act IV, Scene I, how is Prospero feeling toward Caliban?

5. At the beginning of Act IV, Scene I, what does Prospero tell Ferdinand?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the tempest and how it is developed metaphorically throughout the play and eventually ended.

2. How, or how not, is Prospero similar to Antonio in Act IV, Scene I?

3. What is the significance of Gonzalo's comment about the gentleness of the spirits at the banquet?

4. What spirits does Prospero summon for the magical performance when he sees Ferdinand getting too close to Miranda?

5. How does a tempest begin with the Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban subplot?

6. Do you think Prospero will actually give up his magic? He only talks of it, but does not actually do it. Why or why not?

7. Describe Prospero's journey that leads to his transformation at the end of the play.

8. Who does Prospero refer to as "the rabble" prior to the magical performance with the dancing spirits?

9. What is Stephano's ulterior motive in the plan to murder Prospero?

10. In Act V, Scene I, what is a clue that Antonio and Sebastian are not as repentant of their past misdeeds as Alonso?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Although the metaphor of a tempest suggests an unnatural upheaval in nature that then returns the environment back to normal, is this the case in the play? Do things return to normal by the play's end? Is there more ambiguity than the idea of a tempest suggests? Why, or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Shakespearean plays tend to have comic relief characters to lighten the drama that is taking place. Describe the characters involved in the Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano trio. What are the comical elements of their scenes? How do they make light of the more serious subplots in the play? What do their scenes do for the play's plot?

Essay Topic 3

Is Caliban a monster? Is he simply a product of his environment? Argue this question, citing specific examples from the play that either prove or disprove his humanity. What do you think Shakespeare intended?

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