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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Chapter 1 focuses largely on the importance of…
(a) Will’s mental aptitude
(b) Will’s health
(c) Will’s childhood and education
(d) Will’s religious preferences

2. Will’s involvement in what group is discussed in Chapter 5?
(a) The King’s Men
(b) The Mayor’s Actors
(c) The City’s Troupe
(d) The Queen’s Men

3. Chapter 1 ends with a discussion of…
(a) Will’s brilliance
(b) Will’s claim to fame
(c) Will’s rural roots
(d) Will’s religious preferences

4. What activity did Will try to avoid while living in London?
(a) Drinking alcohol
(b) Writing incriminating documents signed with his name
(c) Stealing money
(d) Writing any plays that would call attention to his illegal dealings

5. What appears to be a driving force behind Will’s hasty marriage?
(a) Money
(b) Weather conditions
(c) Pregnancy
(d) Career opportunities

6. What suggestion is made in Chapter 4 regarding the representation of parenting in Will’s theatrical works?
(a) Parenting was extremely desirable
(b) Parenting was not desirable
(c) The male carried all of the parental responsibilities
(d) The female carried all of the parental responsibilities

7. Which of these things was NOT an aspect of deer poaching during Will’s day?
(a) It was a test of language
(b) It was a test of manhood
(c) It was a test of cleverness
(d) It was a test of skill

8. What phrase best describes life outside the ancient Roman wall surrounding London in Will’s day?
(a) Filled with animals
(b) Filled with people from other countries
(c) Filled with prisons
(d) Filled with recreation areas

9. In what city did Will live next?
(a) Paris
(b) London
(c) Paris
(d) Stratford

10. Where did Will go, apparently in retreat, shortly after his marriage?
(a) London
(b) Stratford
(c) Lancashire
(d) Paris

11. In his plays, Will defined love as…
(a) A poor choice
(b) Unhealthy
(c) An ideal
(d) Disgusting

12. What character in King Lear may reflect the plight of Edmund Campion?
(a) Edgar
(b) Romeo
(c) Falstaff
(d) Iago

13. What is another aspect of Will’s early life that impacted his later theatrical career?
(a) Traveling extensively outside of his home town
(b) Studying with renowned playwrights of his day
(c) Attending local festivals at which plays were presented
(d) Being selected as the winner of a national contest

14. In which of these writings did Will refer to his wife?
(a) His theater contract
(b) His epic poems
(c) His sonnets
(d) His will

15. What did Will apparently believe in as the “ultimate religion?”
(a) Romantic love
(b) Protestantism
(c) Paganism
(d) Roman Catholicism

Short Answer Questions

1. What aspect of social life was very important in Will’s time?

2. Choose the phrase that most accurately describes Will’s wife.

3. The relationship that Will had with what person enabled him to gain more knowledge and have greater access to books?

4. What eventually happened to Edmund Campion?

5. John Shakespeare was unable to send Will to…

(see the answer keys)

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