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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In Act 1, Scene 1, why does Marcellus bring Horatio to talk to Francisco and Bernardo?
(a) To tell them the latest gossip about Hamlet.
(b) To cover for them while they take a break.
(c) To confirm what they have seen.
(d) To show him his father's ghost.
2. What is the weather like at the beginning of the play?
(a) Very cold.
(b) Pouring rain.
(c) Snowing.
(d) Hot.
3. When the ghost first speaks to Hamlet, how does it describe its experience?
(a) It is tortured and burned in a fire all the time.
(b) It walks at night and is frozen in a block of ice during the day.
(c) It walks at night and is tortured by day.
(d) It walks all the time, hoping someone will set it free.
4. When the play shows a king being poisoned, how does the current king, Claudius, react?
(a) He is bored and does not seem to care.
(b) He is uneasy and makes a joke about it.
(c) He is angry and asks Hamlet if he is making an accusation.
(d) He is upset and leaves before the play ends.
5. When he is giving Laertes advice, what does Polonius say about friends?
(a) Good people rarely have any friends.
(b) Good people always have lots of friends.
(c) Keep your good friends close to you.
(d) Do not worry about making friends.
Short Answer Questions
1. When the audience first sees Claudius, he gives a speech about the current situation in Denmark and then speaks to Hamlet about his behavior. What does Claudius say to Hamlet at this early point in the play?
2. After his first meeting with the ghost, what does Hamlet ask his friends to do?
3. Who does the ghost claim to be?
4. Hamlet makes an ominous statement about married people: "those that are married already, all but one, shall live." What does that mean and who is he talking about?
5. How does Hamlet react when he sees the ghost for the first time?
Short Essay Questions
1. In Act 3, Claudius becomes convinced that Hamlet is insane. What does he decide to do with Hamlet?
2. What is the setting (time and place) at the beginning of the day?
3. After talking to the ghost at the end of Act 1, what does Hamlet decide to do about his father's death?
4. How does Claudius react to the play-within-a-play?
5. Once alone after the play-within-a-play, Claudius bemoans his crimes and falls to his knees in prayer. But at the end of the scene, what does he say about his praying?
6. At the end of Act 1, Scene 5, what does Hamlet tell his friends about his future behavior?
7. What is the point or theme of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech?
8. In Act 1, Scene 2, how does Hamlet act toward Claudius and Gertrude? When he is left alone, what does he say about his feelings toward them?
9. Polonius sends Reynaldo to Laertes with very specific instructions. What does Polonius tell Reynaldo to do, and how does Polonius tell him to do it?
10. The first time Claudius appears on stage, he gives a speech describing the current state of affairs in Denmark. He identifies and explains three major events. What are those events?
This section contains 907 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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