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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 Ophelia say about violets?

2. At the end of Act 4, Scene 5, what does Claudius offer to do for Laertes?

3. What does Polonius tell Gertrude to do in Act 3, Scene 4 regarding Hamlet?

4. After talking to Hamlet in her room, what does Gertrude say about Hamlet?

5. What happens to Ophelia after her father's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Polonius's death, who is sent to find Hamlet?

2. After Polonius's death, what does Gertrude tell Claudius about Hamlet?

3. When Claudius hears about Polonius's death, what is his first thought?

4. List the major characters who die during the last scene of the play.

5. After Polonius's death, Ophelia comes to see Gertrude. What do we learn about Ophelia in that scene?

6. At the end of the play, we learn of the death of two minor characters. Who are they, and how do we learn of their death?

7. How does Hamlet suggest that Claudius and his servants might find Polonius's body?

8. As Hamlet travels to the boat for England, what or who does Hamlet find on a plain in Denmark?

9. In Act 4, Scene 3, what does Claudius reveal to the audience about his plans for Hamlet in England?

10. Who is the first person in Elsinore to find out that Hamlet is on his way back to Denmark instead of going to England? How does that person find out?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose a relatively minor character, such as Horatio, and make an argument about why that character is vital to the plot and themes of Hamlet. Choose wisely; some characters will make this essay easier than others.

Essay Topic 2

In 1887, Lord Action wrote, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Do you think Shakespeare would agree? Use examples from the play to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Shakespeare frequently attributes disease or unhappiness in "great ones" as a sign of disease or unhappiness in an entire community. In "A Midsummer Night's Dream," for example, the entire world is out-of-whack because the king and queen of the faeries are fighting. There is no question that the "great ones" in Hamlet are diseased/unhappy. How does that unhappiness manifest itself in the rest of the country? Provide specific examples from the play to support your thesis.

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