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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Hamlet doing?
(a) Carrying a bloody daggar
(b) Dragging the body of Polonius
(c) Reading a book
(d) Looking for Ophelia

2. Why does Rosencrantz think he can leave?
(a) He says Hamlet doesn't want them there.
(b) He says they have permission to go.
(c) He says no one will miss them.
(d) He says they've been there long enough.

3. What makes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern laugh at this new coin game?
(a) The coin fall on tails every time
(b) Both of Rosencrantz's hands are empty
(c) They have invented a new game
(d) Guildenstern wins back all his coins

4. What does Claudius ask Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about Polonius?
(a) Why did Hamlet kill him
(b) Where his body is
(c) What they know about him
(d) Who told them he was dead

5. Up to this point, how have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern proven to be?
(a) Helpless and powerless to influence events around them
(b) Sure of themselves and their whereabouts
(c) Effectual in carrying out Claudius's orders
(d) Very knowledgable about Shakespeare

6. What makes Hamlet bow?
(a) Thinking of Ophelia
(b) Tying his shoelace
(c) Seeing the Player approach
(d) Seeing Claudius approaching

7. Talking about acting on assumptions, what does the Player ask the two men?
(a) He asks them why they didn't know that.
(b) He asks them if they are ready to assume.
(c) He asks them if they understand the word, assume.
(d) He asks them what it is that they assume.

8. What does Hamlet do with the letter he takes from Guildenstern?
(a) He burns it with flame from the lantern.
(b) He goes behind the umbrella and reads it.
(c) He wads it up and tosses it into the sea.
(d) He tears it into a thousand pieces.

9. What does Rosencrantz answer when Claudius asks where Hamlet is?
(a) That he is under guard.
(b) That he is in the library.
(c) That he went to England.
(d) That he is with the Queen.

10. What happens when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern make a snare for Hamlet out of their belts?
(a) Rosencrantz's pants fall down around his ankles.
(b) The belts are not long enough.
(c) Guildenstern's belt breaks.
(d) Hamlet sees them and runs away.

11. Still in the dark, what do the two realize?
(a) They are in a moving carriage.
(b) They can still talk, think, and feel.
(c) They are chained to a wall.
(d) They have escaped from the castle.

12. In their conversation, what does the audience gather about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
(a) That they never argue bacause they both see things the same way
(b) That they are too educated to understand simple minded people
(c) That they are the butt of a complicated joke
(d) That it clear they never quite know where they are or what is going on

13. How does the encounter with Hamlet leave Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
(a) Confused about who they are
(b) Confused about where they are
(c) Confused about what Hamlet said
(d) Confused about the coin game

14. What props are on the stage as the lights finally come up on Act III?
(a) Three masts and a coiled rope
(b) Three coffins and a deck chair
(c) Three unbrellas and a large box
(d) Three large casks and an umbrella

15. Beside the two British Ambassadors, what characters from Shakespeare are on stage at the end of the play?
(a) Ophelia and Gertrude
(b) Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony
(c) Othello and Iago
(d) Horatio and Fortinbras

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Guildenstern say they do not need to worry about what to say to the King?

2. What is Rosencrantz's prophetic remark after Hamlet enters with the soldier?

3. What does Guildenstern say about death?

4. What decision do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find impossible to make?

5. What is Rosencrantz's response when Guildenstern asks how his leg feels?

(see the answer keys)

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