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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 Rosencrantz tell Guildenstern he would do if he lost that many times?

2. As the scene changes from exterior to interior, who enters the stage?

3. What does Gertrude tell Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

4. What does Claudius request of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

5. How does Rosencrantz show that he is confused?

Short Essay Questions

1. What appears to be the relationship between the two men?

2. How does Guildenstern show that he is still being analytical about their situation?

3. What is Claudius' request of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

4. Describe Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as the play opens.

5. Why is Guildenstern so repulsed by the Player's immoral suggestions for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

6. How does Guildenstern continue trying to analyze the situation?

7. Describe the somewhat bizarre entrance of Hamlet and Ophelia.

8. How does Gertrude reinforce the idea that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are friends of Hamlet's?

9. What does Guildenstern's comment that he is afraid today is his day mean?

10. Describe the dialogue that shows the confusion of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at this point.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a paper on the tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive. Using the lies Rosencrantz and Guildenstern told Claudius about the whereabouts of Hamlet, discuss in your paper how telling lies almost always ends in difficult situations. Give a real world example.

Essay Topic 2

Write a paper about friendship. Using Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as examples, describe how one friend is usually dominant. Also write about how even the best of friends often quarrel or bicker.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper about the social position of actors during the Elizabethan age. Using Guildenstern's line that the troupe's company was welcome for lack of any other, explain the contradiction of loving plays while looking down on the players.

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This section contains 752 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample