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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 exchange is there between Hamlet and Ophelia?

2. What is Alfred's response when Guildenstern suggests they could set a dramatic precedent?

3. How does Gertrude respond when she hears Guildenstern's prayer?

4. How does the dialogue change when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern speak with Claudius and Gertrude?

5. Who are the well-dressed Elizabethan gentlemen at the opening of the play?

Short Essay Questions

1. What comic relief does the dialogue about home provide for the play?

2. Trying to make sense of their situation, to what does Guildenstern think back?

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

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

5. How does Guildenstern attempt to change the subject away from the coins?

6. What type of show does the Player attempt to offer Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

7. What does Guildenstern say that emphasizes their helplessness in a situation they do not understand?

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

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

10. Throughout the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern never leave the stage. What stops them from following the Queen's attendants to go find Hamlet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a paper about the law of probability. Using the coin spins at the first of the play, tell how the situation defies the law. Describe what one might suspect under normal circumstances. How does this dramatic device start to build suspense in the play?

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 critique of Stoppard's play. Detail what you think are its strong points and where you think it might have been improved. At the end of your critique, rate it from one to five stars as a recommendation for someone else to read or see.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 768 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample