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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. When they open the letter, what is in it?

2. What is Rosencrantz's reply when Guildenstern asks why they would want to leave?

3. What does Claudius tell Guildenstern and Rosencrantz?

4. Beside the two British Ambassadors, what characters from Shakespeare are on stage at the end of the play?

5. What is Hamlet doing?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the hilarious scene involving the belts of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

2. What leads up to the death scene and how does it play out?

3. What happens when Rosencrantz hears music?

4. How does Rosencrantz initiate a new coin game?

5. How are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern trying to figure out where they are?

6. Describe the funny bowing scene with Hamlet and Claudius.

7. What causes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to laugh over the new coin game?

8. What is Rosencrantz's dark question on the subject of death?

9. When Hamlet enters in Act 2, what does he say?

10. What transpires when Rosencrantz brings up the subject of death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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 on costuming for a play. Hamlet has been staged often in modern dress. Why, then, is it important in Stoppard's play that the costumes be Elizabethan? What do you think the costumes add to the play?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 735 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample