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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 do the sounds in the background at the opening of Act III suggest?

2. What does Rosencrantz say as he looks out into the audience?

3. How does Stoppard dramatize the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

4. How many corpses does the Player say the drama will have at the end?

5. What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hear as they discuss the letter the next morning?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Guildenstern's rationale for not catching Hamlet?

2. What happens when Rosencrantz hears music?

3. What game does Rosencrantz initiate on the ship?

4. The stage is dark when Act 3 begins. Describe what the audience hears.

5. What prophetic remark does Rosencrantz make while they wait for instructions?

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

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

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

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

10. What happens when the King orders Guildenstern to go and bring Hamlet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a paper describing the characters of Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the Player as you see them? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How well do you like them? Can you recall people from real life that are similar?

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 staged plays as opposed to films. Discuss what you think the advantages and disadvantages are of both types. What are the elements of entertainment one gets from the staged play that is missing from a film and vice versa? Give examples from your own experience.

(see the answer keys)

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