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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what way has Shakespeare outdone Marlowe with Aaron the Moor?
(a) He is more believable than Barabas.
(b) He is more outrageous than Barabas.
(c) He is more hateful than Barabas.
(d) He is more compassionate than Barabas.

2. How does Bloom characterize "Much Ado About Nothing"?
(a) Nietzschean.
(b) Shakespeare's most perfect play.
(c) A Biblical comedy.
(d) A disorganized jumble.

3. How does Bloom characterize "Julius Caesar"?
(a) As the tragedy of all politics.
(b) As a warning against ambition.
(c) As the tragedy of the Senate.
(d) As the tragedy of Brutus.

4. What does Bloom say is the purpose of Falstaff's philosophizing?
(a) Self-protection.
(b) Amusement.
(c) Self-reflection.
(d) Persuasion.

5. How does "Taming of the Shrew" begin?
(a) With a battle.
(b) With a play within a play.
(c) With a marriage.
(d) With a murder.

6. Who counters Richard II's character in "Richard II"?
(a) The Earl of Southampton.
(b) Henry IV.
(c) Bolingbroke.
(d) Faulconbridge.

7. What charge does Bloom defend the faeries in "Midsummer Night's Dream" from?
(a) That they are proto-human.
(b) That they are super-human.
(c) That they are arbitrary.
(d) That they are archetypes.

8. What does Bloom say almost overwhelms him about "Richard III"?
(a) The soliloquies.
(b) The seduction scene.
(c) The battle scene.
(d) The Marlovian influence.

9. Where does Shakespeare use the themes of "Two Gentlemen of Verona", in Bloom's interpretation?
(a) "The Tempest".
(b) "All's Well That Ends Well".
(c) "Love's Labour's Lost".
(d) "Hamlet".

10. Who is Queen Mab, according to Bloom?
(a) Mercutio's wife.
(b) Queen Elizabeth I.
(c) The whore Mab.
(d) The powerful mobs of London.

11. How does Bloom characterize the character of Richard III?
(a) A monstrosity.
(b) A distortion of history.
(c) A lamentable error.
(d) A parody of himself.

12. What is Richard III's most famous line?
(a) To be or not to be.
(b) My kingdom for a horse.
(c) Is this a dagger I see before me?
(d) A rose by any other name would be as sweet.

13. How does "Henry VI" end?
(a) With Henry VI being born.
(b) With Henry VI being dying in the Tower.
(c) With Henry VI being crowned.
(d) With Henry VI being married.

14. How does Bloom characterize Caesar?
(a) A real person.
(b) A sacrificial character.
(c) A caricature.
(d) A larger-than-life figure.

15. What are the men overcome by, in "Love's Labor's Lost"?
(a) Evil manipulations.
(b) Female wit.
(c) Their own desires.
(d) War.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Bloom characterize the marriage between Beatrice and Benedick?

2. To whom does Bloom compare Hamlet and Falstaff?

3. What upsets Bloom about the ending of "The Merchant of Venice"?

4. What does Bloom say is King John's biggest problem?

5. What does Bloom say characterizes the play "Julius Caesar"?

(see the answer keys)

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