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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. Where are Faulconbridge's speeches reflected?

2. Who counters Richard II's character in "Richard II"?

3. What does Bloom say Samuel Johnson dreaded to see in Shakespeare's plays?

4. What is Moth's role in "Love's Labor's Lost"?

5. What song reminds Bloom of this other work?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Bloom see resonances of "Julius Caesar" in other plays?

2. What does Bloom say is the primary rival for Romeo and Juliet's affections?

3. How does Bloom say the relationship between men and women 'Love's Labor's Lost' is emblematic of the relations between the sexes in other plays?

4. What does Bloom say is the true subject of "Julius Caesar"?

5. What play does Bloom say influenced Shakespeare's "Henry VI"?

6. What is Bloom's estimation of "Two Gentlemen of Verona"?

7. What does "Romeo and Juliet" prefigure, in Bloom's interpretation?

8. What does Bloom say "Henry VI" did for Shakespeare?

9. How does Bloom describe the meaning of his title, "The Invention of the Human"?

10. How does Bloom characterize the character Shylock?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is missing from this book? What should have been covered or presented that was not? What is the effect of this absence? Describe an element that ought to have been covered, and explain why it would have made the book stronger.

Essay Topic 2

Bloom says that he values interior development, but what is it that he wants to see characters be aware of? Where does the actual world of lived experience figure in Bloom's analysis of Shakespeare's writing or of writing in general?

Essay Topic 3

What is the role of love in Shakespeare's plays? How does Bloom describe the benefits and consequences of love?

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This section contains 625 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample