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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. Who does Prospero release from servitude at the end of The Tempest?

2. In The Winter's Tale, Polixenes is the king of what kingdom?

3. Which of the following characters does not die at the end of King Lear?

4. How does Antonio expect to be able to pay Shylock at the beginning of Merchant of Venice?

5. Whom does Celia fall in love with in As You Like It?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Valentine offer Silvia to Proteus at the end of Two Gentlemen of Verona?

2. Why does Claudio think Hero is cheating on him in Much Ado About Nothing?

3. How do Antonio and Shylock lend money differently in Merchant of Venice?

4. Why does Macbeth kill Banquo?

5. What is the rift in the spirit room at the beginning of A Midsummer Night's Dream?

6. What bad decision does Antonio make regarding borrowing money in Merchant of Venice?

7. How does Posthumus return to Britain at the end of Cymbeline?

8. Why does Belarius think Imogen is dead in Cymbeline?

9. How does Leontes respond to his new daughter at the beginning of The Winter's Tale?

10. How does Proteus betray his friend Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The tragic figure of Shakespeare's stories suffer because they make rash decisions without considering the full ramifications of their actions. Write an essay discussing three tragic figures from the collection and the decisions they make. What drives the most destructive of these choices? What does the character want to accomplish, and what does he or she not consider regarding the ramifications of these choices? How do these choices undo this character, and what is Shakespeare saying about the human condition with this reversal?

Essay Topic 2

Shakespeare's stories often involve a divide between the town - with its merchants and political squabbles - and the country, a setting of ease and merriment. Citing specific stories from the text, discuss in an essay how Shakespeare uses this divide in his stories. What can occur in the country that cannot in the town? How are interactions different? Why do people choose to - or are forced to - leave the city? Do comedies or tragedies use this device more often?

Essay Topic 3

Tales from Shakespeare contains stories based on Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies. Write a three part essay, discussing the difference between Shakespearean tragedy and comedy, citing specific examples of each in the three sections:

Part 1) What features make a tragedy in Shakespeare? How do they almost always end? Discuss which components of narrative are always the same in a tragedy. What type of lesson does Shakespeare intend for the writer to take away from the experience? How does he impart these themes?

Part 2) How does a comedy progress? What is the traditional ending to a Shakespearean comedy? Discuss how a comedy develops differently from a tragedy, and what it relates about humanity. What parts of the human existence does Shakespeare omit in writing a comedy?

Part 3) Compare the experience of reading a comedy and tragedy? How do protagonists in each of these differ in terms of their objectives and dynamic nature? Discuss what the reader is supposed to sympathize with in each case.

(see the answer keys)

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