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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. At the beginning of The Winter's Tale, what does Leontes order regarding his new daughter?

2. Which character does Nerissa fall in love with in Merchant of Venice?

3. Why is King Lear dividing up his kingdom?

4. What wild animal kill Antigones in The Winter's Tale?

5. Why does Lear wander into a storm at night?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Cordelia and Lear reunited?

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

3. In The Tempest, how does Prospero bring his enemies to the island?

4. How is Paulita saved from death at a young age in The Winter's Tale?

5. How are Orlando and Oliver reconciled in As You Like It?

6. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, how does Oberon change the hearts of the Athenian youths?

7. How does Valentine becomes the leader of bandits in Two Gentlemen of Verona?

8. Describe the interaction between Prospero and his enemies on the island at the end of The Tempest.

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

10. How does Portia save Antonio's life in Merchant of Venice?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Many of Shakespeare's stories take place in the court of ruling people. In such stories - like Cymbeline, Macbeth, King Lear, or Hamlet - the acquisition power is the driver of conflict. Write an essay charting the way power changes hands in three such stories. Who loses power who should control it? What usurper or group of usurpers takes power, and how is this unnatural acquisition reighted by the end of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Shakespeare's comedies involve betrayal and reconciliation between family members and friends. Write an essay about three comedies and discuss how friends and family members betray each other. What compels them to do this? What is the fallout from this betrayal? Discuss what events occur that lead to reconciliation among them? What does this redemption say about the nature of friendship, family and love?

Part 1) The Winter's Tale

Part 2) Two Gentlemen of Verona

Part 3) As You Like It

(see the answer keys)

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