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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. When does Sycorax die in The Tempest?

2. Who is the second human Miranda meets in The Tempest?

3. Who does Demetrius marry at the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream?

4. Which of the following characters dies at the end of Cymbeline?

5. What do the robbers in Two Gentlemen of Verona request of Valentine?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Don Pedro's attitude to Beatrice and Benedick at the beginning of Much Ado About Nothing?

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

3. What is the problem among the young lovers at the beginning of A Midsummer Night's Dream?

4. In The Winter's Tale, how does Paulita convince the king of Bohemia to let her marry his son?

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

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

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

8. Why does Kent have to disguise himself to follow King Lear?

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

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

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.

Essay Topic 2

Shakespeare - like all writers of the Renaissance - has a central amount of stock character types that recur in his stories: the tenacious lover, the jealous companion, the conniving monarch, etc. In an essay, choose a character type that recurs throughout several stories. How does this character generally function in the story? Does he or she generally find success or ruin? Why do you think this is? Cite from the appropriate stories to illustrate your essay.

Essay Topic 3

Many Shakespearean stories involve an individual attempting to subvert a social structure: Macbeth, Othello, Shylock, Hamlet, Katharine. Write an essay about three such characters and discuss how this attempt progresses in the story. Why does this character choose to subvert this system? What does he or she want to achieve, and what subversive actions does he or she take? How does this character end up as a result?

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