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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 does the Duke claim he is going at the beginning of Measure for Measure?

2. What does Hamlet happen upon when he returns to Elsinore from England?

3. Which of the following characters is not related to the rest?

4. Why is Bertram called back to court at the beginning of All's Well That Ends Well?

5. What is Tybalt's connection to Juliet?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Pericles end up marrying Thaisa?

2. How did Aegeon's family come together and get separated in a matter of days?

3. How is Angelo corrupted in Measure for Measure?

4. What is the state of affairs between Ephesus and Syracuse in Comedy of Errors?

5. What plot does Claudius concoct to be rid of Hamlet at the end of the story?

6. How do Romeo and Juliet die?

7. How does Timon of Athens lose faith in mankind?

8. Why does Hamlet kill Polonius?

9. What challenge does Bertram make to Helena in All's Well That Ends Well?

10. How is the opening of Twelfth Night similar to the story that begins Comedy of Errors?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In many of his stories, Shakespeare juxtaposes two individuals who are close either as siblings or dear friends. He juxtaposes them through their actions, which reveal character. Write an essay about three of the stories in the collection in which pairs of characters are juxtaposed. What actions does Shakespeare use to juxtapose these characters? What is revealed through this juxtaposition? Do the characters become more or less similar as the story continues?

Essay Topic 2

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare famously said the course of true love never did run smooth. Write an essay charting the arc of a particularly tumultuous courtship in one of the stories. What two characters are in love, and what obstacles prevent their complete happiness? How do they respond to these obstacles? Do they over come them or break apart from each other? Through this courtship, what is Shakespeare saying about romance and commitment?

Essay Topic 3

Shakespeare's stories can span the range of possible settings: some exist in one day and one location, while others take place over many lands and many years. In an essay, compare the two most extreme examples: The Tempest and Pericles. Which is the more compact of the narrative and which the more expansive? What common plot devises and character types do they share? How does each one end, and how does the setting affect the progression of the plot to this finality?

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