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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 pretends to be Trinculo and interrupts Stephano's and Caliban's conversation?

2. In the false banquet scene, what characteristic of Gonzalo is revealed that he shares with Miranda and Ferdinand?

3. Why does Prospero want the men to see a banquet and then have it taken away?

4. Who provides music and sings along with Stephano and Trinculo?

5. What motif does the scene between Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano and their assassination plan reflect?

Short Essay Questions

1. What spirits does Prospero summon for the magical performance when he sees Ferdinand getting too close to Miranda?

2. Do you think Prospero will actually give up his magic? He only talks of it, but does not actually do it. Why or why not?

3. Describe Prospero's journey that leads to his transformation at the end of the play.

4. Why does Prospero, in Act IV, Scene I, decide to torment Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban rather than continue his revenge on Antonio?

5. Who does Prospero refer to as "the rabble" prior to the magical performance with the dancing spirits?

6. What is Stephano's ulterior motive in the plan to murder Prospero?

7. How, or how not, is Prospero similar to Antonio in Act IV, Scene I?

8. In Act V, Scene I, why does Prospero whisper to Antonio and Sebastian that he knows of their plans to kill Alonso?

9. In Act V, Scene I, what is a clue that Antonio and Sebastian are not as repentant of their past misdeeds as Alonso?

10. In Prospero's final speech at the play's end, what is the significance of his contemplation of his death? How does it link to his now ended revenge?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose of the musical scenes in The Tempest? What do they do for the plot? The characters? The audience? Cite examples from the play and bear in mind Shakespeare's contemporary period.

Essay Topic 2

The exposition of a story is the anchor that grounds all details of the plot. However, the placement of exposition within a story can vary. What is your understanding of the exposition in "The Tempest?" Where does it take place? Why does it take place at that point in the play? What is the significance of that placement?

Essay Topic 3

Although the metaphor of a tempest suggests an unnatural upheaval in nature that then returns the environment back to normal, is this the case in the play? Do things return to normal by the play's end? Is there more ambiguity than the idea of a tempest suggests? Why, or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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