Unit 2 Shakespeare and Hamlet Test

Which of the following best explains the Queen's attitude?

She is loyal to her new husband and callous toward her son.

dialogue

a conversation between characters

scene

a subdivision of an act in a drama

word choice

a technique of selecting specific words for precise meaning or to generate an emotional response

dramatic element

an essential component of a drama, such as plot, characters, theme, and costumes

loud and chaotic

boisterous

the most important point that an author makes about a topic in a text

central idea

relating to appropriate behavior from a son or daughter

filial

What is the closest meaning of unimpeachable to the one used in the text?

irreproachable

"Words without thoughts never to heaven go"

king

Which of these lines best indicates Hamlet's despair over his mother's quick wedding to his uncle?

"A little more than kin, and less than kind."

A famous engraving of "Shakespeare" is actually a rendering of Queen Elizabeth I.

Scientific American

Shakespeare never owned one book.

The New York Times

"O most wicked speed: to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets"

hamlet

"the play's the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King"

hamlet

a focused explanation or argument that helps develop the central idea

supporting idea

plot

the sequence of events that take place in a work of literature

From Shakespeare: World As Stage by Bill Bryson 1 There is an extraordinary—seemingly an insatiable—urge on the part of quite a number of people to believe that the plays of William Shakespeare were written by someone other than William Shakespeare. The number of published books suggesting—or more often insisting—as much is estimated now to be well over five thousand.2 Shakespeare's plays, it is held, so brim with expertise—on law, medicine, statesmanship, court life, military affairs, the bounding main, antiquity, life abroad—that they cannot possibly be the work of a single lightly educated provincial. The presumption is that William Shakespeare of Stratford was, at best, an amiable stooge, an actor who lent his name as cover for someone of greater talent, someone who could not, for one reason or another, be publicly identified as a playwright. Read the following dictionary entry: insist In·sist verb demand something forcefully, not accepting refusal. demand forcefully to have something. persist in doing something even though it is annoying or odd. Decide which definition and explanation best matches insist and its connotations in Shakespeare: World As Stage.

As used in paragraph 1, insist means to not accept a refusal.

From Which of these sentences is most closely the central theme of this passage (Act 3, Scene i)? To be, or not to be, that is the question:Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep—No more, and by a sleep to say we endThe heart-ache and the thousand natural shocksThat flesh is heir to; 'tis a consummationDevoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep—To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub,For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,Must give us pause;

Hamlet is taking into consideration the pros and cons of suicide.

Reread lines 195-225 of the excerpt from the play. Then answer the multiple-choice questions that follow. From Act III, Scene i: Which statement best explains how the word fair is used in this scene?

Hamlet uses the word fair to link Ophelia's beauty with what he sees as her lack of honesty.

Shakespeare was an uneducated grain merchant with no connection to the literary world.

Harper's Magazine

What do the following lines mainly reveal about the King (Act I, Scene ii)? But you must know your father lost a father,That father lost, lost his, and the survivor boundIn filial obligation for some termTo do obsequious sorrow. But to perseverIn obstinate condolement is a courseOf impious stubbornness, 'tis unmanly grief,

He wants Hamlet to move on from his father's death.

Shakespeare is not named as an author in any of the 75 contemporary documents that reference him.

History Today

From Shakespeare: World As Stage by Bill Bryson 1 There is an extraordinary—seemingly an insatiable—urge on the part of quite a number of people to believe that the plays of William Shakespeare were written by someone other than William Shakespeare. The number of published books suggesting—or more often insisting—as much is estimated now to be well over five thousand.2 Shakespeare's plays, it is held, so brim with expertise—on law, medicine, statesmanship, court life, military affairs, the bounding main, antiquity, life abroad—that they cannot possibly be the work of a single lightly educated provincial. The presumption is that William Shakespeare of Stratford was, at best, an amiable stooge, an actor who lent his name as cover for someone of greater talent, someone who could not, for one reason or another, be publicly identified as a playwright. Which of the following words used in the passage most denotes that the author believes anti-Stratfordians are stubborn with their ideas, despite contrary evidence?

Insisting

Reread paragraphs 6-7 of the text. Then answer the multiple choice questions that follow. From "Shakespeare: The World As Stage" 6 That is not even close to being so. In the Master of the Revels' accounts for 1604-1605—that is, the record of plays performed before the king, about as official a record as a record can be—Shakespeare is named seven times as the author of plays performed before James I. He is identified on the title pages as the author of the sonnets and in the dedications of two poems. He is named as author on several quarto editions of his plays, by Francis Meres in Palladis Tamia, and by Robert Greene in the Groat's-Worth of Wit. John Webster identifies him as one of the great playwrights of the age in his preface to The White Devil.7 The only absence among contemporary records is not of documents connecting Shakespeare to his works but of documents connecting any other human being to them. As the Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate has pointed out, virtually no one "in Shakespeare's lifetime or for the first two hundred years after his death expressed the slightest doubt about his authorship." Which of the following sentences best summarizes these two paragraphs?

Not only is there historical evidence of Shakespeare's authorship, there also is no historical evidence of anyone else having authored these plays.

From Hamlet Which of these inferences about Hamlet best explains the significance of these lines (Act II, Scene ii)? I have heard That guilty creatures sitting at a playHave by the very cunning of the scene Been struck so to the soul, that presently They have proclaim'd their malefactions:For murther, though it have no tongue, will speak With most miraculous organ

The idea occurs to him to make his accusations through the actions of a play.

From Hamlet Which of these inferences is best supported by the following excerpt (Act III, Scene iii)? O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven;It hath the primal eldest curse upon't,—A brother's murder!—Pray can I not,Though inclination be as sharp as will:My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent;And, like a man to double business bound,I stand in pause where I shall first begin,And both neglect. What if this cursed handWere thicker than itself with brother's blood,—Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavensTo wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercyBut to confront the visage of offence?And what's in prayer but this twofold force,—To be forestalled ere we come to fall,Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up;My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayerCan serve my turn? Forgive me my foul murder!—That cannot be; since I am still possess'dOf those effects for which I did the murder,—My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?

The king feels guilty, but is not sorry for his crime.

Reread paragraphs 6-7 of the text. Then answer the multiple choice questions that follow. From "Shakespeare: The World As Stage" 6 That is not even close to being so. In the Master of the Revels' accounts for 1604-1605—that is, the record of plays performed before the king, about as official a record as a record can be—Shakespeare is named seven times as the author of plays performed before James I. He is identified on the title pages as the author of the sonnets and in the dedications of two poems. He is named as author on several quarto editions of his plays, by Francis Meres in Palladis Tamia, and by Robert Greene in the Groat's-Worth of Wit. John Webster identifies him as one of the great playwrights of the age in his preface to The White Devil.7 The only absence among contemporary records is not of documents connecting Shakespeare to his works but of documents connecting any other human being to them. As the Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate has pointed out, virtually no one "in Shakespeare's lifetime or for the first two hundred years after his death expressed the slightest doubt about his authorship." Which sentence or phrase from the passage does NOT offer clear evidence supporting Bryson's main idea?

The only absence among contemporary records is not of documents connecting Shakespeare to his works but of documents connecting any other human being to them.

Reread lines 195-225 of the excerpt from the play. Then answer the multiple-choice questions that follow. From Act III, Scene i: What impact does Hamlet's repeated command of Ophelia to go "to a nunnery" have on the meaning of this scene?

The repetition reinforces how much Hamlet now distrusts Ophelia.

From Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson 4 So it needs to be said that nearly all of the anti-Shakespeare sentiment—actually all of it, every bit—involves manipulative scholarship or sweeping misstatements of fact. Shakespeare "never owned a book," a writer for The New York Times gravely informed readers in one doubting article in 2002. The statement cannot actually be refuted, for we know nothing about his incidental possessions. But the writer might just as well have suggested that Shakespeare never owned a pair of shoes or pants. For all the evidence tells us, he spent his life unclothed as well as bookless, but it is probable that what is lacking is the evidence, not the apparel or the books.5 Daniel Wright, a professor at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, and an active anti-Stratfordian, wrote in Harper's Magazine that Shakespeare was "a simple, untutored wool and grain merchant" and "a rather ordinary man who had no connection to the literary world." Such statements can only be characterized as wildly imaginative. Similarly, in the normally unimpeachable History Today, William D. Rubinstein, a professor at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth, stated in the opening paragraph of his anti-Shakespeare survey: "Of the seventy-five known contemporary documents in which Shakespeare is named, not one concerns his career as an author." When the author states that "The statement cannot actually be refuted," he means—

There is no evidence, only assumption and opinion to support the notion that Shakespeare never owned a book.

From "Shakespeare: The World as Stage" Which of the following is most closely a central idea of the text?

Those who claim Shakespeare was not the author of his work manipulate a lack of evidence to their advantage.

From Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson 4 So it needs to be said that nearly all of the anti-Shakespeare sentiment—actually all of it, every bit—involves manipulative scholarship or sweeping misstatements of fact. Shakespeare "never owned a book," a writer for The New York Times gravely informed readers in one doubting article in 2002. The statement cannot actually be refuted, for we know nothing about his incidental possessions. But the writer might just as well have suggested that Shakespeare never owned a pair of shoes or pants. For all the evidence tells us, he spent his life unclothed as well as bookless, but it is probable that what is lacking is the evidence, not the apparel or the books.5 Daniel Wright, a professor at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, and an active anti-Stratfordian, wrote in Harper's Magazine that Shakespeare was "a simple, untutored wool and grain merchant" and "a rather ordinary man who had no connection to the literary world." Such statements can only be characterized as wildly imaginative. Similarly, in the normally unimpeachable History Today, William D. Rubinstein, a professor at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth, stated in the opening paragraph of his anti-Shakespeare survey: "Of the seventy-five known contemporary documents in which Shakespeare is named, not one concerns his career as an author." What is most likely the reason Bryson provides various examples of anti-Shakespearean sentiment?

To explain opposing viewpoints and refute claims.

From Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson 4 So it needs to be said that nearly all of the anti-Shakespeare sentiment—actually all of it, every bit—involves manipulative scholarship or sweeping misstatements of fact. Shakespeare "never owned a book," a writer for The New York Times gravely informed readers in one doubting article in 2002. The statement cannot actually be refuted, for we know nothing about his incidental possessions. But the writer might just as well have suggested that Shakespeare never owned a pair of shoes or pants. For all the evidence tells us, he spent his life unclothed as well as bookless, but it is probable that what is lacking is the evidence, not the apparel or the books.5 Daniel Wright, a professor at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, and an active anti-Stratfordian, wrote in Harper's Magazine that Shakespeare was "a simple, untutored wool and grain merchant" and "a rather ordinary man who had no connection to the literary world." Such statements can only be characterized as wildly imaginative. Similarly, in the normally unimpeachable History Today, William D. Rubinstein, a professor at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth, stated in the opening paragraph of his anti-Shakespeare survey: "Of the seventy-five known contemporary documents in which Shakespeare is named, not one concerns his career as an author." In paragraph 5, the author tells us that Daniel Wright is a "professor at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon and an active anti-Stratfordian." What function does this information play within the text?

To present a scholarly opinion in support of the author's claim.

From "Shakespeare: The World as Stage" What is most likely the author's intent in paragraph 6? That is not even close to being so. In the Master of the Revels' accounts for 1604-1605—that is, the record of plays performed before the king, about as official a record as a record can be—Shakespeare is named seven times as the author of plays performed before James I. He is identified on the title pages as the author of the sonnets and in the dedications of two poems. He is named as author on several quarto editions of his plays, by Francis Meres in Palladis Tamia, and by Robert Greene in the Groat's-Worth of Wit. John Webster identifies him as one of the great playwrights of the age in his preface to The White Devil.

To specifically lay out the existing evidence for Shakespeare's authorship of his work.

act

a major unit of a drama

attitude

a state involving beliefs and feelings that causes a person to think or act in a certain way

style

a way of expressing something in writing or speech that is developed using various techniques

Place these lines in chronological order as they appear in the text. 1. The play's the thing/ Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King 2.My words fly up, my thoughts remain below 3.To be, or not to be, that is the question 4.O that this too too solid flesh would melt

a. O that this too too solid flesh would melt b.The play's the thing/ Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King c.To be, or not to be, that is the question d. My words fly up, my thoughts remain below

stage direction

an instruction written by the playwright that may describe the set, a sound effect, the lighting, or the appearance or actions of a character

to examine the parts of something in detail

analyze

an idea or feeling that a word suggests in addition to its literal or primary meaning

connotation

the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation of event

contect

a hint in the surrounding text that can help a reader infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word, phrase, or description

context clue

Reread lines 102-126 of the excerpt from the play. Then answer the multiple choice questions that follow. From Act II, Scene ii: This scene is from the second act of Hamlet. The author's choice to use a soliloquy at this point in the play helps advance the plot by —

creating tension in the rising action of the play as the audience learns of Hamlet's plan for revenge.

the literal or dictionary meaning of a word

denotation

a fact, a description, an example, or a reason that further explains a key idea

detail

writing that presents information or ideas about real people, places, things, or events.

informational text

a common set of features, such as a central idea, supporting evidence, and pertinent examples, that appear in informational texts

informational text elements

an attitude of rudeness or disrespect

insolence

Question 25 Reread lines 102-126 of the excerpt from the play. Then answer the multiple choice questions that follow. From Act II, Scene ii: The author's choice to use a soliloquy in this part of the play is effective because it —

leaves no question in the audience's mind that Hamlet, alone on stage, is revealing his own inner thoughts and feelings.

a related situation that shows that what is being demonstrated is true

pertinent example

"Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off, / And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark"

queen

From Shakespeare: World As Stage by Bill Bryson 1 There is an extraordinary—seemingly an insatiable—urge on the part of quite a number of people to believe that the plays of William Shakespeare were written by someone other than William Shakespeare. The number of published books suggesting—or more often insisting—as much is estimated now to be well over five thousand.2 Shakespeare's plays, it is held, so brim with expertise—on law, medicine, statesmanship, court life, military affairs, the bounding main, antiquity, life abroad—that they cannot possibly be the work of a single lightly educated provincial. The presumption is that William Shakespeare of Stratford was, at best, an amiable stooge, an actor who lent his name as cover for someone of greater talent, someone who could not, for one reason or another, be publicly identified as a playwright. What is the meaning of insatiable as it is used in paragraph 1 of the text?

relentless

contrary to the norm by moving backward

retrograde

. text evidence, descriptions, examples, reasons, expert opinions, facts, and statistics that further explain key aspects of the controlling idea

supporting evidence

tone

the author's, speaker's, or narrator's attitude toward a subject, evident through diction and other style elements

audience

the people who read a written text, listen to an oral response or presentation, or watch a performance

setting

the time and place of the events in a work of literature

the subject of a text, usually expressed as a single word or phrase in the form of a noun

topic

clothing or other exterior characteristics

trappings

meaning

what is meant by a word; the general message of a text or idea