Test 1--English 105, Summer 2005
The first test will be given during the final 90 minutes of class on Thursday, July 21, and will cover all three of the plays read thus far (Richard III, Much Ado about Nothing, Merchant of Venice) along with all the literary terms which have been introduced thus far (blank verse, iambic pentameter,, tragedy, scene of recognition (anagnorisis), reversal (peripeteia), tragic error (hamartia), aside, soliloquy, meter, comedy, romantic comedy, dramatic irony, deus ex machina). There will be three sections on the exam: a.) literary terms, b.) quotation identification, and c.) the essay. Please bring to the examination a blue examination booklet in which to write your essay.
1. Literary terms (1 point): The instructions for the literary-terms section will read roughly as follows: "For each of the literary terms below, give a definition, an example, and a short explanation of the way in which the example fits the definition." Note that your answer must succeed in all three tasks: definition, example, and explanation. You do not need to memorize the definitions you have been given--you do need to understand the definitions you've been given sufficiently well to be able to paraphrase them without changing the meaning. You probably do not need to memorize passages to use for examples for terms such as "blank verse," either: you will probably be able to find examples of these among the quotations in the second part of the exam. There will be no more than five literary terms in this section.
Example:
Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is a device by which the author indicates to the audience future probable events in the plot. Foreshadowing can contribute to either a comic or a tragic mood by indicating a fortunate or an unfortunate future, and, by offering additional information to the audience it can also form the basis for dramatic irony. In Richard III, for instance, the curses of Margaret foretell the catastrophes which will befall the other characters.
2. Quotation identification (1.5 points): The instructions for the quotation-identification section will read roughly as follows: "Identify each of the following quotations as specifically as you can. Explain what the quotation means, and then explain why the quotation is significant or important in the text in which it appears." Again, note that you have three tasks: identification, paraphrase, and textual interpretation. You may combine two or more of these tasks into one sentence--but in order to earn full credit you must accomplish all three. Consider the following examples:
Quotation:
‘Tis certain so, the Prince woos for himself.
Friendship is constant in all other things
Save in the office and affairs of love.
Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues.
Let every eye negotiate for itself
And trust no agent, for beauty is a witch
Against whose charms faith melteth into blood.
Sample answer: This is Claudio speaking at the end of the masquerade early in MA. He believes that the Prince has lied to him and has proposed to Hero for himself, instead of courting her for Claudio as was agreed. He realizes the foolishness of not acting as his own "agent," and he reveals his potential lack of trust. As he moves from a world of warfare, in which he trusts his fellows implicitly with his life, into the world of love, Claudio becomes less trusting of his fellows. This sets him up for his subsequent belief that another man has been with Hero on the eve of their wedding.
Quotation:
God, and our good cause, fight upon our side.
The prayers of holy saints and wrongéd souls,
Like high-reared bulwarks, stand before our faces.
Richard except, those whom we fight against
Had rather have us win than him they follow.
For what is he they follow? Truly, gentlemen,
A bloody tyrant and a homicide . . .
One that hath ever been God's enemy.
Then if you fight against God's enemy,
God will, in justice, ward you as his soldiers.
Sample answer: This is Richmond rallying his troops before the battle of Bosworth Field at the end of R3. He makes clear to the troops (and to the audience) that they are fighting for the right, against tyranny and evil in the person of Richard. He tells them that even Richard's followers don't fully support him. Richmond's claim to be fighting for God is in contrast to Richard's subsequent speech, rallying his own troops, in which he tells them to disregard their consciences, and it looks forward to Richmond's victory speech at the end of the play, in which he again asserts that God has punished England for the War of the Roses, and that, through the victory over Richard, God has made the nation ready for a period of peace and concord.
There will be no more than eight quotation identification questions.
Essay (1.5 points): At least THREE of the following essay questions will be available as options on the examination.. You will choose ONE of the questions on the exam and respond with an lucid, coherent, well-supported essay that discusses all three of the plays we’ve read thus far.
1. As we’ve seen, Shakespeare routinely introduces the idea of death into his comedies. How? Why? To what effect? How is his treatment of death in the comedies different from that in a tragedy like Richard III?
2. While Shakespeare generally renders his female characters in the subordinate positions to which they were assigned by society (e.g., wife), it is arguable that he also suggests that their concerns and contributions are significant. Do Shakespeare’s plays take women seriously? What do you make of the fact that in each of the plays we’ve read, the return of a suppressed woman (Margaret, Hero, Portia) is crucial either thematically or in terms of plot to the outcome of the play?
3. Though the artificiality of his plays and the minimal resources of his theatre ensure that all of Shakespeare’s plays take place in a sort of unreal Theatre-Land, in each of his plays, Shakespeare manages to create a distinctive world which his characters inhabit. That is, the worlds of Richard III, Merchant of Venice, and Much Ado about Nothing, are all different. Describe the world of each of these plays, and consider the means by which each world is created.
4. Aside from Shakespeare’s facility with language, what struck his audience most about his work was his insight into and representation of human nature. Using examples from at least three plays, explain 1.) how Shakespeare reveals and/or represents human nature, and 2.) what is remarkable about the human nature he reveals.
5. Compare and contrast scenes of comic recognition with scenes of tragic recognition. What are the fundamental similarities? Differences?
6. Hamlet famously remarks that “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will,” which is to say that “What’s going to happen to us is what’s going to happen to us –no matter what we do.” Based on examples from the three plays we’ve read, how much control do you think that Shakespeare’s characters have over their lives?