SHAKESPEARE END-OF-SEMESTER EXAM
“THE READINESS IS ALL”
BIG DAY: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20th, 9:00am.
I. IDENTIFICATIONS. “That is the question.”
[Total 30 points = 15 questions, 2 points each.]
Short identification questions from Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lucrece, and other matters of the second half of the semester may ask you to identify who says “Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him,” or who commands “Kill Claudio.” On the designated day for this second exam — Wednesday, November 20th, at 9:00am — you will receive from me an e-mail containing identification questions similar to those on the midterm exam. Attached will be a Word document with the same questions, so that you can type the answers in whichever mode is safest and preferable to you.
II. QUOTATIONS. “O cursed spite.”
[Total 40 points = 8 questions, 5 points each.]
The same e-mail/document will contain bigger questions, a combination of identification and, more importantly, significance questions will follow quotations from the plays and other relevant materials, extracted for their representativeness of our discussions over key points during these latter weeks. This again is not trivial pursuit. If you have read the plays and paid attention in class, only a close review of notes is necessary for preparation; my web notes may be of use also. Otherwise, woe to thee, gleeking beef-witted knave. You should plan to e-mail your completed exam back to me by 10:00am. You may work in coordinated cooperation with another member or two of the class, in which case only one of you should e-mail back to me with names designated.
III. ESSAY. “Something Wicked.”
[Total 30 points.]
You can take a bit more time before submitting this essay by Friday, November 22nd, 11:00am. You will find a designated folder on Canvas in Discussions for submitting a Word.doc or pdf version of the essay. Answer the following question thoroughly and precisely to about three or four (3-4) pages, double-spaced. Answers should be virtuoso pieces of original brilliance manifested in impressive eloquence, with facile reference to specifics from the Shakespearean texts including at least a few from our semester.
Start with an opening paragraph that embeds what you consider one significant quotation from one of the plays we read this semester (correctly cited). Discuss the message you think Shakespeare is trying to convey and have us understand: its relevance, importance, brilliance, applicability to us in contemporary times. As you unpack this perspective throughout the essay, include and connect similar quotations and moments from other plays to show that this is indeed a thought Shakespeare is trying to process.
Note that I use the word “message,” not moral. Feel welcome to discuss this idea also beyond the realm of Shakespeare, in terms of either your personal experience or your worldview.
BIG EXAM DAY: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20th, 9:00-10:00am.
ESSAY: DUE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd, 11:00am.