SHAKESPEARE END-OF-SEMESTER EXAM
“THE READINESS IS ALL”
BIG DAY: FRIDAY, APRIL 19th, 11:00am.
I. IDENTIFICATIONS. “That is the question.”
[Total 30 points = 15 questions, 2 points each.]
Short identification questions from Hamlet, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, 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 — Friday, April 19th, at 11:00am — 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 12:00 noon. 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. “I am not of many words.”
[Total 30 points.]
You need to submit this essay by Friday, April 19th, 2:00pm. 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.
Now that you’ve been through a good portion of Shakespeare’s works, what would you say is one of the most important messages Shakespeare would like us to understand?
Based on quotations in several of the works from throughout our semester, discuss this message: its relevance, importance, brilliance, applicability to us in contemporary times. Avoid the obvious, contrived, or trite. Note that I use the word “message,” not moral. Feel welcome to discuss this idea beyond the realm of Shakespeare, in terms of either your personal experience or your worldview.
BIG DAY: FRIDAY, APRIL 19th, 11:00-12:00 noon.