English 3306

Shakespeare’s Major Works
Final Examination May 5, 2000
Dr. David Judkins

Directions: Answer each of the following questions in a short paragraph in your examination blue book. Note that questions are not of equal value.

  1. At what point in an individual’s life is the tragedy, Macbeth, set? In other words, what aspect of a person’s life is the play dramatizing? (12 points)
  2. Who says the following? Explain the relevance of the statement. (8 points)
    3. We are the stuff
    as dreams are made on, and our little life
    Is rounded with a sleep.
  3. Goneril seems very heartless to her father, yet from her point of view, she may have a legitimate complaint. What does Goneril object to in Lear’s behavior in act I of King Lear? (10 points)
  4. Who speaks the following lines? What are the circumstances under which the lines are spoken? (8 points)
    5. Is this a dagger which I see before me,
    The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
    I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
  5. What are the three interpretations of The Tempest? That is to say, what are at least three ways in which this play may be viewed? (12 points)
  6. Some scholars believe that Shakespeare specifically designed Macbeth for King James I. What evidence in the play leads to this assumption? (9 points)
  7. Who speaks the following lines? Explain the meaning or sense of these lines. (10 points)
    8. Oh, reason not the need. Our basest beggars
    Are in the poorest thing superfluous.
    Allow not nature more than nature needs,
    Man’s life’s as cheap as beast’s. thou art a lady.
    If only to go warm were gorgeous,
    Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st
    Which scarcely keeps thee warm.
  8. What is going on with the appearance of Iris, Cerces, and Juno in Act IV of The Tempest? (8 points)
  9. If tragic characters are supposed to have tragic flaws, what are the flaws of Macbeth and Lear that lead to their downfalls? (10 points)
  10. Who speaks the following lines? Why is the person prompted to expound on this? (7 points)
    11. Letters should not be known; riches, poverty,
    And use of service, none; contract, succession,
    Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyards, none;
    No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil;
    No occupation—all men idle, all;
  11. Discuss at least two reasons that Edmund plots against his father. (6 points)

Bonus Question: In King Lear which of the characters died when his "flawed heart ... Burst smilingly"? (2 points)

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