Take this Exam: A-Level English Literature: Shakespearean tragedy on the stage | Zestly

Question 1

In 'Othello' (1.1), Iago claims he hates Othello because he was passed over for promotion. Later, he suggests Othello slept with his wife. What does this reveal about his motive?

Accepted Answer

His stated motives are inconsistent, suggesting his true drive is a nihilistic desire for destruction.

Answer

He is a rational actor whose actions are entirely justified by his professional grievances.

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He is motivated solely by racial prejudice, which he hides behind other excuses.

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He is a loyal soldier who is simply confused by Othello's erratic behaviour.

Question 2

At the end of 'Hamlet' (5.2) the stage holds the bodies of Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude and Laertes, and Fortinbras enters with his army. In what sense does this restore order, and at what cost?

Accepted Answer

Order returns from outside: Fortinbras has no part in the poisoning of the court, and he can govern only because everyone with a claim inside it is dead.

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Order returns because Hamlet is at last acknowledged as the rightful king of Denmark.

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Order returns because Claudius repents before he dies, which purges his crime.

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No order is restored: the ending leaves Denmark without any authority at all.

Question 3

In 'King Lear' (3.4), Lear is on the heath. What does the physical presence of the Fool and Kent on stage achieve that a solitary speech would not?

Accepted Answer

It provides a visual contrast between Lear's internal madness and the external loyalty of his companions.

Answer

It allows the audience to see that Lear is actually in control of his surroundings.

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It forces the audience to focus only on the storm, rather than on Lear's words.

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It demonstrates that Lear has finally found peace in his exile.

Question 4

In 'Macbeth' (1.7) Macbeth weighs the murder of Duncan and admits: 'I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself.' How does this speech shape the audience's sympathy?

Answer

It presents him as a victim of the Witches, who have taken his will from him.

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It makes him easier to condemn, since he has now confessed to a crime he has not yet committed.

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It suggests he will not go through with the murder, so that the killing comes as a surprise.

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It shows him naming his own motive honestly, with no excuse offered — which makes him harder to dismiss, and the judgement the audience passes on him harder to make.

Question 5

In 'Hamlet' (1.5), the Ghost tells Hamlet to 'Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.' What is the function of this scene in the shape of the tragedy?

Answer

It acts as the inciting incident that sets the protagonist on his path of destruction.

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It provides the resolution to the play's central conflict.

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It serves as a comic interlude to contrast with the previous scene.

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It is the final scene of the play, where all plot threads are tied together.

Question 6

In 'Othello' (5.2) Othello kills Desdemona in her bed with his hands, on stage and in front of the audience, rather than off stage or by a weapon at a distance. What does that staging achieve?

Answer

It keeps the violence intimate and slow, so that the audience must watch a marriage bed become the place of the killing, with nothing sudden to soften it.

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It allows the audience to look away, since the act is hidden behind a curtain.

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It makes the killing look accidental, which softens the audience's judgement of Othello.

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It prevents Desdemona from speaking, since she is unconscious throughout.