Take this Quiz: A-Level English Literature: Drama and Prose | Zestly

Question 1

In William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', Hamlet says: 'O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, / Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!' What does this soliloquy primarily reveal to the audience?

Accepted Answer

Hamlet's internal state of profound grief and existential despair.

Answer

Hamlet's intention to deceive Claudius by feigning madness.

Answer

The specific plot details regarding the murder of King Hamlet.

Answer

The political instability of Denmark following the King's death.

Question 2

In Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', immediately after Duncan has been murdered, a drunken Porter comes on and jokes in prose about being the keeper of hell's gate, letting imagined sinners in, before Macduff arrives and the body is discovered. What is this scene doing?

Accepted Answer

It breaks the tension and, by making the castle gate the gate of hell, tells the audience what the murder has just made of the place.

Answer

It is comic relief with no bearing on the tragedy; the play simply pauses for a laugh.

Answer

It is a subplot, a second story running alongside the main one.

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It shows the Porter's madness, since prose in Shakespeare always signals a mind coming apart.

Question 3

In William Shakespeare's 'Othello', Iago says to the audience: 'I hate the Moor: / And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets / He has done my office.' What is the dramatic effect of this aside?

Accepted Answer

It establishes dramatic irony by revealing Iago's true, hidden motives.

Answer

It provides the audience with a factual account of Othello's past.

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It shows Iago's genuine loyalty to Othello despite his words.

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It serves to distract the audience from the main plot development.

Question 4

In Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest', Algernon says: 'I really don't see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal.' What does this reveal about the play's technique?

Answer

The play uses stage directions to control the pacing of the dialogue.

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The play relies on the protagonist's stated motive to drive the plot.

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The play uses a soliloquy to express the character's deepest fears.

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The play uses paradox to satirise the conventions of Victorian society.

Question 5

In Henrik Ibsen's 'A Doll's House', Nora says: 'I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa's doll-child.' What does this reveal about the play's dramatic structure?

Answer

The play uses an aside to explain her past to the audience.

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The play follows the conventions of a traditional revenge tragedy.

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The play exposes the disparity between her public role and private reality.

Answer

The play relies on the well-made play structure to resolve the conflict.