Note that our midterm will probably involve ten identifications, three 5-point paragraph answers, and a 25-point short essay, for a total of 50 points, one minute per point.

A. I want Late Shakespeare for a hundred, Alex: (1 point for each blank.) Do TEN.

1. ____ This heretofore selfish character is thinking about someone else for a change: "Come on, my boy. How dost, my boy? Art cold?"

2. ____ The first we hear of this great warrior is that he "is becone the bellows and the fan / To cool a gipsy's lust."

[etc., etc. I usually give you some choice in these]

B. Context is Everything: For FIVE of the items in the previous section, write several insightful sentences showing you know the context and significance of the quotation and its speaker; discuss the quotation in terms of what it shows about the work's themes and images too. Indicate which ones you are doing. The more concrete details the better; overly broad responses won't get full credit. (5 points each); continue on back.

C. Essay portion (50 points) Choose ONE of the following topics, and write a well-developed and well-organized essay that shows your knowledge of the plots, characters, thematic issues and imagistic matters we have been discussing all quarter. The more specific and precise you can be, the better; if referring to source materials we have discussed will enrich your thesis, do so appropriately. Remember: leave enough time to revise for coherence, stylistic competence, and organization.

[Another technique I often use is to give you a provocative quotation from a critic, and have you write an essay attacking or defending the position.]

1. Characters consciously assume roles and play parts, using the language of acting to describe what they are doing. Some play a part they are supposed to be playing, some manipulate others to take on different roles. Write an essay examining what we have read and discussed so far, and articulate some of the ways in which role playing, and awareness of proper and improper acting-the-part can offer insight into the plays, help explain characters' behavior and fortunes, and give perspective on the enduring dramatic power of Shakespeare's art.

2. If it's only a matter of Fate working its inexorable ways, there's not much dramatic interest in what happens to the heroes, heroines, and villains of Shakespeare's tragedies. Yet Shakespeare never makes things that simple: his characters make choices, communicate directly with the audience, show an awareness of consequences both before and after the fact, and elicit comments from friends and colleagues. Their flaws may set certain events in motion, but the plots offer many opportunities for characters to do the right thing--and they don't. Write an essay in which you attack the notion that these tragedies depict humanity governed simply by Fate or Fortune or the stars. In doing so, you should specificlly acknowledge evidence that challenges your thesis, and cite evidence to support your thesis.