GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of British Plays
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #6 :Analyzing The Content Of Drama
The story told in William Shakespeare'sRomeo and Julietis often thought to be derived from the story of__________.
Pyramus and Thisbe from Ovid'sMetamorphoses
Orpheus and Eurydice from Ovid'sMetamorphoses
Dido and Aeneas from theAeneid, by Virgil
Lancelot and Guinevere fromLancelot, the Knight of the Cartby Chretien de Troyes
Samson and Delilah from the Bible
Pyramus and Thisbe from Ovid'sMetamorphoses
The general consensus among scholars reflects that Shakespeare derived his story and main characters forRomeo and Julietfrom Ovid's story of Pyramus and Thisbe. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe depicts two tragic lovers who are separated by their families, who do not approve of their marriage. They communicate their love through a cement wall and plan to meet under a tree outside to confess their love. However, when Thisbe comes out first, she mistakes the blood of a lion for Pyramus' blood and, believing he had been killed, kills herself.
Example Question #1 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
The author of the poem was a contemporary of__________.
Caedmon
Geoffrey Chaucer
John Milton
William Shakespeare
John Skelton
William Shakespeare
The excerpt is taken from a poem by Edmund Spenser, who lived during the second half of the sixteenth century. Though he was a contemporary of Early Modern poets like William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, Spenser utilized deliberately archaic language that may seem like something that one would be more likely to find in Chaucer's poetry.
Passage adapted fromThe Faerie Queeneby Edmund Spenser, I.xiv.1-9 (1590)
Example Question #2 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
And what strength I have’s mine own,
Which is most faint: now, ’tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got,
And pardon’d the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands…
Who is the author of this play?
Ben Jonson
Thomas Kyd
William Shakespeare
Sir Walter Raleigh
Christopher Marlowe
William Shakespeare
This is the famous epilogue from William Shakespeare’sThe Tempest(1623).
Christopher Marlowe wroteDr. Faustus(1604). Thomas Kyd wroteThe Spanish Tragedie(1587). Ben Jonson wroteEvery Man in his Humour(1598). Sir Walter Raleigh wrote "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" (approx. 1598).
Example Question #3 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
And what strength I have’s mine own,
Which is most faint: now, ’tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got,
And pardon’d the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands…
What genre does this play belong to?
None of the other answers is accurate
tragedy
comedy
epic
history
None of the other answers is accurate
WhileThe Tempest(1623) isn’t strictly considered one of Shakespeare’s problem plays, it also doesn’t fit into an easy category like tragedy, comedy, or history. While the play was originally billed as a comedy in Elizabethan times, it has since been recategorized by most scholars.
Example Question #1 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
And what strength I have’s mine own,
Which is most faint: now, ’tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got,
And pardon’d the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands…
Which of the following characters is not from this play?
Caliban
Prospero
Miranda
Ariel
Iago
Iago
Iago is a character in Shakespeare’sOthello(1622), not fromThe Tempest(1623).
Example Question #5 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
To be thus is nothing,
But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo.
根深,自然的在他的皇室
Reigns that which would be fear’d. ‘Tis much he dares,
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear; and under him
My genius is rebuked, as it is said
Mark Antony’s was by Caesar.
Who is the author of this play?
Sir Walter Raleigh
Ben Jonson
Christopher Marlowe
William Shakespeare
Thomas Kyd
William Shakespeare
This is a monologue from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1623). Even if you weren’t familiar with the monologue itself, you could have recognized Banquo as one of the central characters in the play.
Example Question #6 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
To be thus is nothing,
But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo.
根深,自然的在他的皇室
Reigns that which would be fear’d. ‘Tis much he dares,
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear; and under him
My genius is rebuked, as it is said
Mark Antony’s was by Caesar.
What genre does this play belong to?
history
tragedy
melodrama
problem play
comedy
tragedy
This play is a tragedy; in fact, the full title isThe Tragedy ofMacbeth(1623). In the play, Macbeth and his wife are ruined by their fatal flaws of weakness and ambition, a classic trope in tragedy.
Example Question #7 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
To be thus is nothing,
But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo.
根深,自然的在他的皇室
Reigns that which would be fear’d. ‘Tis much he dares,
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear; and under him
My genius is rebuked, as it is said
Mark Antony’s was by Caesar.
What is the setting of this play?
Denmark
Verona, Italy
ancient Egypt
Venice, Italy
Scotland
Scotland
Macbeth(1623)is set in Scotland. (Shakespeare’sHamlet(1604)is set in Denmark,Antony and Cleopatra(1623)is set in ancient Egypt,Romeo and Juliet(1597)is set in Verona, andOthello(1622) is set partly in Venice.)
Example Question #1 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
To be thus is nothing,
But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo.
根深,自然的在他的皇室
Reigns that which would be fear’d. ‘Tis much he dares,
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear; and under him
My genius is rebuked, as it is said
Mark Antony’s was by Caesar.
What historical document served as a basis for this play’s storyline?
Herodotus’Histories
The Magna Carta
Gibbon’sThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Holinshed’sChronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland
The Domesday Book
Holinshed’sChronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland
拉斐尔Holinshed’sChronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland(1587) contains an account of real Scottish historical figures called Macbeth, Macduff, and Duncan. The story of Shakespeare’s play differs considerably from Holinshed’s story, though.
Herodotus'The Histories(440 BCE),The Domesday Book(1086), Edward Gibbon’sThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire(1776), andThe Magna Carta(1215) were all used as alternate answer choices.
Example Question #8 :Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
To be thus is nothing,
But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo.
根深,自然的在他的皇室
Reigns that which would be fear’d. ‘Tis much he dares,
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear; and under him
My genius is rebuked, as it is said
Mark Antony’s was by Caesar.
Which of the following is not a character in this work?
Fleance
Cordelia
King Duncan
Donalbain
Macduff
Cordelia
Cordelia is a central character in Shakespeare’sKing Lear(1608), notMacbeth(1623).
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