English 205 -- Shakespeare
Fall 2008 -- Delahoyde
Washington State University

I. IDENTIFICATIONS. [Total 26 points.]

You know: maybe match Column A with Column B; or identify who is supposed to "buy a rope"; or fill in the blank: "cakes and ______" -- that kind of question, only a bit harder. These questions will be inflicted individually and intracerebrally during the scheduled class period, Wednesday, September 24th. "Beg thou, or borrow, to make up the sum, / And live: if no, then thou art doom'd to die."

II. QUOTATIONS. [Total 48 points; answer 8 for 6 points each.]

A combination of identification and, more importantly, significance questions will follow quotations from The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, and perhaps other relevant materials, extracted for their representativeness of our discussions over key points during these first weeks. This is not trivial pursuit. If you have read the plays and paid attention in class, only a close review of notes is necessary for preparation. Otherwise, woe to thee, gleeking beef-witted knave. Some achieve greatness.

III. TAKE-HOME ESSAY. [Total 26 points.]

Answer the following question thoroughly and precisely, to about two (2) pages, double-spaced. Answers should be virtuoso pieces of brilliance manifested in impressive eloquence, with facile reference to specifics from the Shakespearean texts, and with proper parenthetical in-text documentation.

Based on your reading of the early Shakespeare play The Comedy of Errors, the mature Shakespeare play Twelfth Night, and any specific instances of humor in popular culture (films, tv, ads, etc.), identify an issue concerning comedy itself or the comedy genre, and discuss.
If no other issue occurs to you, you could focus on what makes for successful comedy and why.

These essays are due at the start of class on exam day: Wednesday, September 24th, 11:10 am. They will be stapled to the back of the in-class portions of the exam. "How quickly the wrong side may be turn'd outward!"

IDENTIFICATIONS
Identify the character or thing referred to (underlined) in the following.

"Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?"

"I buy a thousand pound a year! I buy a rope!"

"And what should I do in Illyria?"

"Beg thou, or borrow, to make up the sum, / And live: if no, then thou art doom'd to die."

"How comes it now, my husband, O, how comes it, / That thou art then estranged from thyself?"

* * *

QUOTATIONS
Answer completely but concisely the following.

"I'll ride home to-morrow...." "Pourquoi, my dear knight?" "What is 'pourquoi'? Do, or do not?"

Who are these knaves?
How is it revealing that the one character assumes "pourquoi" [why] to be instructional?
How does this impulse apply elsewhere in the play?

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."

Does Shakespeare intend for us to see this statement as a kernel of wisdom? Or do you think it makes no sense? Explain.