GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of British Plays to 1660
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English
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Example Questions
Example Question #21 : Contexts Of Plays
KING: … Hieronimo, it greatly pleaseth us
That in our victory thou have a share
By virtue of thy worthy son’s exploit.
… Bring hither the young prince of Portingale!
The rest march on, but, ere they be dismissed,
We will bestow on every soldier
Two ducats, and on every leader ten,
That they may know our largesse welcomes them.
Exeunt all [the army] but BALTHAZAR,
LORENZO, and HORATIO.
Which of the following plays is not another example of this genre?
Titus Andronicus
Gorboduc
Hamlet
The Duchess of Malfi
Volpone
Volpone
Main characters spend the play seeking revenge in all of the above works except Ben Jonson’s 1606 satire Volpone, which is a vicious, incisive comedy. While mean-spirited, Volpone is more concerned with satirical skewering than revenge plots.
William Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus (1594) and Hamlet (1603), Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville's Gorboduc (1561), and John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi (1614) were all used as alternative answer options. They are all revenge tragedies.
Passage adapted from Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (1587)
Example Question #21 : Contexts Of Plays
KING: … Hieronimo, it greatly pleaseth us
That in our victory thou have a share
By virtue of thy worthy son’s exploit.
… Bring hither the young prince of Portingale!
The rest march on, but, ere they be dismissed,
We will bestow on every soldier
Two ducats, and on every leader ten,
That they may know our largesse welcomes them.
Exeunt all [the army] but BALTHAZAR,
LORENZO, and HORATIO.
In addition to Spain, what country is this play set in?
Denmark
Greece
France
Portugal
England
Portugal
The Spanish Tragedy takes place in both Portugal and Spain during the War of Portuguese Succession (1580-1583).
Passage adapted from Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (1587)
Example Question #22 : Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
KING: … Hieronimo, it greatly pleaseth us
That in our victory thou have a share
By virtue of thy worthy son’s exploit.
… Bring hither the young prince of Portingale!
The rest march on, but, ere they be dismissed,
We will bestow on every soldier
Two ducats, and on every leader ten,
That they may know our largesse welcomes them.
Exeunt all [the army] but BALTHAZAR,
LORENZO, and HORATIO.
Which of the following theater companies could not have performed this play?
Lord Cromwell’s Men
the Lord Chamberlain’s Men
the King’s Men
the Admiral’s Men
Lord Strange’s Men
Lord Cromwell’s Men
Not only is Lord Cromwell’s Men not a real theater company, Oliver Cromwell was decidedly anti-theater. Lord Strange’s Men, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (Shakespeare’s main company), the King’s Men (a later name for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men), and the Admiral’s Men were all Elizabethan theater companies and therefore likely to perform The Spanish Tragedy.
Passage adapted from Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (1587)
Example Question #22 : Contexts Of Plays
O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep;
Her waggon-spokes made of long spinners' legs,
The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,
The traces of the smallest spider's web,
The collars of the moonshine's watery beams…
In what modern-day country is this play set?
Cyprus
England
the Czech Republic
Italy
Turkey
Italy
Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy. The setting plays a prominent role, and is frequently mentioned in the play.
Passage adapted from William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Example Question #681 : Gre Subject Test: Literature In English
O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep;
Her waggon-spokes made of long spinners' legs,
The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,
The traces of the smallest spider's web,
The collars of the moonshine's watery beams…
Which of the following other plays by Shakespeare is set in the same city as this one?
The Taming of the Shrew
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Othello
Twelfth Night
The Tempest
The Taming of the Shrew
In addition to Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew is also set in Verona, Italy. The Tempest (1611) is set on an unnamed Mediterranean Island. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1605) is set in ancient Athens (and surrounding wilderness). Othello (1604) is set in Venice. Twelfth Night(1602) is set in Illyria.
Passage adapted from William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Example Question #24 : Contexts Of British Plays
KING: … Hieronimo, it greatly pleaseth us
That in our victory thou have a share
By virtue of thy worthy son’s exploit.
… Bring hither the young prince of Portingale!
The rest march on, but, ere they be dismissed,
We will bestow on every soldier
Two ducats, and on every leader ten,
That they may know our largesse welcomes them.
Exeunt all [the army] but BALTHAZAR,
LORENZO, and HORATIO.
Which of the following is not a common convention of this genre of play?
violence
mummings
meta-theatricality
insanity
ghosts
mummings
In The Spanish Tragedy, we have a play-within-a-play (meta-theatricality), a ghost (who delivers the prologue), violence (murder, war, hanging, stabbing, a letter written in blood), and insanity (Horatio’s mother Isabella goes mad after discovering her dead son’s body). "Mummings," a convention wherein actors dress as plant characters, is an element of medieval drama and not revenge plays.
Passage adapted from Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (1587)
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