GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : GRE Subject Test: Literature in English
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #14 : Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
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…
Who is the author of this play?
Ben Jonson
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Kyd
William Shakespeare
Christopher Marlowe
William Shakespeare
This is Mercutio’s famous monologue in William Shakespeare’s 1597 The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
Passage adapted from William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Example Question #15 : Contexts Of British Plays To 1660
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…
This play is based in part on a work by which English author?
Arthur Brooke
Christophe Marlowe
Thomas Kyd
Geoffrey Chaucer
John Fletcher
Arthur Brooke
Although the story of Romeo and Juliet can be traced through multiple decades and countries, the direct inspiration for Shakespeare’s version was Arthur Brooke’s long, poorly received narrative poem The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562).
Passage adapted from William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Example Question #16 : 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…
Which of the following films or plays is not based on this play?
The Bad Infinity
Shakespeare in Love
West Side Story
Angels in America
Killer Joe
Angels in America
Only Tony Kushner’s 1993 play Angels in America does not follow the storyline of Romeo and Juliet (1597). All the other works adopt the tragic story of two lovers whose families are sworn enemies, employing different character names and settings to investigate many of the same themes.
The similarities and resonances between Shakespeare in Love (1998) do not extend far past the use of Shakespeare's name in the title.
Arthur Laurents's West Side Story(1961), Tracy Letts' Killer Joe (1993), and Mac Wellman's Bad Infinity (1983) were all used as alternative answer choices.
Example Question #16 : 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.
Who is the author of this play?
Christopher Marlowe
Ben Jonson
William Shakespeare
Thomas Kyd
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Kyd
This is Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronimo is Mad Again. The presence of several main characters (Hieronimo, Lorenzo, Balthazar, and Horatio) in these lines is the main clue to determining the identity of the work.
Passage adapted from Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (1587)
Example Question #17 : 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.
When was this play first published?
1580s
1570s
1600s
1570s
1590s
1580s
The Spanish Tragedy was first performed in 1587, and it was written during the 1580s (exact date uncertain, it was a long time ago).
Passage adapted from Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (1587)
Example Question #18 : 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.
What genre of play is this?
morality
Restoration comedy
mystery
blackface minstrel
revenge
revenge
Revenge plays are works typically written during the Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods wherein a protagonist seeks vengeance, pursuing a path that often leads to madness and/or ruin. The Spanish Tragedy features the character Hieronimo’s attempts to avenge his son Horatio, who was killed by Lorenzo, the scheming nephew of the king of Portugal.
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.
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)
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
