1. AP Practice Test
Hamlet sections 9 and 12

2. #61 Correct Answer E. I, II, and III
Synecdoche = “face” is referring to Laertes; part of him is referring to the whole
Simile = “like a painting”
Metonymy = “heart” is referring to feelings; the heart is an item that is related to feelings and is a stand in for that word

3. #62 Correct Answers B. goodness does not persist indefinitely
“And nothing is at a like goodness still” – Claudius is telling Laertes that love “begun by time” weakens as time goes by, and that the good intentions spurred by love can lessen and disappear

4. #62 Incorrect Answers
A. Nothing is as good as love – he is saying that love is nothing like it was in the beginning.
C. not that nothing is like a lover’s goodness but that love is always stronger at the onset
D. Not that no good things can be weakened; he is saying the opposite
E. That is not what he is saying either; not that goodness alone is worthless, but that love will abate as time passes

5. #63: Correct Answers E. Paradox
Hurting wouldn’t seem to be something that would ease pain, but in this case, it is true.
We change our woulds to shoulds, and that our intentions are no more than hot air – or the breath of a spendtrhift – letting go of things hurts.

6. #63: Incorrect Answers
A. Oxymoron – yes, these are opposites, but an oxymoron are two opposite words put back to back
B. Metaphor – Uses like before hand – so no
C. Allusion – he isn’t alluding
Simile – he is explaining the simile – this is not the simile itself

7. #64: Correct Answer
B. The king says that “no place indeed should murther sanctuarize” right after Laertes says he wants to cut Hamlet’s throat in a church – so no place, not even a church, should give sanctuary to a murderer.

8. #64: Incorrect Answers
A. Not that it should be committed there, but that churches should give sanctuary to a murderer
C. Not that you can’t get revenge there
D. Not that he wouldn’t be able to kill there
E. Not that they are unlikely to be in a church

9. #65: Correct Answer
A. circumspect = watchful, prudent, cautious, well-considered
I got this one wrong – I said that he is malicious…
However, the king is being cautious and prudent because he is thinking of preparing a poison as a back-up plan

10. #65: Incorrect Answers
B. Malicious – Full of spite, mischievous in motivation or purpose; having evil intent
The question states “The King’s plan to prepare the poisoned chalice PRIMARILY reveals that he is”
Other parts prove he is malicious – we already know that, so this poisoned chalice bit FIRST shows us something NEW

11. #65: Incorrect Answers C. adroit – exceptionally skilled or nimble
Not really – he’s clever with the poison, but his devious skills do not stand out as being “exceptional”
D. Audacious – extremely bold or daring; reckless
I do not consider poison a bold move – it is sneaky and underhanded and weak
E. Contemplative – Thoughtful and thorough in thought
He does not consider all angles of the issue

12. #66: Correct Answer
D. Figurative Language – Poignant means “profoundly moving”, so the emotionally moving description of Ophelia’s death is increase by:
Personification – weeping brook
Simile – mermaid-like and like a creature native and indued
Imagery – muddied death

13. #66: Incorrect Answers
A. Colloquial Speech – there is nothing in the accent, etc. that would sound like the particular area of the play
B. Connotative Diction – Okay – I think this choice is stinky-tricky – connotations are the emotional feelings and imagery associated with a word, BUT all diction is connotative – not specific enough

14. #66: Incorrect Answers
C. Metaphorical Allusions – no allusions to things outside of the text
E. Euphemistic diplomacy – she is very straightforward; she does not try to dance around the fact that Ophelia drowned herself; she says, “Your sister’s drown’d”

15. #67: Correct Answer E. Laertes’ crying
He says he is trying to forbid himself from crying, but that nature makes him. He says that when the tears are gone, this “womanish” behavior (the tears), will be done with. He indicates that he wants to give an angry speech about Ophelia’s death, but that he can’t because of the tears: “I have a speech a’fire that fain would blaze, / But this folly (tears) drowns it”

16. #67: Incorrect Answers
A. Ophelia’s death – the speech he wants to give is about HER death, so the death can’t stop him from giving the speech
B. Polonius’ murder – he has known about that for a long time – the “this” implies something recently mentioned

17. #67: Incorrect Answers
C. The Queen’s Account – which is the news of Ophelia’s death, so it is like A.
D. The plot to kill Hamlet is already decided upon – again, not recently mentioned

18. #68: Correct Answer E. Native – line 89
“like a creature native and indued” – this HAS to be an adjective (possibly a verb if you really had no idea what native meant)

19. #68: Incorrect Answers
A. “growing to a plurisy” – you grow into something (noun)
B. “set a double varnish on the fame” – you set SOMETHING (noun)
C. “Collected from all simples that have virtue” – it is the object of the prepositional phrase – noun
D. “If he by chance escape your venom’d stuck” – venom’d is describing something = the sword (noun)

20. #83: Correct Answer
B. Hyperbole – exaggeration
Nothing is exaggerated

21. #83: Incorrect Answer
A. Alliteration – “set me the stoups”, “better breath”
C. Parallelism – “let the kettle to the trumpet speak, the trumpet to the cannoneer…the cannons to the heavens”
D. Personfication – see above
E. Imperatives - directives

22. #84: Correct Answer
A. he has been holding back because Laertes dallies and Hamlet wants him to “pass with your best violence”

23. #84: Incorrect Answers
B. not overly violent = opposite answer, so has to be A or B
C. Not trying to distract
D. Dally = is being lazy, so not his best moves
E. No anger is indicated

24. #85: Correct Answer D. Trap – He is caught by the trap he set himself
“as a woodcock to mine own springe” after he has been stabbed with his own poisoned sword

25. #85: Incorrect answers
A. Demise – Sure, it is his demise, but this is not what the word specifically means; it is what is the result of the simile
B. Sorrow – not like a bird caught in his sorrow
C. Death – Trap – not death – doesn’t fit the simile
E. Treachery – good guess as well, but doesn’t fit the simile

26. #86: Correct Answer
B. No, No is what the Queen says right AFTER the King says “She sounds to see them bleed” – Claudius is saying that Gertrude is fainting because of all of the blood, and Gertrude is saying, NO Hamlet, it is the drink – Claudius is not being truthful

27. #86: Incorrect Answer
A. Not that she doesn’t want to die – again, see the line before
C. Tempting…but see the line before – Hamlet isn’t getting ready to drink; Claudius has lied about her condition
D. Not that Hamlet has poisoned her
E. That she is probably unaware of because she didn’t know the swords were poisoned, and she is dying

28. #87: Correct Answer
C. – the answer key was wrong, so if you got this one wrong, the answer is C – please check it.
Laertes is saying that he wants to exchange forgiveness with Hamlet and that his death does not tarnish his soul

29. #87: Incorrect Answers A. He knows that Hamlet caused Polonius’ death
B. He knows he is going to die
D. Untouched is too generic – forgiven is better because it is specific
E. Too insensitive

30. #88: Correct Answer
C. Kill himself – he is going to drink the cup; we know this because he says the cup still has poison in it, and Hamlet tells him to let go of the cup.

31. #88: Incorrect Answer A. He wants to follow Hamlet into death
B. He wants to die with Hamlet; he chooses in the end to live in order for the truth to NOT be silenced
D. Drinking the poison himself will not hasten Hamlet’s death
Killing himself would not be staying loyal to the state

32. #89: Correct Answer E. reputation of Hamlet himself
Hamlet says his name will be “wounded” if things stand “thus unknown”, and if he loves Hamlet, he will stay alive to tell his story

33. #89: Incorrect Answers
A. Not the rights of Hamlet’s blood relatives – he focuses only on the reputation of his name
B. Not the kingdom’s protection from Fortinbras; he doesn’t mention that at all
C. Not the honor of his parents – only his name
D. Not secrecy around R and G – only HIS name

34. #90: Correct Answer
A. Calculating – IN THIS PASSAGE – not in the rest of the play, but in THIS passage – we don’t see him planning anything; we see him acting – I got this one wrong too folks…

35. #90: Incorrect Answers
B. Truthful: He says that he poisoned Hamlet and that “the King’s to blame”
C. Magnanimous: He shows that he is forgiving when he tells Hamlet he wants to “exchange forgiveness” with him
D. Ambivalent: He shows uncertainty when he says that “yet it is almost against my conscience” – I shouldn’t have picked this option – this part is very clear that he has second thoughts
E. Remorseful: He shows he is sorry when he asks for forgiveness

36. #91: Correct Answer
D. Personification is in line 101 – He calls Death a “fell sergeant”

37. #91: Incorrect Answers
A. Richer than four kings is not personification
B. Laertes is comparing himself to a bird caught in his own trap – not personification
C. He is describing the poison on the sword as an instrument and “foul practice” – not personification
E. He calls the sounds of war a “warlike volley” – not personification