Shakespeare Previous Year Brief (2014-2020)
2020
(a) Why is Fortinbras of Norway preparing for war against Denmark?
Ans: To recover Norwegian lands.
(b) Why and how does Brutus commit suicide?
Ans: Being certain of defeat, Brutus orders Strato who reluctantly follows the order of Brutus and fatally wounds him.
(C) How did Caesar become the ruler of Rome?
Ans: In 45 BC Caesar inflicted a crushing defeat upon the two sons of Pompey and became the undisputed ruler of Rome.
(d) How does Polonius die?
Ans: Hamlet draws his sword through the tapestry and kills polonium.
(e) Why did lago envy Othello?
Ans: Because Othello gave promotion Cassio to the post of lieutenant of Othello not Iago.
আরো পড়ুনঃ Shakespeare Brief Suggestion NU Masters (2020-21)
(f)How does lago obtain Desdemona’s handkerchief?
Ans: Iago snatches away the handkerchief from his wife Emaila who got Desdemona’s handkerchief.
(g) What is Cordelia’s answer to the question of her love to the king, her father?
(h) Why does Edgar pretend to be a bedlam-beggar?
Ans: To save himself from the men who are trying to track him down.
(i) What kind of play is Measure for Measure?
Ans: Tragedy-comedy.
(j) Who is Sycorax?
Ans: Witch. She was controlling the island before Prospero ‘s arrival.
(k) What request does Miranda make to her father in favour of Ferdinand?
Ans: She begs her father to be merciful to Ferdinand.
(l) What plea does Isabella make to the Duke?
Ans: Mariana begs for Angelo’s life and persuades Isabella to join in the plea, despite Claudio’s death. Isabella begs the duke to spare Angelo.
Brief-2019
a) What does Caesar say when he falls to death?
Ans.Ceasers last words, “Eu TU Brute?”, meaning “You too,Brutus”?
b)What is the cause of Brutas’s mental conflict?
Ans.Brutas is mentally broken between his loyalty to Caesar as friend and his duty to the Roman people to save from Caesar’s tyranny.
c)What is the play within play in ‘Hamlet’?
Ans. The play-within-play in Hamlet is called both The Murder of Gonzalo and the Mousetrap.
d)Why was Claudio imprisoned?
Ans.Claudio was imprisoned for forcination with a girl called Juliet who became pregnant.
e)How does Issabela threaten Angelo?
Ans. To expose his wicked design if he does not sign an immediate pardon for her brother.
f) What is the main theme of “Measure for Measure”?
Ans. Measure is the temperance of justice with mercy.
g)How does Lear curse Goneril?
Ans. By expressing a wish that she should become barren and that even if she does bear a child, the child should live to be a source of perverse and unnatural torment to her.
h)What is meant by the sentence “Ripeness is all”?
Ans. Men must endure there going hence, even as their coming hither.
i)How did Gonzalo help Prospero in his calamity?
Ans.Gonzalo helped Prospero and Miranda escape Milan.He filled their low boat with food, clothing and opened books on the magic arts.
j)How does Caliban use the language taught by Prospero?
Ans.Prospero,as a mark of his kindness taught Caliban in his own language but now the best use he can make of it is to curse Prospero.
k)Who is called a woman of the world in “Othello”?
Ans.Emilia.
I)Why does Roderigo intend to commit suicide?
Ans.Failing to win Desdemona’s love, Roderigo in a hopeless and frustrated mood intends to commit by drowning.
Brief -2018
a)What is the setting of the play, Hamlet?
Ans. The royal castle at Elsinore on the rocky sea-washed Danish coast during winter.
b) What is ‘The Mouse Trap’?
Ans. When Claudius questions Hamlet about the name of the play-within-play,he answers that the name is ‘The Mouse Trap’.
c)Who are the suitors of Cordelia?
Ans. The King of France and The Duke of Burgundy.
d)Who is the bastard son of Gloucester?
And. Edmund.
e) Who is Mistress Overdone?
আরো পড়ুনঃ Comment on Shakespeare’s Use of Disguise in “As You Like It.” (বাংলায়)
Ans. Madam.
f) who raises storms in the sea and how?
Ans. Prospero, With the help of his magical power.
g)Why did Othello go to Cyprus from Venice?
Ans. In order to protect the island from the Turks.
h)How did Desdemona fall in love with Othello?
Ans.Desdemona fell in love with Othello’s bravery and survived many sorrows and tribulations.
i)Why is Claudio imprisoned?
Ans. For forcination with a girl called Juliet who has become pregnant.
j)Who is appointed ‘The deputy of the Duke Vincentio?
Ans. Lord Angelo.
k)What type of comedy is ‘Measure for Measure”?
Ans.Dark comedy
l) What is Brutus’s most glaring mistake as the leader of conspirators?
Ans. Brutus agrees to let Marc Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral.
Brief -2017
a)Who is Fortinbras?
Ans. The young prince of Norway.
b) When and where does Lear meet Cordelia for the second time?
Ans. One of Lear’s men travelled across to France and told Cordelia about her father’s suffering,then Cordelia rushed to meet King Lear.
c) Who informs Hamlet of the appearance of the ghost?
Ans. Horatio.
d)Who was Cordelia’s husband?
Ans. The King of France.
e) Why does Goneril commit suicide?
Ans. Because her treachery is revealed to Albany.
f) What does Prospero tell Miranda about the shipwreck?
Ans.Prospero tells Miranda that it’s time she learned who she is and where she comes from.
g)What is the name of Calbian’s mother?
Ans.Sycorax.
h) Which place does Isabella meet the Duke?
Ans.In a garden.
i)Who said, “I am more sinned against than sinning”?
Ans.King Lear.
j)How does Polonius die?
Ans.Hamlet draws his sword and stabs it through the tapestry killing the unseen Polonius.
k)What is Othello’s tragic flaw?
And.Jealousy.
I)What is preventing Isabella from becoming a nun?
Ans. Her willingness to marry is unlikely, since she wanted to be a nun.
Brief -2016
a)When and where was Shakespeare born?
Ans.Shakespeare was born on April 23,1564 in the village of Stratford-on-Avon in the country of Warwickshire in England.
b) What was the original title of the play “Othello”?
Ans.Othello,the Moor of Venice.
c)Why is Kent in the stocks?
Ans. Kent put a letter in the stocks under orders of the Duke of Cornwall, because he was engaged in abusing and fighting Osward.
d) How are Caliban and Ariel different?
Ans. Ariel,made of air and fire,is a sylph, on the other hand, Caliban is a missphan monster.
আরো পড়ুনঃ Discuss Shakespeare’s Treatment of Love (বাংলায়)
e)Whose severed head is shown to Angelo?
Ans. The prisoner, Ragozine’s head.
f) What holiday are the Roman masses celebrating at the time of Caesar’s return?
Ans. The feast of Lupercal, which was celebrated on 15 February.
g)In what sense are Fortinbras and Hamlet contrasted?
And.Fortinbras, Prince of Norway,is a man of decisive action, on the other hand, Hamlet,Prince of Denmark,is a man of inaction.
h)Whom does Isabella call a ‘Virgin violator’?
Ans.Angelo
i)How does Lear comfort his daughter Cordelia in the prison?
Ans. By saying that they will both live together in the prison and sing like birds in a cage.
j)What does Ariel do for Gonzalo?
Ans. He prevents Gonzalo from being killed while asleep by Antonio and Sebastian, by singing in his ear and waking him.
k)Who says “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”?
Ans. Marcellus
I)How did Caesar become the ruler of Rome?
Ans. A crushing defeat upon the two sons of Pompey and becoming the undisputed ruler and administrator of Italy,with the Roman Senate assisting him in the task.
Brief -2015
a)What is comic relief?
Ans. A humorous incident,nelion, or remark that relieves emotional tension.
b) What is the name of the play within the play in Hamlet?
Ans.Murder of Gonzago.
c)What is aside?
Ans. The words spoken by an actor directly in the audience, but not heard by the other characters on stage.
d)How does Antonio conspire against Prospero?
Ans. Taking the advantage of his position as the administrator of the dukedom, Antonio conspired with Alonso, to dethrone Prospero.
e) What is the prime tragic flaw of Othello?”
And.Jealousy.
f) What is the literal meaning of the title “Measure for Measure”?
Ans.It means ‘justice for justice’ that is when a person commits a crime he or she should be made to pay.
g)Why do Othello and Desdemona fall in love with each other?
Ans. Desdemona fell in love with Othello for the danger he passed and he fell in love with her because he understands her danger.
h)Why was Claudio given the death sentence?
Ans.On the charge of have made a girl, Juliet, pregnant without having married her
i)How does King Lear curse Goneril?
Ans. By expressing a wish that she should become barren and that even if she does bear a child, the child should live to be a source of perverse and unnatural torment to her.
আরো পড়ুনঃ Shakespeare Quotation for Masters
j) What is the setting of the play “The Tempest’?
Ans.It takes place at the Mediterranean sea,in the coast of Italy.
k)Why does the King of France accept Cordelia as his bride?
Ans. Because she is virtuous.
l) What led Brutus to commit socide?
Ans. By certain of defeat, Brutus motivates one after another of his men to kill him but they all refuse.At last Strato unwillingly gives permission to hold Brutus’s sword with which he fatally wounds himself.
Brief -2014
a)Who becomes the King of Denmark at the end of the play “Hamlet”?
And. Fortinbras
b)When and where does the play ‘Othello’ open?
Ans. Othello opens late at night in a Venetian street outside the house of Senator Branbanio.
c) Who are the suitors of Cordelia in King Lear?
Ans. The Duke of Burgundy and the King of France.
d)Who remains alive in the last scene of the drama ‘Hamlet’?
Ans. Horatio.
e) Why is Cassio grief stricken?
Ans. Having lost his lieutenant’s ship and being disgraced by Othello.
f) What is the name of the hangman in measure for measure?
Ans.Abhorson.
g) What was the ambition of Caesar?
Ans. To be the absolute king of his country with ultimate power and with the Senate completely subservient to him.
h)What was Edmond’s plan against Edgar in King Lear?
Ans. Edmound’s plan against Edgar is that he wants to deprive him of his father’s property by writing a false letter in which Edgar would kill his father and occupy his property for themselves.
i)What prevented Isabella from becoming a nun?
Ans. Her willingness to marry is unlikely since she wanted to be a nun.
j)What do you mean by the term ‘The Tempest’?
Ans. Violent storm.
k)What is Othello syndrome?
Ans.Jealousy in love.
I) What is the second mistake of Brutus?*
Ans. Brutus agrees to let Marc Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral.
