Hamlet, Part 5: Characteristics of Elizabethan Drama — Quiz
Question 11 • British Literature and Composition
Read the excerpt from Act III of Hamlet. Rosencrantz: The cease of majesty Dies not alone, but, like a gulf doth draw What’s near it with it; it is a massy wheel, Fix’d on the summit of the highest mount, To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things Are mortis’d and adjoin’d; which, when it falls, Each small annexment, petty consequence, Attends the boisterous ruin. Never alone Did the king sigh, but with a general groan. Which statement best explains how the excerpt exemplifies Elizabethan drama?
Answer
A
Rosencrantz recalls the details of his life.
B
The lives of saints are celebrated.
C
Political power is discussed.
D
Rosencrantz tells a Biblical story.
Explanation
Rosencrantz compares the king’s death to a massive wheel whose fall pulls down everything attached to it. This image shows how the fate of a ruler affects many people and emphasizes the consequences of political power. The excerpt is not a personal life story, a celebration of saints, or a Biblical tale.
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