ShmoopTube

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Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by Hamlet. A great name for Danish Princes,

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as well as miniature pigs.

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Which of the following best describes the main purpose of this passage?

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Okay, so to figure out the main point of these things, we sometimes have to take a glance

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at the possible answer choices first...

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...then go back and reread the passage again.

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Trust us, there's no shame in doing a little rereading.

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How's answer A look? Well, Hamlet is mentioned, but it isn't the main focus of the passage.

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Professor Bradley has bigger fish to fry than the emo Prince of Denmark.

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The passage does compare Shakespeare's romantic comedies to his tragedies, but again, it's

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only one point among many. So B's a "no." The passage doesn't argue that Macbeth is

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more complex than Julius Caesar, just that it's different...

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...which is kind of a no-brainer considering one is set in Scotland and includes witches

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and the other is a historical drama about the birth of the Roman Empire.

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Out, damned answer choice...

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Choice B? Ah...here we are. Professor Bradley's main purpose is to show off just how much

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he knows about the evolution of Shakespeare's tragedies.

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A subject with which he may be unhealthily obsessed.

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