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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What false last name does Chloe give Bernard?

2. Where is the proof that Byron was at Sidley Park in 1809?

3. What is Hannah reading at the beginning of the scene?

4. Why does Gus run out of the room at the end of the scene?

5. Why does Thomasina hate Cleopatra?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Hannah writing about the garden at Sidley Park?

2. What major change has occurred since Septimus left the house the previous evening?

3. What has Hannah found for Bernard?

4. Describe Valentine's view of Bernard's article.

5. What does Septimus' dialogue reveal about his character?

6. How does Chloe respond to Bernard's reading?

7. What events or ideas contribute to the humorous tone of the first scene?

8. Explain Chloe's theory that sex thwarts the deterministic universe.

9. Describe Thomasina's character.

10. Why is Hannah interested in the hermit of Sidley Park?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the characters of Valentine and Septimus as character foils in Stoppard's play. Write an essay in which you identify their role in drawing out certain features of Hannah and Thomasina respectively.

Essay Topic 2

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "A man is related to all nature." Considering the descriptions of the garden before and after its transformation, write an essay in which you consider how man's experience or progress is reflected in the nature at Sidley Park. Use specific examples from the text to support your argument.

Essay Topic 3

Especially in Act 2, Scene 7, the piano music and steam engine are overheard in the background. Write an essay in which you explore the significance of either one of these sounds to the message of the play as a whole.

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