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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What genre of play is "Private Lives?"
(a) Comedy of manners.
(b) Theatre of cruelty.
(c) Theatre of the absurd.
(d) Comedy of errors.

2. Which character says "I like a man to be a man?"
(a) Victor.
(b) Elyot.
(c) Amanda.
(d) Sibyl.

3. What does Amanda say they must do before they leave for Paris?
(a) They must leave a note for their spouses.
(b) They must make a pact to never quarrel again.
(c) They must find their spouses and explain what happened.
(d) They must go home first.

4. Who is the oldest character of the four introduced in Act I?
(a) Elyot.
(b) Victor.
(c) Sibyl.
(d) Amanda.

5. What does Amanda call Victor in Act 1?
(a) Not a gentleman.
(b) A "pompous ass."
(c) A windbag.
(d) A weak man.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the view from the terrace?

2. What time is it, specifically, at the top of Act I?

3. What do both Amanda and Elyot express a mild appreciation for, to the shock of their spouses?

4. What does Elyot accuse Sibyl of being?

5. What is the other option presented for Amanda and Elyot if they choose to not run away?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Amanda's outlook on the violence in her previous marriage that is so shocking to Victor?

2. Victor and Sibyl both use nicknames for Amanda and Elyot (Mandy and Elli), though Amanda and Elyot always refer to each other by their full names. What is the significance of the use of nicknames in regards to these four characters?

3. To Sibyl's dismay, Elyot does not care for her mother and believes that Sibyl married him in part to escape her. What do the differing attitudes about the mother reveal about Sibyl's character?

4. Why does Sibyl keep asking Elyot about Amanda?

5. At the start of the play, is Elyot in love with Sibyl? How can the reader tell?

6. Why do Amanda and Elyot choose Paris to run away to?

7. How does Elyot know that Amanda's statement of the two of them being in love all over again is false?

8. What is the significance of "Solomon Isaacs?"

9. How can the reader interpret Amanda's statement about a person's private life?

10. Why would Victor say to Amanda that she was frightening him?

(see the answer keys)

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