View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Before Sibyl storms off the terrace in Act 1, what does Elyot tell her?
(a) Elyot loves her.
(b) Amanda is staying next door to them.
(c) Elyot regrets marrying her.
(d) Elyot hopes she chokes on her dinner.

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

3. What does Elyot accuse Sibyl of being?
(a) Adulterous.
(b) Manipulative.
(c) Overly dependent.
(d) Drunk.

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

5. What does Amanda forbid Victor from doing?
(a) Drinking.
(b) Going to look for Elyot.
(c) Mentioning Elyot's name.
(d) Smoking.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Elyot do to Amanda to calm her when she starts to panic about leaving?

2. Why do Amanda and Elyot choose to flee to Amanda's flat?

3. Where did Elyot and Amanda spend their honeymoon?

4. According to Amanda, what did her and Elyot's love do to their relationship?

5. What is Sibyl's nickname for Elyot?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

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

4. 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?

5. What does Elyot mean when he claims that he and Amanda were too in love for their relationship to last?

6. What does Elyot's pastime of traveling the world imply about his character?

7. Amanda describes her marriage to Elyot as, "two violent acids bubbling about in a nasty little matrimonial bottle." Why would she use those words and what images do they provoke?

8. In Act I, Amanda proclaims to Victor that women should hold some mystery. Later, Elyot tells her that she holds no mystery for him and she responds that she is glad. Why?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,226 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample