View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Ajax tell Athena that he thinks he has captured, and will torture?

2. In Part I, who is the Chorus made up of?

3. What is Odysseus king of?

4. Who are the Greeks trying to rescue in this war?

5. What is the name of the person who wrote Ajax?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the Chorus?

2. Why is Odysseus standing outside of Ajax's tent at the beginning of the play?

3. How does Ajax plan to use the sword to kill himself?

4. Why does Ajax list the ways he thinks his honor has been destroyed?

5. What is the tone of Ajax's long speech about his honor in Part 2?

6. What does Athena say is the warning embodied by Ajax's behavior?

7. What does Ajax tell the Chorus he plans to do since Tecmessa has awakened his pity?

8. What do Menelaus and Teucer use to support their positions about Ajax's burial?

9. When the Chorus unsuccessfully attempts to calm Ajax, what does Ajax bemoan?

10. What is Ajax doing on the beach and how does he feel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Cite examples from the play to support your answer to the following question: How does this play portray the relationship between the gods and man?

Essay Topic 2

What do the various speeches in the play suggest about how the characters in the play view a hero? Why? Use examples from the play to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

How does this play show that suffering can be ennobling for mankind? Use examples from the play to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 587 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample