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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 sound recurs in this scene?

2. What is Hannah's gift to Bernard?

3. What sound interrupts Lady Croom's conversation?

4. Brice claims that as a tutor, Septimus must __________________________.

5. Thomasina describes the hermit in her drawing to _____________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Thomasina suggest Septimus is churlish with her?

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

3. What does Hannah plan to do about her discovery?

4. Why is Gus considered a genius?

5. How does Lady Croom's interpretation of "Et in Arcadia ego!" differ from Septimus'?

6. Why does Septimus burn Byron's letter without reading it?

7. Describe the relationship between Lady Croom and Thomasina.

8. What has Chloe's mother done to help Bernard?

9. Why has Thomasina come to see Septimus in the middle of the night?

10. Why does Augustus return to Septimus at the end of Thomasina's lesson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Traditionally, temperaments that lean toward math and science might be viewed in opposition to those that favor literature and art. Considering the development of ideas surrounding math, science, literature, and art in "Arcadia," write an essay in which you identify Stoppard's message about the significance of any one discipline to our human experience.

Essay Topic 2

George Jean Nathan once remarked, "Common sense, in so far as it exists, is all for the bourgeoisie. Nonsense is the privilege of the aristocracy. The worries of the world are for the common people." Consider the role of wealth and privilege in Stoppard's play and then defend, refute, or qualify Nathan's quote as it applies to the text.

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.

(see the answer keys)

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