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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 is Hannah's gift to Bernard?

2. What does Hannah's letter prove?

3. What philosophical concepts do Septimus and Thomasina discuss in the scene?

4. Why does Thomasina turn to Septimus for answers about sex?

5. Why does Valentine suggest Bernard did not receive a reply to his letter from Lord Croom?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Bernard confirm that Byron visited Sidley Park?

2. Why does Septimus receive a challenge?

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

4. What images has Thomasina captured in her drawing?

5. What information does Bernard seek at Sidley Park?

6. Describe Thomasina's character.

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

8. Why does Augustus join in Thomasina's drawing lesson?

9. What comfort does Lady Croom take in her brother's marriage to Mrs. Chater?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the two turtles mentioned in the play. Reviewing any mention of the turtles, write an essay in which you determine the symbolic meaning of the animals, and the reason for their constant presence onstage.

Essay Topic 2

What do Stoppard's characters have to say about love and sex in his play? Using any one character's dialogue as support, write an essay in which you identify Stoppard's messages about love and sex.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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