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

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the four actors onstage doing when the lights go down?

2. What does Gus bring Hannah at the end of the scene?

3. Why is it significant that the covers to the letters from Mrs. Chater have not survived?

4. Hannah's quoting of Byron's poetry suggests what to Valentine?

5. What is Valentine working on at the beginning of this scene?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the motifs of free will and determination in the play. Write an essay in which you explain the characters' views on both motifs, and how these motifs contribute to Stoppard's message in the play. Use specific examples of dialogue to support your ideas about the characters' views.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 315 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample