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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. How did most of Synge's friends view his acceptance?

2. Why was Yeats hesitant to put Synge's last play on the stage?

3. What impressed Yeats about the person who wrote a Gaelic play for him?

4. Why was Yeats mad when the death of another writer got more attention than the death of Synge?

5. How did Yeats feel when Synge's death went unnoticed?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Yeats thinking about while he was being presented to the Royal Family?

2. What was Yeats told while in a trance?

3. What was so controversial about Countess Cathleen?

4. What did Yeats say was ruining the Ireland he loved?

5. How did the public treat Maud?

6. What was Yeats usually feeling when he wrote in his diaries?

7. What did Lady Gregory do for Yeats?

8. What did Yeats say the duty of the writer was?

9. What was Synge's last play, and how was it received?

10. What two things was Yeats adamant about remaining separate from each other?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Freedom was a crucial theme and symbol in this book. How was this theme presented, and how did its place in this plot affect the main people in Yeats's life?

Essay Topic 2

Fear is a common theme in this book that is presented a number of times by a number of people. What are some of these instances, and how does fear affect the people included in the book?

Essay Topic 3

Friendship is a strong theme throughout the book. Where are some places that this theme appears, and how do the people touched by it react? How do certain friendships change over the course of the book, and what causes these changes?

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