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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. Tiresius says that failing to give honor where honor is due is what?

2. When Dionysus was born, he was crowned with a coronal of what?

3. What would a follower of Dionysus "brandish" while wearing a crown of ivy?

4. What is Semele?

5. When Dionysus says, multiple times, that the god is before Pentheus, what is Pentheus' reaction?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the second messenger report?

2. When Hera found out about the love affair between Zeus and Semele, what did Semele question?

3. How does Dionysus turn the king's anger at him into contentment?

4. What is the thyrsus?

5. Where does the violence and death take place during the play?

6. What about the worship of Dionysus is frightening and revolting to outsiders?

7. Who does Pentheus see when he looks at Dionysus?

8. What, according to the dialogue between Pentheus and Dionysus, is not open for negotiation?

9. How is the Chorus similar to the positions of Tiresius and Cadmus?

10. Why has Pentheus come to rely on Dionysus for his disguise?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the play represent the contrast between individual freedoms and societal expectations? Provide examples and evidence to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

What is foreshadowing? Using examples from the book, describe at least two examples of foreshadowing.

Essay Topic 3

How does the play compare and contrast the ideas of restraint and reason to unrestrained behavior and emotions? Provide support for your answer with examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 502 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample