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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. Who informs Cyrano that Roxane wishes to meet him?

2. What emotion does Roxane display when reading de Guiche's letter to the monk?

3. To which two classical figures does Cyrano compare Roxane in Scene 5?

4. What does Christian tell Cyrano is his only hope for staying in Roxane's affections?

5. In Scene 2, Ragueneau wraps an order of patties in a sonnet to whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Roxane trick the monk in Scene 11?

2. How does Cyrano explain Christian's uncertain poetry to Roxane?

3. Why does Cyrano leave the theatre at the end of Act 1?

4. What requests does Roxane make of Cyrano before leaving in Scene 3?

5. What furtive disagreement do Christian and Cyrano has at the end of Scene 7?

6. Why does Cyrano consider himself a coward at the end of Scene 3?

7. Describe the scene at the beginning of the play.

8. Why does Christian insult Cyrano's nose in Scene 9?

9. How does Cyrano delay Christian's kiss in Scene 10?

10. What new sadness has befallen Ragueneau at the beginning of Act 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the relationship between Cyrano and Christian. How do they develop from rivals, to conspirators, to two halves of the same soul? Why does Cyrano choose to help Christian, and how does ending this assistance become impossible as the play continues? In what ways is Christian present even after his death?

Essay Topic 2

Love is an ambiguous force in Cyrano de Bergerac. It guides many character's actions, both for good and for ill. Write an essay about Rostand's ambiguous attitude toward love:

Part 1) Christian loves Roxane completely, which blind him to the reality of his relationship with her. How does he pay for this love, and who else pay for it in the long run?

Part 2) To what extent do both Montfleury and Valvert pay for their romantic desires? What do they have in common and what do they respectively lose?

Part 3) The Comte de Guiche is consumed by his love for Roxane. Analyze how this all-engrossing love is the catalyst for both his most eveil acts and his finest.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the dynamic between Cyrano and the Comte de Guiche. Use the several insults that Cyrano deal de Guiche throughout the play as framework for the essay. Why does Cyrano deal the nobleman these slights, and how does de Guiche respond? Who pays for these slights? Does either man ultimately change as a result of this dynamic?

(see the answer keys)

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