View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Cyrano fear telling Roxane the truth of the letters?

2. What does Christian ask Roxane to do at the end of Scene 8?

3. Which of the following is not a promise that Roxane demands of Cyrano at the end of Act 3?

4. Where does Roxane keep Christian's final letter to her?

5. In Scene 6, one cadet tells Roxanne that he is crying for what reason?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Cyrano distract the Comte de Guiche while Roxane and Christian marry?

2. Why does Cyrano wait so long to tell Roxane the truth?

3. Describe the setting of Act 5.

4. What news of Cyrano does Ragueneau bring in Scene 3?

5. What revenge does de Guiche take on Cyrano and Christian in Scene 14?

6. Why do Le Bret and Carbon call on Cyrano at the end of Scene 1?

7. Why is Christian distraught at the end of Scene 8?

8. What does Roxane say about her surroundings at the beginning of Scene 4?

9. What offer does Christian make to Cyrano in Scene 9?

10. How has Roxane's love changed in the months since the siege?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Christian is in many ways the tragic figure of CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Write an essay on this assertion. What does he want at the beginning of the play, and why does he choose to involve Cyrano in this endeavor? In the end, how does CHristian end up accomplishing the opposite of what he wanted to?

Essay Topic 2

The idea of honor in CYRANO DE BERGERAC becomes synonymous with the idea of soldiery. Focusing on Le Bret, Carbon, and the cadets of Act 4, write an essay on the the lionization of the career soldier. How do these characters deal with adverse circumstances? What do they idolize and what do they revile? How do they react to the extremities of Cyrano?

Essay Topic 3

The world of Cyrano de Bergerac is one in which good and kind people are often punished for their better graces. Write an essay on the harshness of this France, focusing on three characters:

Part 1) Ragueneau is a lover of beautiful things and a sharer of his livelihood with the less fortunate. How does the world, particularly in relationship to his marriage and his poetry, repay him?

Part 2) Carbon and Le Bret deeply love their troops and will do anything to ensure their safety. Where does this lead them as commanders? Are the elite Gascony Cadets treated with respect in the end?

Part 3) Cyrano has the firmest moral compass int he play. How does this put him in contention with more powerful men? What is the state of his life at the end of the play?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 971 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample