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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. Through what building does Le Bret exit at the end of Scene 3?

2. Who attends Roxane throughout Scene 4?

3. What does Roxane say she followed to find Arras?

4. What does de Guiche notice immediately about the first soldier he approaches in Scene 7?

5. What sin does Cyrano proudly confess to Sister Martha?

Short Essay Questions

1. What secret does Cyrano tell Christian in Scene 7?

2. How does Roxane discover that Cyrano is her true suitor?

3. Why are the troops starving at the beginning of Act 4?

4. What lie does Cyrano tell Christian before he dies?

5. How does Roxane reason Cyrano's absence at his appointed time?

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

7. What declaration does Roxane make about the feast?

8. How does Roxane bring food to the troops?

9. What is Cyrano's relationship with Roxane in Act 5?

10. How does the cadets' attitude toward the Comte de Guiche change in Scene 7?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Within the overall arc of the love triangle among Cyrano, Roxane, and Christian, Rostand's play seems to contain many smaller plays within it. Each act of Cyrano de Bergerac contains a different tone to it, from broad farce, to military drama, to elegy. Write an essay about three of the five acts. What common themes do they have? How are they different in tone?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the play, Rostand uses caricatures of certain character types to create a sense of society at large. Write an essay about these caricatures - focusing on three - and what effect they create. What are they mocking? How do they create the impression of a status quo? How do major characters interact with them, and why?

Part 1) Monfleury

Part 2) The poets of Ragueneau's shop

Part 3) The sisters of the convent

(see the answer keys)

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