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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. Where does Cyrano tell Le Bret he expects to go after death?

2. Which of the following is not a term that Roxane uses to describe Christian's prose in her speech in Scene 8?

3. To which Greek god does Roxane compare Christian in Scene 8?

4. What fairy tale does Roxane reference in Scene 5 in discussing her journey?

5. What does Christian discover in Cyrano's most recent letter to Roxane that shocks him in Scene 4?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In Scene 2, what news has de Guiche heard regarding Cyrano?

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

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

6. What does Roxane resolve to do at the end of Scene 5?

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

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

9. What declaration does Roxane make about the feast?

10. What does Roxane incorrectly assume when she see's Ragueneau and Le Bret exit in Scene 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Roxane develops from a mere object of affection into a fully-dimensional strong-willed character. Chart this transition in an essay. How does Roxane appear in the first act of the play? Is her role active, or merely objective to male characters? By scene 4, how has she transformed herself? What bold actions does she undertake without assistance from others?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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