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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. When stopped by Spanish forces, where does Roxane tell them she is going?

2. At what part of Roxanne's body does Christian marvel when she embraces him in Scene 5?

3. Which of the following is not a location that Cyrano guesses he is while stalling de Guiche?

4. To what classical text does Roxane refer when expressing her admiration for Christian in Scene 8?

5. How many meals a day do the cadets claim to have gotten in Paris?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Cyrano embarrass the Comte de Guiche in Scene 4?

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

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

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

6. According to Le Bret in Scene 2, How has Cyrano changed of late?

7. What declaration does Roxane make about the feast?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

Cyrano de Bergerac is an individualist of the highest order. His sense of honor is self-contained, and he is unwilling to equivocate to appease a crowd. Write an essay about his willingness to make enemies in pursuit of honor:

Part 1) How does Cyrano place himself in conflict with virtually the entire city in the first act of the play? Why does he do this, and what does this say about him?

Part 2) Why does Cyrano turn down de Guiche's offer of patronage for his verses? What is the crux of his argument after the Comte storms out?

Part 3) Describe Cyrano's station in life at the end of the play? How is he regarded by both his friends and Paris as a whole? What is Rostand saying about the play of the good man in society?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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