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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. Which of the following best characterizes Mrs Elvsted's feelings regarding Lovborg?

2. What is the one thing that Hedda says she has an aptitude for?

3. What does Hedda threaten to do to Berte in Act 1 of Hedda Gabler?

4. In Act 2, why does Julle send word she will not be visiting Hedda and Tesman that evening?

5. To whom does Hedda not speak in Act 1 of HEDDA GABLER?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the end of Act 3, what does Hedda say to Lovborg about vine leaves? Why?

2. What does Hedda tell Lovborg that other people may think if Lovborg continued to refuse to drink at all?

3. Describe Hedda Gabler's character.

4. Why didn't Tesman tell anyone he had Lovborg's manuscript? What were his plans with it?

5. When Julle and Tesman discuss Hedda, what do they usually focus on?

6. In the beginning of Act 2, shortly after discussing their financial constraints, what does Tesman return home with?

7. What leverage does Brack acquire over Hedda?

8. In Act 2 of HEDDA GABLER, Hedda tells Lovborg that her not daring to shoot him when their previous friendship ended was an act of cowardice, for fear of a scandal, but that it was not her greatest act of cowardice that evening. What do you think she is alluding to as her greatest act of cowardice?

9. The morning after the party at Brack's house, what is the situation like at the Tesman household?

10. What does the letter from Julle tell Tesman about Rina? What are Tesman and Hedda's responses?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about Henrik Ibsen.

Part 1: Write a brief biography of Henrik Ibsen. When and where did he live? What was his life like?

Part 2: What was the society that Ibsen lived in like? What parts of it influenced his writing? Did he have any message about societal norms that he tried to express in his plays?

Part 3: Discuss Henrik Ibsen's works. Was his work well received? What reaction did the society of his time have to his works? Was his work influential in theater as we know it? How?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the complexities and challenges of developing the plot in HEDDA GABLER and other similar plays.

Part 1: The entire play happens in one room in the Tesman household over two days. Are there advantages and disadvantages in choosing such a limited stage setting? What difficulties does it present and what might it simplify? What affect does an entire play in one room have on the audience?

Part 2: In the play HEDDA GABLER, Ibsen uses various techniques to make the play flow despite the limited setting and lack of a narrator or asides. How did Ibsen develop his characters? How did he give his audience the information they needed to understand who everyone was? What techniques did he use to help his characters seem natural? How did the action of the play get conveyed to the audience?

Essay Topic 3

Write a full analysis comparing and contrasting the two characters of Tesman and Lovborg.

Part 1: Compare and contrast their abilities, their weaknesses, their strengths, their motives and other attributes of the two characters. Discuss both their personal and professional aptitudes.

Part 2: What point do you think the author was trying to make by contrasting them?

Part 3: The character Hedda is clearly the center of the play and these two men act as a way for us to see more about Hedda. What does each one tell us about her? How do they each shed light on the nuances of her character?

(see the answer keys)

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