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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. What historical figure did Damiens try to assassinate?

2. What two omnipresent groups represent the asylum security throughout the play?

3. In what year is The Marat/Sade set?

4. Who sings to the riled patients at the end of Scene 6?

5. Which of the following groups is not one lambasted by the singers of Scene 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Coulmier claim the bathouse is a particularly appropriate setting for Sade's play?

2. How does the cast indicate the beginning of performance in Scene 3?

3. How does Coulmier characterize the asylum in Scene 2?

4. Describe the setting of the play.

5. What historical events have occurred in France in the four years prior to the events of the play-within-the-play?

6. Describe the events related in Scene 31.

7. In 1793, what is the common people's attitude toward the new ruling class in France?

8. What paradox regarding Marat's calls to the Nation does Sade point out in Scene 28?

9. Why does Marat regret the inclusion of private property in the Declaration of Human Rights?

10. Why is Marat particularly outraged by aristocratic revulsion at the executions?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The theme of subjugation and captivity is pervasive in Weiss's play. Write an essay in three parts discussing the theme of captivity:

Part 1) How are the poor of 1793 constantly held in captivity? Who were their oppressors before the fall of the Bastille, and who have there oppressors become int he Revolutionary era? How does Marat decry both in the play?

Part 2) The story of Mart's death is performed by inmates in a mental asylum. How does the the life of the inmate reflect the life of the poor in 1793? In what way is the play-within-the-play an act of revolution against captivity?

Part 3) What is Sade's notion of captivity? How is it different from Marat's? What is the prison that every man inhabits in Sade's worldview?

Essay Topic 2

In the great debate between Sade and Mart, Sade's viewpoint is more complex and ambiguous. As an aristocrat turned Revolutionary turned voice for political apathy, his worldview is strange and inwardly focused. Write an essay on etymology of this viewpoint. Why did Sade join the Revolution, and why was he repelled by it? What does he view as most important in life? What is his attitude toward violence and its place in society?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay on the topic of absolute power. Marat is offered it over the course of the play, but he refuses it. Duperret and Corday fear he will become dictator. The play itself takes place in the shadow of Napoleon. Does Weiss believe that all power corrupts? Is he implying that Marat might have been an exception?

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