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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. At the beginning of the song in Scene 10, what emotion has nearly defeated Corday?

2. In Scene 7, what does Corday contend is spurting from Marat's hiding place?

3. Who shouts "Long live the Revolution" midway through the Homage to Marat?

4. What mental affliction does the actor playing Marat have?

5. What word do the patients chant in unison in Scene 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. What interrupts the murder of Marat in Scene 31?

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

3. What are Sade's expectations of the Revolution, and are they realized?

4. Describe the setting of the play.

5. How doe Marat and Sade differ in their attitudes toward violent action?

6. How does the actress playing Corday nearly ruin the play in Scene 9?

7. What final points does Coulmier make in the Epilogue?

8. What is Sade's ultimate attitude toward Marat?

9. In Scene 8, how does Marat explain that the expectations of the Revolution proved faulty?

10. How does the Herald set the scene at the end of Scene 4?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the play-within-the-play, Sade has created a sort of spectrum from far-left (Roux) to the far-right (Corday). Where do all the major players in this play fall on this spectrum? What does each extreme of this spectrum want regarding France? What is its ideal society? Does Sade present both as equally dangerous in the play?

Essay Topic 2

The portrait of Napoleon looms above the playing space through the entirety of The Marat/Sade. What does this symbol represent in the world of the play? What is Sade's attitude toward this totalitarian figure? Are there other figures onstage that represent Napoleon's power, and what is their role in the play? Write an essay on the above prompts.

Essay Topic 3

The Marat/Sade is an inherently grotesque piece. It lingers in the dark, violent, and perverse places of human experience. Write an essay about Weiss's use of the grotesque in the play. How do the inmates, Sade, and the time period of the play-within-the-play reflect the grotesque? What is Weiss calling horrific in nature? Subjugation? Revolution? Life in general?

(see the answer keys)

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