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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. As Marat and Sade argue in Scene 15, what does Sade conclude no longer interests him?

3. Which two animals do the singers invoke to describe Marat in Scene 5?

4. Which of the following characters is not one of the Singers?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. To what extent are Coulmier's fears throughout the play well-founded?

2. What satirical argument does Sade make about the aristocracy at the end of this section?

3. Describe the events related in Scene 31.

4. What horrors does Corday witness in Scene 10?

5. How does Roux respond to Marat in Scene 26?

6. What is the state of the Revolution in 1793, according to the Singers in Scene 5?

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

8. Describe the world that Corday and Duperret describe in Scene 22.

9. What is the nature of Marat's life in 1793?

10. What false story does Corday deliver in her first visit to Marat's lodging?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Focusing on the final scene of Act 1, The Faces of Marat, write an essay profiling the life and ambitions of Jean-Paul Marat. How do his past reflect the desires and passions of his Revolutionary period? Who does he consider his enemies? Who, his allies? Feel free to cite examples beyond the central scene to explain his later beliefs and doubts.

Essay Topic 2

The Church is regarded with disdain by nearly everyone in The Marat/Sade. It is viewed as a useless institution at best and a perpetrator of oppression at worst. Write an essay about he place of the church in the play. How do Roux, Marat, and the ranting former abbot refer it it? Does Coulmier make any sort of compelling defense of it?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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