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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 Scene 8, what does Simone implore Marat to stop doing?

2. What character enters in the first scene at Sade beckon?

3. What apologia does Coulmier make in his Scene 2 speech?

4. With what adjective does Coulmier describe the keepers of the asylum in Scene 2?

5. What mimic do the patients perform in the background of Scene 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Corday prepare to murder Marat in Scene 10?

2. What is Corday's primary fear regarding the revolution?

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

4. Explain the message of the song Poor Old Marat in Scene 21.

5. What is the state of Marat's health in Scene 7?

6. Why is Coulmier outraged by Marat's Liturgy?

7. How does Sade explain his current role in the Revolution?

8. How does Corday's sickness affect her performance?

9. Describe Jacques Roux.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Marat/Sade is a carefully constructed argument among various viewpoints that ends in utter chaos. Write an essay analyzing the meaning behind the final moment of the play. Does it seem out of place with what came before? Do you think it solves any of the lingering quandaries left by the debate? Cite arguments from the play's text as corroboration.

Essay Topic 2

Interruptions are common throughout the Marat/Sade. The play-within-the-plsy is stopped several times int he middle of the action. Write an essay about these interruptions:

Part 1) Coulmier is the character that most often interrupts the action of Sade's play. What are his concerns and grievances? How are they received by the actors and Sade? Are these concerns well-founded?

Part 2) Which inmates interrupt the performance? Why dot hey do so, and how do these unexpected interruptions reflect something essential about the action onstage? What effect do they create?

Part 3) There is one planned interruption in the play-within-the-play, right before the death of Marat. Why does Sade include this interruption? How is it intended to inform the action of the final moments of the play?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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