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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. The song in Scene 10 details Corday's arrival in what town?

2. From what French town does Corday reside?

3. Which character's name does the Chorus chant in unison during Scene 7?

4. Who does Coulmier thank at the beginning of his speech in Scene 2?

5. According to the Herald at the beginning of Scene 7, to what voice is Marat listening as he writes?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe the events related in Scene 31.

4. Who is present on behalf of the asylum to oversee the Patients?

5. What point about social status does the Herald make when he introduces the Singers?

6. How does the Herald characterize Sade?

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

8. Why does Coulmier stop the play in Scene 6?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Weiss's play, sex and violence are intertwined in a way such that one cannot exist without the other. Write an essay on this inextricable link, focusing on these three points:

Part 1) How does Charlotte Corday represent the perfect balance of sexuality and destruction? How does her plan to murder Marat hinge on her sexual allure? How does her religious fervor play to both of these attributes?

Part 2) The Marquis de Sade was infamous for his linking of sex and violence in his writing. How does the Sade of Weiss's play explain this fascination? What is his attitude to either sex or violence individually?

Part 3) Focusing on Sade's speech to Marat before Corday's third visit, discuss both sex and violence as driving forces both in the play and the play-within-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

Much of the dialogue in The Marat/Sade focuses on the link between theory and violent action. Write an essay about his link, focusing on the two dominant symbols of each. How are they connected? What responsibility doe the author seem to imply the theorist has regarding the enacting of his ideas?

Part 1 ) Marat's quill and paper

Part 2) The guillotine

(see the answer keys)

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