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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who states that "Power is present. Holiness hereafter?"
(a) The Second Tempter.
(b) The Fourth Tempter.
(c) Thomas Beckett.
(d) The Second Tempter.

2. Who does Becket say saved him from the wrath of his enemies?
(a) The King of France.
(b) John, the Dean of Salisbury.
(c) The Pope.
(d) King Henry II.

3. What does Beckett believe to be the last temptation and what he fears the most?
(a) Doing the thing you cannot do.
(b) Dying.
(c) Doing the wrong thing for the right reason.
(d) Doing the right deed for the wrong reason.

4. How does Thomas Beckett's thought end?: "If the Archbishop cannot trust the Throne/ He has good cause to trust none but _____________"
(a) God alone.
(b) Himself alone.
(c) The Pope alone.
(d) His people alone.

5. In Part One, where does the action of the play take place?
(a) Outside the gates of the Cathedral.
(b) The Archbishop's hall.
(c) The King's palace.
(d) The Cathedral.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the Chorus describe itself?

2. What does Becket claim is the "substance of our first act?"

3. What doesn't the Third Priest see in "the art of temporal government?"

4. What does the Messenger say were the last words of Thomas Becket to the King of England before the Archbishop's exile?

5. What important message does the Messenger convey to the Priests?

Short Essay Questions

1. Before Becket is dragged to the altar by the Three Priests, he seems at peace. How is this possible?

2. What does Becket mean when he states to the Priests, "The moment foreseen may be unexpected when it arrives?"

3. How does Becket believe man can "mourn and rejoice at once for the same reason?"

4. What is the opinion of the Messenger of the relationship between the King and the Archbishop?

5. What story does Becket tell about Christmas Day? Why is it important?

6. What is one of Becket's rebuttals of the charges against him?

7. Why was the Fourth Tempter most effective in his temptation compared to the other three?

8. Why might Becket pointedly ask the congregation to remember his words?

9. What is the opinion of the three priests on the subject of Becket's homecoming to Canterbury?

10. How does the Chorus perceive the actions of the play and its part in it?

(see the answer keys)

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