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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. What does the Man say scares him?

2. In the first scene, after the Woman clears the dishes, what does she take with her out of the room?

3. What is the first thing the Woman does for the Man?

4. What does the Man say about the flowers in the vase?

5. What does the Woman tell the Man that he should learn to love?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the Man doing at the beginning of the final scene? What does confess, and what does the Woman interpret this to mean?

2. How does the Man answer when the Woman asks him what his name is, and what name does the Woman give him?

3. What does the Man say about the Woman's flute playing and his knowledge of music?

4. What does the Man say happened to his friend?

5. What does the Woman accuse the Man of believing, and what does she tell the Man to do?

6. What does the Woman persuade the Man to do at the end of the second scene?

7. What is the Man doing at the beginning of the second scene, and what is the Woman's reaction?

8. What happens at the end of the fourth scene?

9. What does the Man say when the when the Woman inquires about his decision in Scene 2?

10. What disturbs the Man as he is getting ready to go to sleep in the first scene, and how does he react?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Woman's vase and flowers have great meaning and influence on the plot of the play. She is very protective of her flowers and vase, and they serve to be the only source of decoration in the set. With support from examples of the play, answer the following:

1) What do the flowers and the vase symbolize in the play?

2) Why does the Man take a flower from the vase in the first scene? What happens to the stolen flower, and what does that mean in the eyes of the Man?

3) Why does the Woman take such good care of her flowers? How do others, such as the villagers and the Man, perceive this dedication?

Essay Topic 2

The Man's sword in the play is a precious possession that also represents a capacity for destruction. Much conflict in the play revolves around the Man's sword and the struggle for its power. Write an essay answering the following, and supplement your work with examples:

1) What does the sword represent to the Man? What does it represent to the Woman?

2) Who is shown to have more control over the sword? What does this say about that character?

3) The Man came to kill the Woman with his sword, but the Woman takes her own life by hanging herself. What is the author trying to say by having the the Woman take her own life and the Man laying his sword down at the end of the play?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the play, the Woman is represented as an artful soul who has a solitary but poetic life. Please use examples, and write an essay to answer the following questions:

1) How do outsiders perceive the Woman? What makes them think that she is like the way she is?

2) How does the Man's perception of the Woman change over time? Does he truly change his opinion of her by the end of the play?

3) Does the author imply that men view women as beautiful yet mysterious beings? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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