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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. What is revealed about the princess's nature in Part 4 of the narrative as she sits in the arena?
(a) She is innocent.
(b) She is murderous.
(c) She is guilty.
(d) She is jealous.

2. Where in relation to the door that reveals the accused does the king sit in the arena?
(a) Across from the door.
(b) Behind the door.
(c) Above the door.
(d) Below the door.

3. What word from the narrative refers to an established law or custom?
(a) Proscenium.
(b) Institution.
(c) Coronation.
(d) Dictation.

4. What are the two outcomes for the criminal depending on his choice of door in the arena?
(a) To be crowned or married.
(b) To be knighted or killed.
(c) To be exiled or hung.
(d) To be devoured or married.

5. What word from Part 4 of the story means domineering, dictatorial, or overbearing?
(a) Imperious.
(b) Metaphorical.
(c) Allegorical.
(d) Secular.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the narrator describe the fate of the accused person if he found himself innocent in the arena?

2. What does the word "moiety" from the narrative mean?

3. Who surveys the kingdom for "maiden youth and beauty" in Part 4 of the story?

4. Of the citizenry, the narrator says in Part 3, "they never knew whether they were to witness a bloody slaughter or" what?

5. How is the courtier's appearance described when he appears in the arena in Part 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you compare the king's tribunal with our contemporary justice system?

2. What are the positive aspects of the king's decision to put the courtier to trial?

3. What signal does the princess give to the courtier in the arena?

4. How does irony apply to the trial of the courtier in the king's arena?

5. Discuss the word "fairness" as it is applied in the story. What does this word mean in the narrative?

6. What is the crime that the courtier is charged with?

7. How does the narrator "set the scene" on the day of the courtier's trial?

8. What does the narrator mean by saying that the decisions of the king's tribunal "were positively determinate"?

9. What theme is predominant in Part 4 of the story?

10. What does the priest in the story represent symbolically?

(see the answer keys)

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