View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is the "Theater of Cruelty" considered cruel by Artaud?
(a) It aims to redeem mankind.
(b) It attacks the foundation of culture.
(c) It resurrects tortured gods.
(d) Its basis is that of pain.

2. Artaud remarks that the problem is that "all true feeling in _____ is untranslatable; translating it would be betraying and dissimulating it."
(a) God.
(b) Reality.
(c) Love.
(d) Emotions.

3. Which filmmakers/performers does Artaud make reference to in "Metaphysics and Mise en Scene"?
(a) The Marx Brothers.
(b) Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
(c) Lucy and Desi.
(d) Abbott and Costello.

4. What "theater is based upon age-old traditions which have preserved intact the secrets of using gestures, intonations, and harmonies in relation to the senses"?
(a) Oriental theater.
(b) American theater.
(c) Occidental theater.
(d) African theater.

5. What form of the virus resulted in the deaths of more people than the previous plague?
(a) African.
(b) American.
(c) Australian.
(d) Oriental.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the Balinese theater, Artaud writes "The drama does not develop as a conflict of feelings but as a conflict of" what?

2. Where is the painting Artaud speaks of in "Metaphysics and the Mise en Scene"?

3. In Artaud's metaphor for the plague, where did the ship end up docking?

4. Artaud comments that anything obsessive may be considered what?

5. Where does Artaud say "there is no art: things are made for use."

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe the effects of a plague on civilization?

2. What did Saint-Remys do following his dream of the plague?

3. Who does Artaud hold responsible for much of the "masterpieces" he wants to demolish? Why?

4. How does Artaud relate theater to the painting from "Metaphysics and the Mise en Scene"?

5. What does "gold" represent in Artaud's analogy of "The Alchemical Theater"?

6. What painting does Artaud describe in "Metaphysics and the Mise en Scene"?

7. What does the author claim is the reasoning behind why the public is turning away from the "higher" arts in "No More Masterpieces"?

8. What must occur for the theater to be restored, according to the author?

9. What commonality does Artaud assert between Alchemy and the theater?

10. How does Artaud draw the comparison between the theater and a plague?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 957 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample