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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. In Artaud's Second Manifesto, he describes the spectacle itself as being formed along the lines of _________ which will be materialized in gestures and movement before decaying into sounds and words.
(a) Current events.
(b) Dream sequences.
(c) Ancient myths.
(d) Bible verses.

2. In his first letter of "Letters on Language," Artaud insists that the task of ______ must not be subordinated to spoken or written words as if this task was simply an accessory to theater."
(a) Playwright.
(b) Actor.
(c) Mise en scene.
(d) Director.

3. What is the name of the final act of Artaud's proposed production?
(a) "Extraction."
(b) "War."
(c) "Confession."
(d) "Abdication."

4. According to the author, "Our long habit of seeking _____ has made us forget the idea of a serious theater."
(a) Joy.
(b) Realism.
(c) Ignorance.
(d) Diversion.

5. Artaud intends his theater to to seek in the what of tremendous masses?
(a) Terror.
(b) Agitation.
(c) Sensation.
(d) Clamoring.

Short Answer Questions

1. Artaud claims that the lighting equipment now in use would no longer be what for the Theater of Cruelty?

2. "The soul can be physiologically reduced to a skein of" what, according to the author?

3. To whom is Artaud's first letter in "Letters on Language"?

4. To whom does the author write his third letter from "Letters on Cruelty"?

5. Artaud writes, "At the point of deterioration which our sensibility has reached, it is certain that we need above all a theater that _________."

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Artaud describe "cruelty" in reference to in his letters?

2. Discuss the use of masks and accessories as described in the First Manifesto.

3. What physically must an actor learn to localize in his body?

4. Describe the events of the last two acts of "The Conquest of Mexico."

5. What is Artaud's approach to the audience in the theater of cruelty?

6. In Artaud's first letter in "Letters on Cruelty," who is he writing to and what is his principle subject?

7. Describe the events of the first two acts of "The Conquest of Mexico."

8. In Artaud's "Letters on Language," he insists that the task of "mise en scène" must not be subordinated to spoken or written words as if this task was simply an accessory to theater. What does this mean?

9. What is the author's criticism of the performance he writes of in the second of "Two Notes"?

10. What does Artaud write in his "Letters on Language" regarding the psychology of characters?

(see the answer keys)

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