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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 the "distinct poetic state of mind" which Artaud terms for the film he discusses in "Two Notes"?
(a) Comedy.
(b) Realism.
(c) Absurdism.
(d) Surrealism.

2. In his first letter from "Letters on Cruelty," Artaud claims that "it is understood that life is always" what?
(a) Bloodshed.
(b) Murder.
(c) Cruel.
(d) Someone's death.

3. What does the author say of "Works" in his first manifesto?
(a) They will reinvent classics.
(b) They will not perform written plays.
(c) They will elicit new playwrights.
(d) They will perform classical plays.

4. Of whose performance does Artaud write in his second note of "Two Notes"?
(a) The Marx Brothers.
(b) Jean-Louis Barrault.
(c) Buster Keaton.
(d) Charlie Chaplin.

5. Artaud claims that it is certainly with his ____ that the actor thinks.
(a) Heart.
(b) Mind.
(c) Body.
(d) Breath.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Artaud write of the set for the Theater of Cruelty?

2. Artaud claims in his first manifesto that Occidental theater should look at _____ theater for inspiration.

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

4. In his second note of "Two Notes," the author writes "When an atmosphere is so transformed that a hostile audience is suddenly and blindly immersed and invincibly disarmed, it must be hailed as _____."

5. In his first manifesto, the author writes "Every spectacle will contain a physical and ______ element, perceptible to all."

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the stage as described by Artaud in his First Manifesto.

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

3. What is Artaud's subject of his second note in "Two Notes"?

4. 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?

5. Describe the importance and role of the actor in Artaud's Theater of Cruelty, as he describes in the First Manifesto.

6. What movie does Artaud use in comparison to his main subject in the first note of "Two Notes"? What does he write of American filmmakers?

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

8. To whom is Artaud's third letter written in "Letters on Cruelty"? What is the author's tone in this letter? Why?

9. What does Artaud write of in his third letter of "Letters on Language," which follows the publication of his Manifesto?

10. Discuss how Artaud's time and place impact his vision of the theater.

(see the answer keys)

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