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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. Artaud writes, "it is the _______ that is the theater much more than the written and spoken play."

2. Artaud writes that Occidental theater is a theater of what?

3. Artaud maintains that since classics texts--what we generally call masterpieces--were made in the past, they are only good for what?

4. What sense has contemporary theater lost, according to Artaud?

5. Artaud writes, "Compared with the murderer's fury which exhausts itself, that of the ______ remains enclosed within a perfect circle."

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Artaud associate culture and art?

2. What reality should the theater reflect, according to the author in "The Alchemical Theater"?

3. What does Artaud write of change and civilization regarding the theater in "No More Masterpieces"?

4. What is the meaning behind the title of "The Theater and Its Double"?

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

6. What is the "perversion" of the theater of the west, according to the author?

7. In "Oriental and Occidental Theater," how does Artaud describe the downfall of the West?

8. What is the principle limitation of the current theater, as described by the author in "Metaphysics and the Mise en Scene"?

9. What does Artaud write about the message of the painting he describes in "Metaphysics and the Mise en Scene"?

10. What does Artaud write of civilization and culture in his Preface?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "The Alchemical Theater," the author uses another metaphor. Describe this metaphor as it applies to the theater.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the concept of "archetypes." What is an archetype? How does Artaud envision their use in the theater?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of gesture in the Oriental Theater versus the Occidental Theater. In what ways are they different? Which vision did Artaud prefer and why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 843 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample