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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. In his first letter from "Letters on Language," Artaud writes "It seems, in brief, that the highest possible idea of the theater is one that reconciles us philosophically with _____."

2. What second film does Artaud mention in his first note of "Two Notes"?

3. Artaud writes of "a seventh state which is beyond breath and which, through the door of the highest ____, the state of Sattva, joins the manifest to the non-manifest."

4. Of whose performance does Artaud write in his second note of "Two Notes"?

5. Of the performer in Artaud's second note, he writes, "His spectacle demonstrates the irresistible expressiveness of" what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

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

6. Discuss Artaud's feelings about the cinema as he describes them in "The Theater of Cruelty."

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Artaud's description of the plague which St. Remys avoided in Artaud's first chapter. What does this story illuminate in terms of the world of art?

Essay Topic 2

In "The Theater of Cruelty: First Manifesto," Artaud discusses the need for a "new language" for the theater as "a metaphysics of speech, gesture, and expression, in order to rescue it from its servitude to psychology and "human interest." What does he mean by this?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the term "metaphysics." Define this term and relate how the author uses it regarding the theater.

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