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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. Who brings Elizabeth to the greenhouse?

2. What is the second sound the audience hears in Act 1?

3. What does Claire push off the table?

4. What does Harry confide to the first house guest?

5. What does the second house guest have in his hand when he first arrives?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Harry angry the first time he appears onstage?

2. Claire agrees to unlock the door for Tom under what condition?

3. Claire's internal struggle indicates her desire for what?

4. At the end of Act 2, what does Claire ask of Dick while they embrace?

5. Describe the attitudes of Claire and Elizabeth when they first meet face to face in Act 1.

6. What does Harry tell Claire he plans to do regarding her mental health?

7. What does Harry realize when Claire runs to Dick?

8. Who is the first house guest to enter the greenhouse, and what is his first topic of conversation?

9. What is Dr. Emmons' diagnosis and recommendation regarding Claire?

10. What is the significance of the names of the three men in this play who have been Claire's love interests?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How are light and sound used to forward the plot and atmosphere of "The Verge"?

Essay Topic 2

Is Claire, a clear failure as a wife and mother, a suitable role model for women of the time period? Why does the playwright choose to make her protagonist act so coldly toward her family?

Essay Topic 3

Research and discuss the historical context of this play. What rights were denied to women at the time, and what rights or choices did some women of the time seek to gain?

(see the answer keys)

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