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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. Why is Andromache jealous of Polyxena?

2. What has happened to the Trojan widows after their army was defeated?

3. Why is Pyrrhus angry at Agamemnon?

4. What does the old shepherd reveal to Oedipus about his parentage?

5. For whom do Hecuba and the chorus lament, though they say nothing will ever adequately express their loss?

Short Essay Questions

1. How and why does Jocasta commit suicide?

2. How does Ulysses trick Andromache at Hector's tomb and why?

3. Why is Oedipus summoned back to Corinth and why is he reluctant to go?

4. How did Oedipus become king of Thebes?

5. Why is Creon reluctant to give Oedipus the information from Laius' ghost?

6. What do the shepherd and the messenger reveal to Oedipus about his past?

7. For what reasons does Agamemnon claim to forgo sacrificing a maiden?

8. What does Oedipus reveal about his journey to Thebes in the fourth act?

9. Who is Hector and why is he important to the Trojans and Greeks?

10. Describe Hecuba's mocking of the Greeks throughout "Troades."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In a brief essay, discuss the role that courage plays in "Troades." Develop a clear thesis statement and cite specific examples from the text to support your answers. Points to consider include (though not exclusively) Andromache's attempts to hide Astyanax, Hecuba's defiance and frequent insults to the Greeks, and the deaths of Astyanax and Polyxena.

Essay Topic 2

How is justice handled in a Senecan tragedy? Discuss this in the following format:

Part 1) Atreus and Thyestes.

Part 2) The death of Hippolytus and Phaedra's suicide.

Part 3) Polyxena and Astyanax.

Part 4) Octavia's fate.

Part 5) Tantalus.

Essay Topic 3

What is significant about the roles love and hate play in Seneca's work? How is this embodied by Thyestes and Atreus? How does both hate and love appear to drive Nero from "Octavia"? What tends to be the result of any hate in these plays? What does this suggest about Seneca's views on society and people? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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