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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. What does Lady Wishfort do when she enters her dressing room?

2. Why does Petulant hire three prostitutes?

3. Who is the least important male character in the play?

4. What is Sir Wilfull's relationship with Lady Wishfort?

5. What is a cabal?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the most important character in the play? Describe him.

2. Is Congreve being facetious when he says the play's purpose is to entertain the audience and not instruct them about life?

3. How does Congreve feel about Mirabell's plot?

4. Explain what Mrs. Marwood learned when she stayed in the closet in Lady Wishfort's dressing room. How does she react?

5. What is the relationship between Waitwell and Foible?

6. Congreve says the play doesn't contain satire yet the play is full of satirical pictures of different behaviors by the characters. Why do you think he made this statement?

7. In what way(s) is the play different from the usual farce audiences were accustomed to?

8. Why does Congreve believe that 'natural fools' are blessed by fortune?

9. Is Congreve's use of character names symbolic of their personalities an effective device?

10. Describe what we know about Mrs. Marwood at the beginning of Act 2, Scene 1.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How has Congreve worked to make us feel sympathetic to certain characters while having no sympathy for others? Explain your answer with specific examples from the play.

Essay Topic 2

How much are the characters molded by their time and place? Would the same characters act differently in modern society? What traits would remain the same and which ones would be replaced with other traits?

Essay Topic 3

In your opinion, who was the most successful character in achieving his or her goals in the play? Why have you chosen this character? Explain why you think this character succeeded where other failed.

(see the answer keys)

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