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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 musical metaphor does Roxane use to describe love in Scene 5?

2. What does Cyrano give to Christian at the end of Scene 10?

3. Under what name did Roxane go when she was younger?

4. Where does Cyrano go onstage in Scene 12?

5. In Scene 6, what does Roxane say she would do if her beloved were stupid?

Short Essay Questions

1. What news does Roxane tell Cyrano in Scene 6?

2. Why does Cyrano decide to convince Roxane to kiss Christian?

3. How do Cyrano and Christian intend to speak to Roxane at the end of Scene 6?

4. How is Christian resistant to Cyrano in Scene 4?

5. What job is Cyrano given in Scene 12?

6. Why does Cyrano truly detest Montfleury?

7. What is the Comte de Guiche's treachery against Ligniere?

8. Describe Lise.

9. Describe the scene created when Ragueneau's poets enter the shop.

10. What requests does Roxane make of Cyrano before leaving in Scene 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the dynamic between Cyrano and the Comte de Guiche. Use the several insults that Cyrano deal de Guiche throughout the play as framework for the essay. Why does Cyrano deal the nobleman these slights, and how does de Guiche respond? Who pays for these slights? Does either man ultimately change as a result of this dynamic?

Essay Topic 2

Much of the conflict in Cyrano de Bergerac seems to stem from individuals - Valvert, de Guiche, Christian - but the true conflict in the play is rooted in a more ethereal struggle, one of honor versus selfishness and expediency. Write an essay about this struggle, using Cyrano's final tirade as a frame. How has he combated his ancient enemies, and how does this combat manifest itself in the whole of the plot? In what way does Cyrano represent honor in its raw form?

Essay Topic 3

Within the overall arc of the love triangle among Cyrano, Roxane, and Christian, Rostand's play seems to contain many smaller plays within it. Each act of Cyrano de Bergerac contains a different tone to it, from broad farce, to military drama, to elegy. Write an essay about three of the five acts. What common themes do they have? How are they different in tone?

(see the answer keys)

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