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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 is Mrs. Martin's first name in The Bald Soprano?

2. How many strokes does the "English clock" strike at the beginning of The Bald Soprano?

3. Whose mother courted Mr. Smith in The Bald Soprano?

4. In The Lesson, the professor says that "our contemporary life has become most" what?

5. What is the first story told by the fire chief in The Bald Soprano?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the Smiths and Martins do after the fire chief has left?

2. What object does the professor take from the shelf? What does he do with it?

3. Which objects in The Lesson are "real?" Which are not?

4. Describe the doorbell in The Bald Soprano.

5. What do the Smiths and Martins respond to the fire chief? What does he do afterward?

6. How does the professor attempt to teach the pupil arithmetic?

7. Describe the fire chief's arrival in The Bald Soprano.

8. What does the professor do after the death of the pupil?

9. Discuss the differences between The Bald Soprano and the other plays in the collection.

10. How does the ending of The Lesson relate to the other plays' endings in the collection?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare the characters of the old man and the old woman in the play, The Chairs. In what ways do they differ? What are their similarities?

Essay Topic 2

What is the author's overall message in these plays? What does this have to do with Absurdism and Existentialism? What is Ionesco's philosophy on life and its meaning?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss satire in The Bald Soprano. How does this apply to the language in the play? How was it originated?

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