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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. "The wheel" is spoken of time and time again. In one instance Becket says that "Only the fool, fixed in his folly, may think he can turn the wheel on which he turns." What is the idea of a wheel supposed to symbolize?
(a) Love.
(b) Fate.
(c) The Past.
(d) Death.

2. What is the first word that Becket speaks on his first entrance?
(a) Peace.
(b) Wait.
(c) Stay.
(d) No.

3. What ruler of England does the Second Priest refer to as "the stubborn King?"
(a) Richard I.
(b) Henry II.
(c) James I.
(d) Edward III.

4. What important message does the Messenger convey to the Priests?
(a) The Pope has excommunicated the King
(b) The Archbishop has arrived at the city.
(c) The King has ordered the execution of Thomas Becket.
(d) The Archbishop has left France.

5. How does the structure of the dialogue change during Becket's first temptation?
(a) The First Tempter speaks in verse.
(b) The play becomes one monologue.
(c) All of the characters speak in riddles.
(d) All of the characters other than Beckett fall silent.

6. According to the Third Tempter, what does friendship depend upon?
(a) Happiness.
(b) Peace.
(c) Time.
(d) Circumstance.

7. How does the chorus define its time in Canterbury since the Archbishop left seven years previous?
(a) Living and partly suffering.
(b) Dying and partly dying.
(c) Living and partly dying.
(d) Living and partly living.

8. Who are the first two characters who speak of "the wheel" on separate occasions?
(a) The First Priest and the Second Priest.
(b) The First Priest and the First Tempter.
(c) The Chorus and Thomas Becket.
(d) The Third Priest and Thomas Becket.

9. After the first scene featuring the three Priests, the Chorus speaks again. What do they wish the Archbishop to do?
(a) Bless them.
(b) Make peace with the King.
(c) Turn the wheel.
(d) Return to France.

10. How many visitors did Beckett expect?
(a) One.
(b) None.
(c) Four.
(d) Three.

11. What idea does the Fourth Tempter repeat that Beckett voiced on his first entrance?
(a) Life is suffering and suffering is death.
(b) Suffering is life and life is action.
(c) Action is suffering and suffering is action.
(d) Everything is suffering and suffering is everthing.

12. What does the First Priest believe was Becket's character flaw that ultimately brought an end to his friendship with the King?
(a) Pride.
(b) Laziness.
(c) Self-loathing.
(d) Cowardliness.

13. What metaphor does the Third Priest use to compare the relationship between the King and the Archbishop?
(a) A rock and a hard place.
(b) A hammer and an anvil.
(c) Fire and water.
(d) A wolf and a sheep.

14. What does the Chorus claim is their purpose in the action of the play?
(a) To prevent a murder.
(b) To warn Thomas Becket.
(c) To serve the Priests of the Cathedral.
(d) To witness the events and take no action.

15. Fill in the blank: "I leave you to the pleasure of your __________, Which will have to be paid for at ______________."
(a) lies; the end.
(b) life; your strife.
(c) higher vices; higher prices.
(d) piety; reckoning.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is it that the Second Tempter offers Becket?

2. What is not one of the events of the past seven years that the Chorus describes?

3. What position did Becket resign when he was made Archbishop?

4. According to the information in the opening monologue, how many years have passed since the Archbishop has left the city?

5. What character(s) opens the play with the first monologue?

(see the answer keys)

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