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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who does Becket say saved him from the wrath of his enemies?
2. What metaphor does the Third Priest use to compare the relationship between the King and the Archbishop?
3. According to the Third Tempter, what does friendship depend upon?
4. What does the First Priest compare the women of Canterbury to?
5. What position did Becket resign when he was made Archbishop?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Becket ask his flock to remember?
2. How long has Thomas Becket been away from Canterbury? Why has he chosen to stay away for so long?
3. What does Thomas Becket do to attempt to have a safe passage back into England?
4. What is the Interlude?
5. What does Becket decide to do by the end of Part I?
6. How do the Priests define the meaning of "to-day?"
7. What is the part of King Henry II in the play and what is his relationship with Becket?
8. In his address to the audience, the Third Knight claims that they are "perfectly disinterested." What does he mean?
9. What is life like for the Chorus of women in Canterbury?
10. Taking into consideration the many opportunities to escape his fate, his many followers begging him to change course, and Becket's own prideful nature, why would Becket choose the path of martyrdom?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
There are many references to "The wheel" in Murder in the Cathedral. Much lore from Ancient Greece and the Middle ages reference the wheel when speaking of a wheel turning as a metaphor of man's fate, fortune and predestination.
1) What part does Becket believe Fate and Destiny play in the final days of his life?
2) How much of this is God's work according to Becket? What are Becket's feeling towards God's actions?
3) What do you believe? It is fate or chance that helped play out Becket's final days as illustrated in Murder in the Cathedral? Feel free to use examples from your own encounters with what you believe to be fate.
Essay Topic 2
Becket once enjoyed the perks of exercising power in a major political office. One of Becket's major vices is his pride. By his entrance into the world of Murder in the Cathedral, Becket forgoes secular power to the power of the Church's law, the law of the Pope and the law of God. A major theme throughout Murder in the Cathedral is the Battle between the church and the state.
1) Using examples from the text, how did King Henry II and Thomas Becket conjoin politics and religion? How effective were their actions?
2) Historically, what are some examples of the politics of government interfering in the affairs of the church (and vice versa)? Compare these examples to the themes of the play.
Essay Topic 3
Look at one of T.S. Eliot's most famous poems, The Hollow Men ( Found online at http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/784/). Read it several times. Now search through Murder in the Cathedral and choose one of the Chorus' speeches. Compare and contrast Eliot's writing style, elements and themes in his works. What are some of the poetic tools Eliot repeats in his monologues? How are the rhythms the same? How are they different?
This section contains 1,042 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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