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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 are the two slaves collecting for their master's beetle at the start of Peace?

2. What is Strepsiades doing to convince Pheidippides to stop betting?

3. What happened to the Acharnians' farms before the play begins?

4. Who is being tried in the makeshift court Bdelycleon in his house at the end of The Wasps?

5. Who is going to war while Dicaeopolis is at the contest?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Peace, why do you think Trygaeus thought peace was dead?

2. In Peace, what prevented peace form coming back according to Trygaeus and Hermes?

3. In what way does Pheidippides change after finishing his training in The Clouds?

4. Where does Strepsiades want to enroll his son Pheidippides in The Clouds?

5. Why is Cleon portrayed as a betraying slave in The Knights?

6. How does Aristophanes portray the Athenian political system in The Knights?

7. What does Philocleon do before the arrival of The Wasps?

8. Why is Strepsiades expelled shortly after his enrollment at the school in The Clouds?

9. What reversal of fortune does Philocleon experience at the end of The Wasps?

10. Why are Demosthenes and Nicias portrayed as slaves in The Knights?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Although the Birds intertwine comedy and fantasy, the play makes philosophical statements about the human condition, including acceptance of one's reality. Taking this statement, explain how Aristophanes examines this condition and what he concludes.

Essay Topic 2

Take one of the Aristophanes' other plays and discuss how Frogs deviates from the pattern created in his earlier works. Why does Aristophanes stray from his pattern? Students may use secondary sources and examples from the book to support the discussion.

Essay Topic 3

Compare Assemblywomen with one of the other plays featuring women, such as Lysistrata. Discuss the similarities and differences in theme, tone and other elements of each of the plays.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 704 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample