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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. "When the poetic spirit is exercised, it always leads toward a kind of boiling ______, an essential disintegration of the real by poetry."
(a) Anarchy.
(b) Dissimilation.
(c) Freedom.
(d) Redemption.

2. Artaud claims that the psychological theater descended from whom?
(a) Jarry.
(b) Zola.
(c) Shakespeare.
(d) Racine.

3. According to Artaud, where does the great public look to along with the music hall or the circus for violent satisfactions?
(a) The movies.
(b) The opera.
(c) Television.
(d) The zoo.

4. Artaud writes, "At the point of deterioration which our sensibility has reached, it is certain that we need above all a theater that _________."
(a) Wakes us up.
(b) Frightens us.
(c) Enrages us.
(d) Enables us.

5. Who appears with his men like giants alongside their tiny vessels in Act 1 of Artaud's proposed production?
(a) Napoleon.
(b) D'Ablo.
(c) Cortez.
(d) Hurez.

6. In his first letter of "Letters on Language," Artaud insists that the task of ______ must not be subordinated to spoken or written words as if this task was simply an accessory to theater."
(a) Actor.
(b) Director.
(c) Playwright.
(d) Mise en scene.

7. In his second letter from "Letters on Language," Artaud states, "My plays have nothing to do with ______ improvisations."
(a) Racine's.
(b) Copeau's.
(c) Jarry's.
(d) Nietzsche's.

8. What is the first note titled in "Two Notes"?
(a) "The Marx Brothers."
(b) "Monkey Business."
(c) "The Last Motion Picture Show."
(d) "Thoughts on Film."

9. Artaud claims in his first letter of "Letters on Language" that while it still qualifies as "theater," a play which depends entirely on a scripted text is nothing but a _____ of theater.
(a) Bad attempt.
(b) Imitation.
(c) Perversion.
(d) Distraction.

10. Artaud claims that "everything that ____ is a cruelty."
(a) Acts.
(b) Exists.
(c) Dominates.
(d) Murders.

11. Of whose performance does Artaud write in his second note of "Two Notes"?
(a) Buster Keaton.
(b) The Marx Brothers.
(c) Jean-Louis Barrault.
(d) Charlie Chaplin.

12. In his Second Manifesto, Artaud writes that "the Theater of Cruelty will address itself only to _____ man.
(a) Modern.
(b) Subconscious.
(c) Ancient.
(d) Total.

13. To whom does the author write his third letter from "Letters on Cruelty"?
(a) J.P.
(b) Mme. Richeliou.
(c) Aguste Francois.
(d) M.R. de R.

14. What does Artaud write of the set for the Theater of Cruelty?
(a) Sets will be period-specific.
(b) Sets will be made of fabric.
(c) Sets will be elaborate.
(d) There will be no set.

15. In his first letter from "Letters on Language," Artaud writes "It seems, in brief, that the highest possible idea of the theater is one that reconciles us philosophically with _____."
(a) Becoming.
(b) Life.
(c) Death.
(d) Cruelty.

Short Answer Questions

1. To whom does the author address the second letter from "Letters on Cruelty"?

2. In his second letter of "Letters on Language," Artaud states that he finds the duality between author and _____ in the context of theater totally absurd, since there should be no difference between them."

3. According to Artaud, what the athlete depends upon in ______ is what the actor depends upon in shouting a passionate curse.

4. "The soul can be physiologically reduced to a skein of" what, according to the author?

5. Artaud claims in his first manifesto that Occidental theater should look at _____ theater for inspiration.

(see the answer keys)

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