Deck 7: Theater

Question 1

The proscenium is important mainly because it

A) allows a character on stage to reveal her or his inner thoughts to the audience.
B) creates an invisible fourth wall that separates the audience from the actors.
C) identifies the moment when a character recognizes that tragic circumstances are her or his own fault.
D) provides a handy, if implausible, resolution to a difficult problem in a play.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

If you are watching a farce in pantomime that relies on stock characters, you are watching a work of

A) commedia dell'arte.
B) Greek comedy.
C) parody.
D) Shakespearean comedy.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

If you are attend a play from the eighteenth century that is performed in an elaborate indoor space, appeals to aristocratic tastes, presents a mythic story, and adheres to the unities, you are probably watching an example of

A) Elizabethan tragedy.
B) naturalism.
C) neoclassicism.
D) satire.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Shakespeare's most memorable comic character is

A) Jack Worthing.
B) Othello.
C) Sir John Falstaff.
D) Tartuffe.

Question 5

The classical idea that plays should present a single plot occurring in a single place within one day is called

A) naturalism.
B) the recognition scene.
C) the unities.
D) the well-made play.

Question 6

The technique in which past events are enacted rather than just described is called

A) exposition.
B) expressionism.
C) flashback.
D) subtext.

Question 7

A kind of play where every element of language or action advances the plot is a(n)

A) comedy of character.
B) well-made play.
C) agitprop.
D) farce.

Question 8

Which playwright and theatrical concept attempted to depict life only as it really is lived?

A) Anton Chekhov's naturalism
B) Aristotle's tragedy
C) Clifford Odet's agit-prop
D) Thornton Wilder's expressionism

Question 9

Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman can be considered a

A) commentary on the American dream.
B) critique of racial injustice in the 1950s.
C) representation of the lack of meaning in the world.
D) statement on gay rights in the 1980s.

Question 10

The soliloquy is important to drama because it

A) allows a character who is alone on stage to speak her or his thoughts aloud.
B) allows a group of characters to make a commentary on the action.
C) shows that a character recognizes the tragic circumstances are her or his own fault.
D) provides a handy, if implausible, resolution to a difficult problem in a play.

Question 11

The revelation through dialogue of necessary background information is called

A) exposition.
B) flashback.
C) subtext.
D) the recognition scene.

Question 12

Serious criticism aimed at the betterment of society but accomplished through laughter is called

A) comedy.
B) farce.
C) parody.
D) satire.

Question 13

If you attend a play in an open-air octagonal structure whose characters speak in verse and stage props are few, you are watching a(n)

A) commedia dell'arte.
B) Elizabethan drama.
C) Greek drama.
D) neoclassical drama.

Question 14

The main character in a tragedy whose fortunes the audience follows is the

A) catharsis.
B) deus ex machina.
C) proscenium.
D) protagonist.

Question 15

The conditions of theater that an audience accepts as standard or real are known as

A) conventions.
B) naturalism.
C) verisimilitude.
D) well-made plays.

Question 16

If you attend a play that features a Chorus and masked actors and has violence that occurs only offstage, you are probably watching a(n)

A) Elizabethan tragedy.
B) Greek tragedy.
C) neoclassical tragedy.
D) well-made play.

Question 17

The practice begun in the nineteenth century of making scenery and dialogue look and sound like the real world is called

A) naturalism.
B) the well-made play.
C) theatrical convention.
D) verisimilitude.

Question 18

Which kind of drama did Bertold Brecht develop, based on the belief that theater could bring about social change by presenting negative models?

A) agitprop theater
B) expressionism
C) naturalism
D) theater of alienation

Question 19

The play A Raisin in the Sun is about

A) disillusionment with American success.
B) gay rights in the 1980s.
C) racial issues in the 1950s.
D) the search for meaning in the modern world.

Question 20

Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound, which makes fun of the thriller genre, is an example of

A) commedia dell'arte.
B) farce.
C) parody.
D) satire.

Question 21

What is a melodrama?

Question 22

In the classical era, Aristotle believed plot was the most important of the six elements of tragedy (plot, character, thought, poetry, spectacle, song). Using three examples from the chapter, comment on whether you believe plot or some other element is most important feature of comedy.
I. Choose three examples of comedy.
II. Identify the most important feature of this drama (plot or something else).
III. Take a stance as to which element is the most important.
IV. Describe why that element is most important using evidence from the examples.

Question 23

What is expressionism?

Question 24

Regarding the six elements of tragedy (plot, character, thought, poetry, spectacle, song), Aristotle believed plot was the most important. Using three examples in the chapter from the twentieth century, comment on the extent to which this holds true for tragedies today. Decide which of the six elements you believe is the most important in tragedy and defend your stance.
I. Choose three examples from twentieth-century tragedies.
II. Identify the most important feature of these dramas (plot or something else).
III. Take a stance as to which element is the most important.
IV. Describe why that element is most important using evidence from the examples.

Question 25

What is the Chorus?

Question 26

The nineteenth century gave rise to a number of different theatrical developments. Complete the following sentence and use three examples to defend your answer: "The most important development in theater of the nineteenth century was . . . ."
I. Identify the most important theatrical development of the nineteenth century.
II. Choose three plays that embody this development.
III. Explain the significance of the development using examples from the three plays.

Question 27

What are groundlings?

Question 28

Using three examples from the section on modern drama, explain why Theater of Alienation was an important development in modern theater.
I. Define Theater of Alienation.
II. Name three modern dramas that reflect this development.
III. Describe their impact on theatrical development in Brecht's work and beyond.

Question 29

Write an essay contrasting three Greek and three Elizabethan theater conventions.
I. Name three of these conventions: chorus, stage conventions, unities, recognition scene, verse.
II. Give examples for each convention.
III. Explain the contrasts between the examples.

Question 30

What is a farce?