Contexts of American Plays

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AP English Literature and Composition › Contexts of American Plays

Questions 1 - 10
1

Which of the following literary devices does not appear in Angels in America?

Deus ex machina

Doubling

Religious allusions

Monologue

Hallucinatory visions

Explanation

Angels in America features doubling (one actor playing two or more roles), Biblical allusions and visitations from angels, monologues by several of the main characters, and hallucinatory visions. It does not include deus ex machina, which is a theatrical device whereby something unexpected and unexplained intervenes to fix a plot problem and drastically alter the course of the play. (A famous deus ex machina occurs in Hamlet in the form of the pirates.)

2

Which of the following literary devices does not appear in Angels in America?

Deus ex machina

Doubling

Religious allusions

Monologue

Hallucinatory visions

Explanation

Angels in America features doubling (one actor playing two or more roles), Biblical allusions and visitations from angels, monologues by several of the main characters, and hallucinatory visions. It does not include deus ex machina, which is a theatrical device whereby something unexpected and unexplained intervenes to fix a plot problem and drastically alter the course of the play. (A famous deus ex machina occurs in Hamlet in the form of the pirates.)

3

During what decade was Death of a Salesman first performed?

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

Explanation

This play not only premiered in but also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1949. If you didn’t know this, you could still eliminate some of the answer choices if you knew that Arthur Miller wasn’t born until 1915.

4

During what decade was Death of a Salesman first performed?

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

Explanation

This play not only premiered in but also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1949. If you didn’t know this, you could still eliminate some of the answer choices if you knew that Arthur Miller wasn’t born until 1915.

5

Which of the following is not a character in Death of a Salesman?

Martha

Willy Loman

Happy Loman

Miss Forsythe

Biff Loman

Explanation

Martha is a central character in Edward Albee’s 1962 play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and not in Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

6

Which of the following is not a character in Death of a Salesman?

Martha

Willy Loman

Happy Loman

Miss Forsythe

Biff Loman

Explanation

Martha is a central character in Edward Albee’s 1962 play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and not in Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

7

Who wrote A Raisin in the Sun?

Lorraine Hansberry

Tony Kushner

Tom Stoppard

August Wilson

Adrienne Kennedy

Explanation

Playwright Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) wrote A Raisin in the Sun (1959).Tony Kushner wrote Angels in America (1993). Tom Stoppard wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1966). August Wilson wrote Fences (1987). Adrienne Kennedy wrote A Lesson in Dead Language (1968). All of these authors are major award-winning, twentieth-century American playwrights.

8

Who wrote A Raisin in the Sun?

Lorraine Hansberry

Tony Kushner

Tom Stoppard

August Wilson

Adrienne Kennedy

Explanation

Playwright Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) wrote A Raisin in the Sun (1959).Tony Kushner wrote Angels in America (1993). Tom Stoppard wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1966). August Wilson wrote Fences (1987). Adrienne Kennedy wrote A Lesson in Dead Language (1968). All of these authors are major award-winning, twentieth-century American playwrights.

9

Who wrote Death of a Salesman?

Arthur Miller

Wendy Wasserstein

Lynn Nottage

Suzan-Lori Parks

Eugene O’Neill

Explanation

This author is Arthur Miller, an important American playwright and essayist. Miller is famous for being married to Marilyn Monroe and for testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee as well as for his significant contributions to American drama, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and various other honors.

10

Who wrote Death of a Salesman?

Arthur Miller

Wendy Wasserstein

Lynn Nottage

Suzan-Lori Parks

Eugene O’Neill

Explanation

This author is Arthur Miller, an important American playwright and essayist. Miller is famous for being married to Marilyn Monroe and for testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee as well as for his significant contributions to American drama, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and various other honors.

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