CLEP Humanities : Identifying Titles, Authors, or Schools of Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Drama

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Identifying Titles, Authors, Or Schools Of Drama

Who was the playwright who wrote The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and The Miser?

Possible Answers:

Moliere

Albert Camus

Voltaire

John Dryden

John Vanbrugh

Correct answer:

Moliere

Explanation:

Moliere helped popularize and develop theater during the seventeenth century by combining elaborate and genteel French comedy styles with the broader and more jovial Italian commedia dell'arte. Moliere's works such as The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and The Miser all were essentially farces that mocked upper-class values, religious people, and social habits. These elements made Moliere equally controversial and influential in subsequent centuries.

Example Question #2 : Identifying Titles, Authors, Or Schools Of Drama

"Restoration comedy" is a variety of play written in which country during the seventeenth century?

Possible Answers:

France

Germany

Italy

England

Scotland

Correct answer:

England

Explanation:

The "Restoration" in "Restoration comedies" refers to the return of the monarchy to England under the Stuart King Charles II. Following the deeply Puritan Commonwealth of Oliver Cromwell, which banned all forms of theater and celebrations, theater companies and audiences found a taste for bawdy and over-the-top comedies that featured outlandish characters and bizarre situations.

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