Week 10 Quiz

Which of the following BEST characterizes di Somi's observation on acting?

Act naturally

Which of the following is NOT a position advocated by the Neoclassical critics?

Although the three "unities" were important to Aristotle, writers should feel free to disregard them if they felt it inhibited their individual creativity

What of the following is NOT true of commedia dell'arte?

Commedia performers saw themselves as learned amateurs

Which of the following do we NOT associate with the Renaissance?

Commitment above all else to a life of spiritual contemplation

"Vitruvian Man" is an example of how Renaissance art would often draw on medieval art for both its style and content.

False

Although Renaissance painting embraced perspective, the theater largely rejected it as impossible to replicate in scenic design.

False

Commedia was the first dramatic form in Europe in which women were treated equally to male performers, making it a breakthrough in the liberation of women.

False

Form the performer's point of the view, the aim of commedia was to impress the audience with one's mastery of as many widely different character types as possible.

False

Italian theaters were much closer in design to medieval theaters than they were to Roman theaters.

False

Medieval artists didn't incorporate accurate perspective in their work because they didn't yet understand the concept.

False

Proscenium arches are often very popular in the modern theater because they promote intimacy between between the audience and performer.

False

Renaissance humanism encouraged people to break free from their allegiance to the state and society, and, for the first time, pursue lives of unrestrained individualism.

False

Serlio's three stage settings caused an uproar with critics, who thought they were an insult to decorum.

False

The "Pole-and-chariot" system allowed for larger and more elaborate designs, but made scene changing a lot more difficult and less efficient than earlier wing changing systems.

False

The Crivelli and di Paolo paintings show a similar appreciation for perspective; they differ mainly in their interpretations of Christian theology.

False

The Neoclassical Ideal had a huge influence on the Italian opera, and an even bigger one on playwrights in Shakespearean England.

False

The neoclassical critics encouraged playwrights to mix comedy and tragedy in the hopes this would invigorate Italian theater.

False

The periaktoi was a scenic system in which a flat was slid into place along a groove in the stage floor.

False

The reason the Italians gave up on angled wings is that they couldn't figure out a way to change the scenery using them.

False

In the clip from The Black Robe, what BEST characterizes the reaction of the two Native American characters toward the demonstration of writing?

Mistrustful

Which of the following is NOT an area of the theater in which the Renaissance Italians made lasting and innovative contributions?

Playwriting

According to the Neoclassical Ideal, the characters should be rewarded if they followed behavior appropriate their place in the social order and suffer if they didn't

True

Italian Renaissance plays tended to be more imitative than original.

True

La Mandragola (The Mandrake) is referenced in the lecture as a rare example of an Italian play from the Renaissance whose popularity survived into modern times.

True

One important Renaissance development was a new emphasis on scientific investigation over superstition.

True

The Brian Donors clip is included as an example of modern-day lazzi.

True

The Duccio and Van Eyck paintings are included in the lecture because they illuminate key contrasts between medieval and Renaissance world views.

True

The Monteverdi and Verdi opera clips are included in the lecture to draw a contrast between early Renaissance opera and later Grand Opera.

True

The lecture mentions Arab culture to make the point that Western culture isn't always as further developed compared to other parts of the world as it likes to believe.

True

The lecture uses the Duck Soup clip to make a point about how power relationships between characters can affect perceptions of what is comedic.

True

The seating arrangement in the public opera houses of Venice placed a greater emphasis on class distinction than the seating in the court and academy theaters.

True

Which of the following is LEAST true of the Renaissance idea of imitation?

Writing should always strive to mirror "real life"

One of the main points the lecture makes about Aminta is that

it was written for a different kind of audience than Shakespeare was writing for in England at around the same time

The What's Opera, Doc? clip is included in the lecture to

show that art that takes itself seriously leave itself open to parody

According to the neoclassical critics, a playwright was expected to

teach a moral lesson through his plays