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King Louis XIV famously boasted, “I am the state” (Theatre Histories 214). His claim is indicative of a rule of absolutism in France that produced a monopoly by monarchs and religious institutions to control the populace. Absolutism in the theatre led the censorship of theatrical expression, which in turn prompted theatrical innovation since only what was approved by the state could be produced. Using a specific example of your choice, identify and explain how absolutism contributed to either limiting or expanding theatrical expression or innovation, and connect this example to practices of limiting and/or expanding innovation found today. You do not have to limit your response to absolutism in France.
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Having read the Loa to The Divine Narcissus by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, analyze (using specific examples) how it functions as a commentary on the success of Spanish religious conquest of indigenous Americans and why this play, and its author, remain important to the Americas and theatre studies today.
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