Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Act I

Reading Check

1. How does Martha respond when George asks why the guests are coming over so late?

2. What does George accuse Martha of doing “all the time?”

3. Which attribute does Martha like most about George?

4. Which departments are George and Nick in?

5. What happened to the professor who died in the cafeteria?

6. What is Albee’s stage direction for Martha’s re-entrance to her guests?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who are Nick and Honey? How does Martha describe them to George?

2. After Nick and Honey arrive, George uses two objects to reference Martha’s mental state. What are these objects and how do they correlate to her mind?

3. What does the audience learn about Martha’s father? How has he brought the current group of guests together?

4. Describe the mood of the conversation between George and Nick. What does Nick try to do and how does George respond?

5. What two pieces of information does Honey share upon her re-entrance to the men’s conversation? How does George react?

6. What is the state of the group by the end of the Act? Summarize the conversation topics, as well as which conversation topic is particularly triggering for George.

Paired Resources

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Opening Credits and First Line (1966)”

• Director Mike Nichols’s 1966 film adaptation of Albee’s play stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. This four-minute video shows George and Martha walking through the beautiful university setting by moonlight as the film opens.
• The opening of the film introduces the theme of Blurring Lines Between Truth and Illusion.
• How does the contrast between the university setting and Martha’s opening line set up the theme of Blurring Lines Between Truth and Illusion?

“Explore the Works of Edward Albee: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

• The Edward Albee Society provides a summary of the play, as well as brief analysis of the major themes, the play’s reception, and some of the textual changes Albee made to the script.
• This source touches on the themes of the play: The Nuclear Family, The Tension Between Generations, and Blurring Lines Between Truth and Illusion.
• How was the play first received? Describe some of the challenges it faced as well as how critics reviewed Albee’s work.

Act II

Reading Check

1. Why did Nick marry Honey?

2. What object does George call his son?

3. According to George, what is the way to power?

4. What phrase does Martha use to refer to Nick as she speaks to George?

5. Which phrase does Honey chant while Martha tells Nick the story of George’s novel?

6. What do George and Martha declare upon each other?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe “the grandest day” of George’s youth. What question does Nick ask afterward, and how does George respond?

2. Summarize the conversation between George and Nick about their wives. What do they learn about each other’s spouses? Is this information true or not?

3. Describe the scene where the characters dance. Who do they dance with? What discussion makes the atmosphere heated?

4. What is the game “Get the Guests?” How do Martha, Nick and Honey react to this game?

5. How does Martha “entertain” Nick? Describe what George is doing during this “entertainment.”

6. What does George surmise from Honey’s behavior? Based on their conversation, what plan does he concoct?

Paired Resources

“Virginia Woolf”

• Yale University provides a succinct overview of author Virginia Woolf.
• The use of this author’s name in the play speaks to the larger theme of Blurring Lines Between Truth and Illusion.
• Considering the above information as well as outside research, why would Albee include this particular author’s name in his play?

“The Politics of Virginia Woolf”

• This article from the Steppenwolf Theatre Company examines the historical context of the Cold War on Albee’s play (note: this Paired Resource connects with the second Full Essay Assignment).
• The article connects with the themes of the play: The Nuclear Family, The Tension Between Generations, and Blurring Lines Between Truth and Illusion.
• Based on the text as well as the above resource, what are some of the context clues that this play takes place during the Cold War?

Act III

Reading Check

1. What words does Martha use to describe Nick’s “performance”?

2. Who is the only man who has made Martha happy?

3. What does Martha say that George does not know the difference between?

4. What does George say is the last layer to “peel,” under the bone?

5. Which foreign language does George begin to chant while Martha speaks?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What task does Martha ask Nick to do? Describe how he responds to her demand.

2. What is Nick’s response to George’s line: “You must not call everything a lie, Martha. Must she?” What subject does Martha believe that George is lying about?

3. Which subject does George begin talking about that makes Martha uneasy? Summarize what he shares and how the guests react.

4. What piece of “news” does George share with the group? Explain why he made the decision to share this news.

5. When do Nick and Honey finally leave George and Martha’s home? Summarize their exit as well as the final scene of the play.

Recommended Next Reads 

The American Dream by Edward Albee

• Albee’s 1961 play, which predates Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, criticizes the expectations of childrearing within the context of The American Dream.
• Shared themes include The Nuclear Family, The Tension Between Generations, and Blurring Lines Between Truth and Illusion.
• Shared topics include childrearing and childlessness, The American Dream, and social expectations between generations.       

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

• Beckett’s 1952 play, considered one of the most famous plays of Theater of the Absurd, centers on two characters' time as they wait for a man named Godot.
• Shared themes include Blurring Lines Between Truth and Illusion.
• Shared topics include Theater of the Absurd and important mid-20th century plays and playwrights.
• Waiting for Godot on SuperSummary