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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which passion belongs under the heading of "self-preservation?"
(a) Desire.
(b) Anger.
(c) Pain.
(d) Sadness.

2. Why, according to Burke, is the idea of God sublime?
(a) Because the love generated in one's soul is all-consuming.
(b) Because the notion of so much power overwhelms the understanding.
(c) Because the intellectual response is weighty and considerable.
(d) Because the idea itself is not describable in words.

3. What is Burke's argument for the existence of the passion of ambition?
(a) Ambition incites jealousy and envy, which drive people to become violent.
(b) Ambition incites in people the drive to improve and excel so society will not stagnate.
(c) Ambition is the manifestation of the natural hierarchy of low humans to high humans.
(d) Ambition forces people to look within and question their inner selves.

4. What set of animals does Burke use as examples of power and the sublime?
(a) Birds, fish, and reptiles.
(b) Dogs, cats, and mice.
(c) Oxen, bulls, and horses.
(d) Elephants, buffalo, and giraffes.

5. What is the state between pleasure and pain, according to Burke?
(a) Joy.
(b) Indifference.
(c) Confusion.
(d) Anger.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Burke's opinion, at what depiction do painters most notably fail?

2. How does Burke define pain and pleasure?

3. According to Burke, what is more powerful than light at representing the sublime?

4. What example does Burke give for a sublime sound?

5. What colors appropriately represent the sublime?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the cause of a wrong taste, and what are examples of it?

2. Why, according to Burke, are the principles of reason and taste the same in all humans?

3. What is Burke's idea of "artificial infinity?"

4. Summarize Burke's definition of pain and pleasure.

5. What does Burke identify as the central tension between the imagination and the judgment?

6. Describe the passions belonging to society, as Burke introduces them.

7. What is the difference between taste and knowledge, according to Burke?

8. According to Burke, why can grief be considered pleasurable?

9. What, according to Burke, is sublime about religion?

10. What significance do obscurity and clarity have to the sublime?

(see the answer keys)

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