The Praise of Folly Short Essay Assignments

Short Essay Questions

The 60 short essay questions listed in this section require a one to two sentence answer. They ask students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the text. Students must describe what they've read, rather than just recall it.

Short Essay Question - Preface

1. Where was Erasmus when he was writing The Praise of Folly?

2. Why did Erasmus dedicate his book to Thomas More?

3. Did Erasmus anticipate criticism for his book? Why or why not?

4. Did Erasmus consider The Praise of Folly too frivolous for a theologian?

5. Why did Erasmus consider it unjust not to allow relaxations to those in the academic world?

6. In his Prefatory Letter, why did Erasmus marvel at the sensitivity of present-day ears?

7. In...
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