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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part III, Sections I - VIII.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In which instance are feelings productive of the sublime?
(a) When the feelings are of pain or anguish.
(b) When the feelings are of love and desire.
(c) When the feelings are of delight and joy.
(d) When the feelings are of confusion and depression.

2. How does Burke define "beauty?"
(a) As a necessary ingredient of the sublime.
(b) As the ultimate object of human desires.
(c) As a worthless obsession of a vapid society.
(d) As those qualities which inspire love or a similar passion.

3. Burke asserts that vastness of dimension is as sublime as:
(a) Vivid, intense color.
(b) Regular, even sounds.
(c) Lightly textured surfaces.
(d) Minuteness of size.

4. Why, as Burke argues, are humans "more inclined to belief than to incredulity?"
(a) Because believing makes it easier to get along with others in the social-contract model of society.
(b) Because believing something is easy, whereas not believing is more difficult.
(c) Because belief engages the imagination pleasantly, while incredulity is naturally negative.
(d) Because God is born in all of us, so we have a natural inclination to believe in him.

5. What, according to Burke, is responsible for common deviations in natural taste?
(a) A willingness to deceive others.
(b) Confusion of the mind.
(c) Humankind's natural curiosity.
(d) Custom and habit.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Burke use as an example of difficulty as greatness?

2. Why is imitation important, according to Burke?

3. Which of the following does Burke assert about beauty?

4. What does Burke say is the primary passion ignited by the sublime?

5. What are sources of the "sublime?"

(see the answer key)

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