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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What, according to Burke, is most striking to this creative power of mind?
(a) Arguments of fairness in disagreements among social unequals.
(b) The potential value of an object.
(c) The quality of laughter in human communication.
(d) Comparing resemblances between or imitations of two distinct objects.

2. According to Burke, what will the result be of the long, close study of an object?
(a) A decreased interest in the object.
(b) An increased sense of anxiety.
(c) An increased sensibility of taste.
(d) A decreased feeling of pleasure.

3. What problem does Burke see with the contemporary notion of "taste?"
(a) The concept of taste is misunderstood and badly defined.
(b) Nobody Burke knows seems to have taste.
(c) It's principles have not been made uniform.
(d) Everyone pays too much attention to taste and not enough attention to reason.

4. Why are certain drugs enjoyable, according to Burke?
(a) Because people can get them for a low cost.
(b) Because people become accustomed to their pleasurable effects.
(c) Because the users have no idea of the potential harm of the drug.
(d) Because the users only take them for their healthy properties.

5. Why is imitation important, according to Burke?
(a) It allows us to learn in school.
(b) It facilitates comedy in the theater.
(c) It forms our manners and opinions.
(d) It is how we try to get closer to God.

6. What does Burke assert about sensory observation?
(a) That all people sense things in pretty much the same way.
(b) That sensory observation is of little importance to his discussion.
(c) That divergent sensory observations of the same object are natural.
(d) That sensory input varies widely between individuals.

7. What does Burke use as a common, but bad, example of infinity?
(a) A snake.
(b) A mountain.
(c) An ocean.
(d) A cross.

8. Which method of teaching does Burke think best?
(a) Referring obliquely to the subject in conversation with the learner.
(b) Allowing the learner to investigate the subject.
(c) Lecturing the learner on the subject.
(d) Testing the learner on the subject.

9. What term does Burke use to reflect uncertainty relative to the sublime?
(a) "Harsh."
(b) "Intermitting."
(c) "Random."
(d) "Steady."

10. When might the sublime be delightful?
(a) When one experiences it from a safe distance.
(b) When it truly threatens one's safety.
(c) When it fills the entirety of one's being.
(d) When one considers it intellectually.

11. Why is grief a part of pleasure, according to Burke?
(a) Because grief always gives way to laughter.
(b) Because grief reminds the individual that life continues.
(c) Because people actively and willfully grieve.
(d) Because all endings are beginnings.

12. What is the main manifestation of infinity Burke mentions?
(a) A frequently repeated idea or motion.
(b) A seemingly endless journey.
(c) A quiet walk in a grove of trees.
(d) A recurring dream or nightmare.

13. Why does Burke offer a second edition of "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?
(a) He wishes to expand and further illustrate his theories.
(b) He realizes that he could make more money selling a second edition.
(c) He wishes to change and contradict his own views.
(d) He wishes to directly challenge the criticism of the first edition.

14. What kind of colors are unfit to produce what Burke terms "grand images?"
(a) Jewel tones.
(b) Earth tones.
(c) Bold colors.
(d) Cheerful colors.

15. What, according to Burke, affects the passions and most incites admiration?
(a) That which is human made and manufactured.
(b) That with which we are closely acquainted.
(c) That which we know little or nothing about.
(d) That which can be explained in lay terms.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Burke define "magnificence?"

2. What, according to Burke, is the first and most simple emotion of the human mind?

3. What examples does Burke use to argue that some sights are pleasurable to all people?

4. Burke believes that "taste" arises from:

5. Into which two classes does Burke group the passions of society?

(see the answer keys)

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