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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Burke, why is procreation pleasurable?
(a) Because the rest of life is terrible, and there must be at least one pleasurable thing in life.
(b) Because without some form of pleasure, society would devolve into warfare.
(c) To incite people to engage in it, since it is necessary to survival.
(d) To connect humans and animals in the realm of the senses.

2. According to Burke, what is more powerful than light at representing the sublime?
(a) Water.
(b) Darkness.
(c) Fire.
(d) Humanity.

3. What does Burke assert is necessary for the success of "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?
(a) To demonstrate his expansive knowledge of the passions.
(b) To make his readers agree with him.
(c) To debunk all outmoded notions of the sublime.
(d) To establish the principles of taste.

4. Why, according to Burke, do we delight in the tragedies of others?
(a) We are happy we are not the victims.
(b) This is a function of sympathy instilled in us by our Creator.
(c) All humans have a sadistic streak.
(d) There is little else in the world in which to delight.

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

6. What does Burke note about youth, as related to taste?
(a) That although judgments may not be sound, taste is excellent.
(b) That innocence does not equal ignorance.
(c) That youth is the province of true wisdom.
(d) That sensory pleasure is great while judgment is inaccurate.

7. How does Burke define "grief?"
(a) As the most desirable of the sensibilities because it is strong.
(b) As that feeling when an object is so lost that one can never enjoy it again.
(c) As one of many types of positive pain.
(d) As the natural state of relationships between all people.

8. What kinds of sounds does Burke say can be sublime?
(a) Soft, murmuring sounds.
(b) Bright, quick sounds.
(c) Excessively loud sounds.
(d) Melodious sounds.

9. Which of the following is one of the general privations Burke lists?
(a) Sleep.
(b) Hunger.
(c) Insanity.
(d) Darkness.

10. What example does Burke give for a sublime sound?
(a) Running water.
(b) Childish laughter.
(c) Artillery booming.
(d) Lapping waves.

11. How do sublime buildings look, according to Burke?
(a) Architecturally balanced.
(b) Dark and gloomy.
(c) Heavily built.
(d) Light and airy.

12. Burke believes that "taste" arises from:
(a) Passion.
(b) Reflection.
(c) Knowledge.
(d) Nature.

13. Why is suddenness sublime, according to Burke?
(a) Because that which is sudden is very interesting.
(b) Because the mind is suddenly put on its guard.
(c) Because the body's reaction is unpredictable.
(d) Because easy transitions are pleasant.

14. Which two ideas does Burke often find confused with one another?
(a) Liberty and patriotism.
(b) Fear and terror.
(c) Sublime and beauty.
(d) Picturesque and picaresque.

15. What natural powers in man does Burke say relate to external objects?
(a) The judgment, emotions, and the will.
(b) The senses, imagination, and judgment.
(c) The senses, passions, and the will.
(d) The imagination, passions, and the senses.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Burke define "strength?"

2. Why, as Burke argues, are humans "more inclined to belief than to incredulity?"

3. According to Burke, what will the result be of the long, close study of an object?

4. What problem does Burke find with merely defining a term like "taste?"

5. What is the same in all humans, according to Burke?

(see the answer keys)

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