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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) Comparing resemblances between or imitations of two distinct objects.
(b) The potential value of an object.
(c) Arguments of fairness in disagreements among social unequals.
(d) The quality of laughter in human communication.

2. What examples does Burke use to prove that people agree upon sensory observations?
(a) Feelings of sharp or soft.
(b) Sudden, loud sounds as opposed to quiet, soft sounds.
(c) The pleasantness or unpleasantness of certain thoughts.
(d) The tastes of sweet, bitter, and sour.

3. What does Burke warn his readers about in the Second Preface?
(a) His book will challenge their core values.
(b) His book will contain faults.
(c) His book may make them angry.
(d) His book may be construed as unpatriotic.

4. 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 directly challenge the criticism of the first edition.
(b) He wishes to change and contradict his own views.
(c) He wishes to expand and further illustrate his theories.
(d) He realizes that he could make more money selling a second edition.

5. In Burke's opinion, at what depiction do painters most notably fail?
(a) The depiction of lovers.
(b) The depiction of the sea.
(c) The depiction of nobility.
(d) The depiction of hell.

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

7. What example does Burke offer to show his ideas on the effects of tragedy?
(a) A mother and father losing their infant to an early death.
(b) A mass-murderer terrorizing the city.
(c) London being destroyed by an earthquake.
(d) The shocking regicide of the monarch.

8. What is Burke's argument that infinity exists in pleasing objects?
(a) Infinity itself is a pleasant concept, so an infinite object must be pleasant.
(b) Humans are pleased by the unlimited potential of these objects.
(c) The only truly pleasing object is the night sky, which is truly infinite.
(d) Pleasantness is a feeling that goes on forever within our minds.

9. How do smells and tastes become sublime most effectively?
(a) When combined with eating and drinking.
(b) When moderated through narrative and description.
(c) When they occur when one is in a dreaming state.
(d) When mediated through art.

10. What problem does Burke find with merely defining a term like "taste?"
(a) Taste is only an idea, not a reality, so it cannot be defined or described.
(b) People may disagree with and contest his definition.
(c) There is a danger of confining and limiting the term to our present understanding.
(d) The process of defining the term may go on forever, and become overwhelming.

11. To which human faculty does "taste" belong?
(a) To the passions.
(b) To the soul.
(c) To the imagination.
(d) To the will.

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

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

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

15. What does Burke hope will be the result of his "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?
(a) Readers will be well-versed in the scientific method.
(b) Readers will learn to control their passions when in specific social settings.
(c) Readers will leave the sciences behind in favor of imagination and passion.
(d) Readers will apply principles of taste and passion to the otherwise severe sciences.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Which example does Burke use in his discussion in Section VIII about infinity?

3. What literary example does Burke give as representative of magnificence?

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

5. What does Burke assert is necessary for the success of "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?

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