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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which example does Burke use to support his argument regarding the nature of darkness?
(a) A person who grew afraid of his own shadow.
(b) A blind boy who regains his sight.
(c) A dim, murky forest fraught with danger.
(d) A solar eclipse that frightened townsfolk.

2. Why does Burke use the example of Campanella?
(a) To demonstrate the perils of a lack of taste.
(b) To pose the question of having only one valid definition of the sublime.
(c) To illustrate the connection between mind and body.
(d) To argue for the existence of God.

3. Who was Campanella, and for what was he famous?
(a) He was an artist and poet famous for his depictions of ancient Greece and Rome.
(b) He was a statesman famous for brokering deals between opposing parties.
(c) He was a soldier-sailor famous for acts of bravery at a crucial battle.
(d) He was a monk famous for mimicking the facial expressions of others.

4. How does this body part produce the sense of the sublime, according to Burke?
(a) By stretching to its fullest extent in response to fear.
(b) By becoming full and corpulent with the immensity of the sublime.
(c) By vibrating more or less depending on the sublimity of the object.
(d) By contracting and relaxing due to electrical stimuli.

5. What, according to Burke, is the state of a man whose teeth are set and whose forehead is wrinkled?
(a) Terrible wrath.
(b) Complete confusion.
(c) Great pain.
(d) Utter delight.

6. Burke contrasts smoothness to __________ in his discussion of beauty.
(a) Stickiness.
(b) Roughness.
(c) Softness.
(d) Opacity.

7. What passage does Burke offer as an example of the effect of words?
(a) A description of the Danube river.
(b) A travel account of Syria.
(c) A satirical essay about religion.
(d) A monologue from a dramatic production.

8. What example does Burke use in his argument that perfection is not the cause of beauty?
(a) A scenic mountain view that, though broken by heavy clouds, is beautiful.
(b) The industrious bustle of a market town or busy port can be called beautiful.
(c) Flowers whose wayward stalks or blooms are expressions of beauty.
(d) Women whose imperfections and weaknesses make them beautiful.

9. Which is one of the examples Burke cites to demonstrate the sublime in poetry?
(a) A description of Helen of Troy.
(b) A love poem to Aphrodite.
(c) An elegy on the death of Milton.
(d) A ballad about the battle of Culloden.

10. What sense does Burke use to illustrate the artificial infinite?
(a) Sight.
(b) Sound.
(c) Touch.
(d) Smell.

11. According to Burke, why is sweetness pleasing?
(a) Because sweetness is a rare, and thus satisfying, sensation.
(b) Because sweetness produces much saliva in the mouth.
(c) Because the first milk of infancy is sweet, and accustoms us to the taste.
(d) Because of the regularity and smoothness of the form of sugar.

12. What has Burke personally observed about human beauty?
(a) That beauty is only skin-deep.
(b) That only a minority of people are not beautiful.
(c) That both beautiful and ugly people might be considered proportionate.
(d) That proportionality does indeed coincide with beauty.

13. What size of objects does Burke consider "beautiful?"
(a) Moderate and common.
(b) Large and imposing.
(c) Small or diminutive.
(d) Proportionate to the accepted standard.

14. To what does a "clear" expression relate?
(a) To one's will and one's desires.
(b) To one's understanding and to reality.
(c) To one's passions and one's feelings.
(d) To one's soul and one's intellect.

15. What does Burke term "simple abstract" words?
(a) Those words which comprise oaths and curses.
(b) Those words which represent human emotions.
(c) Those words which stand for one straighforward idea.
(d) Those words which indicate political affiliations.

Short Answer Questions

1. What example does Burke cite in his discussion of how people may convey ideas of things which they do not know?

2. What is one of the primary causes of words influencing the passions?

3. What examples does Burke use to prove that human proportionality does not necessarily equal human beauty?

4. How does Burke separate natural and artificial objects?

5. What does Burke expressly wish to discuss in this part of "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?

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