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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, must be utilized regularly lest it/they fall into disrepair?
(a) The art of social conversation.
(b) Dancing, fencing, and painting.
(c) The skill of speaking another language.
(d) The passions and the understanding.

2. Burke writes that "Beauty in distress is the most _________ kind of beauty."
(a) Confusing.
(b) Disgusting.
(c) Pleasurable.
(d) Affecting.

3. Which does Burke's definition of "grace" include?
(a) Painting and drawing.
(b) Posture and motion.
(c) Conversation and debate.
(d) Speaking foreign languages.

4. How does Burke define "proportion?"
(a) It is the measure of relative quantity.
(b) It is an average of height, breadth, and width.
(c) It refers to the amount of food a healthy person eats.
(d) It illustrates the properties of geometries.

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

6. What is another word for the "fitness" of objects about which Burke writes?
(a) Condition.
(b) Utility.
(c) Aptitude.
(d) Health.

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

8. To which human faculty does Burke opine proportion belongs?
(a) To the imagination.
(b) To the emotions.
(c) To the senses.
(d) To the understanding.

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

10. What does Burke criticize about the patrons of proportion?
(a) That they are disproportionate and ugly.
(b) That they have not expanded their architectural projects enough.
(c) That they view their own works and views as superior to nature.
(d) That they are not clear enough in defining proportionality.

11. What is NOT a property of the beautiful in music?
(a) Shrill, harsh sounds.
(b) Light, feathery notes.
(c) Sweet, quiet sounds.
(d) Slow, sonorous tones.

12. To what does Burke tie his own opinion of darkness and the sublime?
(a) Self-preservation.
(b) Desire.
(c) Intellectualism.
(d) Judgment.

13. What is one of the primary causes of words influencing the passions?
(a) Our sympathizing with and identifying with the passions of others.
(b) Our forceful imaginations' shaping of our emotions and desires.
(c) Our reliance on judgment and will to shape our passions.
(d) Our skepticism of and disdain for the emotional state of others.

14. What does NOT make certain objects or experiences affect us the way they do?
(a) Any strong memories regarding the thing.
(b) Any natural power of the thing.
(c) Any associations we form around the thing.
(d) Any learning about the thing.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. To what does Burke compare human listening methods?

2. Why does Burke include a section on the effect of words in "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?

3. How does this body part produce the sense of the sublime, according to Burke?

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

5. What is the sole difference Burke identifies between the passions mentioned in question 7?

(see the answer keys)

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