View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is John Locke's theory concerning darkness?
(a) Darkness is necessary to our ideas of death.
(b) Darkness represents human sin.
(c) Darkness must be feared.
(d) Darkness is not naturally terrifying.

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

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

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

5. Where, besides in humans, has Burke observed the effects of the passions mentioned in question 133?
(a) In birds.
(b) In dogs.
(c) In cats.
(d) In horses.

6. 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 ballad about the battle of Culloden.
(d) A love poem to Aphrodite.

7. What example does Burke use to show that pain can be a source of pleasure?
(a) The thrill of fighting.
(b) Indolence and exercise.
(c) Hunger and fulfillment.
(d) Drunkenness and being hungover.

8. To what does Burke oppose delicacy and fragility?
(a) Whining and crying.
(b) Robustness and strength.
(c) Dignity and fortitude.
(d) Courage and honor.

9. How should the eye move, in order to qualify as beautiful, according to Burke?
(a) Upward and to the right.
(b) Suddenly and jerkily.
(c) Slowly and languidly.
(d) Rapidly and avidly.

10. How, according to Burke, can we be affected by things we as individuals never experienced?
(a) By understanding the words associated with the experience.
(b) By deeply researching the subject and circumstances of the experience.
(c) By viewing a dramatic production about the experience.
(d) By writing a fictional account of our imagined experience.

11. To what does Burke refer when he introduces physiognomy as part of beauty?
(a) The facial features.
(b) The height of the individual.
(c) The shape of the bust.
(d) The elegance of one's steps.

12. According to Burke, who is most capable of beauty?
(a) The male sex.
(b) Elegant aristocrats.
(c) The female sex.
(d) Rustic peasants.

13. What is Burke's argument about the relation of danger to the sublime?
(a) Danger is absolutely necessary to the sublime and must be present.
(b) Danger and terror are the same thing and are equal portions of the sublime.
(c) Danger does not physically need to be present or real for an object to be sublime.
(d) Danger is never a part of any sublime object.

14. How do use and habit affect pleasure?
(a) They deaden it through repetition.
(b) They enhance it by care and practice.
(c) They renew it by constant exposure.
(d) They control it and guide its force.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Burke define the beautiful in feeling?

2. What does Burke term "simple abstract" words?

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

4. To what is deformity opposed, according to Burke?

5. What, according to Burke, is the state of a man whose teeth are set and whose forehead is wrinkled?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 680 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample