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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Burke's general plan of action for this book?
(a) It will refute all other theories of the sublime.
(b) It will focus only on human society.
(c) It will posit wild, untested new ideas.
(d) It will be a methodical study.

2. What does Burke assert is present in every religion, to some degree?
(a) A salutary fear.
(b) A prophet.
(c) A mode of forgiveness.
(d) A single deity.

3. What is the same in all humans, according to Burke?
(a) The capacity for feeling.
(b) The general intelligence quotient.
(c) The curiosity and wonder for nature.
(d) The standards of reason and 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 does Burke use as an example of difficulty as greatness?
(a) The Pyramids of Egypt.
(b) Stonehenge.
(c) The Great Wall of China.
(d) Roman aqueducts.

Short Answer Questions

1. What passion does Burke identify as most effectively robing the mind of reasoning?

2. Which two ideas does Burke often find confused with one another?

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

4. What example does Burke offer to show his ideas on the effects of tragedy?

5. Why, according to Burke, is the idea of God sublime?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the passions belonging to society, as Burke introduces them.

2. What types of colors are productive of the sublime, and which colors are not, according to Burke?

3. What qualities of sound produce the sublime, according to Burke?

4. According to Burke, why can grief be considered pleasurable?

5. What is astonishment, according to Burke, and why is it important?

6. What is "magnificence," according to Burke?

7. Summarize Burke's section about the role of smells and tastes relating to the sublime.

8. What is the significance of the senses to the faculty of taste, according to Burke?

9. What is the difference between taste and knowledge, according to Burke?

10. Describe the main difference between light and dark relative to the sublime.

(see the answer keys)

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