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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Burke assert is present in every religion, to some degree?

2. How do sublime buildings look, according to Burke?

3. How does Burke define "strength?"

4. What term does Burke use to reflect uncertainty relative to the sublime?

5. What does Burke use as an example of difficulty as greatness?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some of the cautions or caveats Burke offers to his readers in the Second Preface?

2. What is Burke's idea of "artificial infinity?"

3. Summarize Burke's definition of pain and pleasure.

4. What is the main problem with creating prescribed definitions, especially of taste, according to Burke?

5. What is the cause of a wrong taste, and what are examples of it?

6. What does Burke argue about tastes that deviate from causes other than habit or use?

7. What is the significance of the imagination, to Burke?

8. What is the significance of power in Burke's Enquiry, and what is one example he gives of power?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Select three examples from anywhere in the text of what you would consider scientific methodology in Burke's writing. These may be specific examples he cites (such as his personal anecdotes or the selections from literature he reads), the structure or progression of his subjects or thought process in a section on a specific topic, or his tone as he considers the nature of things beautiful or sublime. Consider how Burke's methodology is, in itself, rather scientific in nature. For each example you selected, write a synopsis of why the selection seems scientific in nature to you. To be "scientific" in nature is, for example, to test one's theories somehow, to consider other theories in relation to one's own, to give evidence that supports one's theories, to maintain a tone of professional, instead of personal, interest, and so on.

Essay Topic 2

Define obscurity and clearness, or clarity, as Burke uses them. What significance do obscurity and clearness have to the sublime? How does the imagination interact with obscurity and with clarity? Which passions does Burke associate with obscurity, and which with clarity? Define the aspects of dimensionality Burke uses (vastness, infinity, and magnitude). How do these relate to the sublime? What qualities of "magnificence" are sublime? Use examples like what Burke uses to support your points.

Essay Topic 3

Carefully analyze Part III, sections VI, IX, and XV, looking for passages which you think are particularly important in demonstrating ways in which Burke characterizes women. Pay close attention to Burke's word choice, imagery, use of metaphor or other figurative speech, and his general tone. How does he use women to demonstrate that perfection is not the cause of beauty? How does Burke use women as examples to demonstrate some of the aspects of beauty? What gender distinctions does Burke make between men and women, and do these distinctions seem to move beyond merely the realm of the beautiful? What parts of the female body, and what characteristics of femininity, does Burke focus on? What portions of the body or characteristics of femininity does Burke neglect?

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