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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 problem does Burke find with merely defining a term like "taste?"

2. How does Burke define "strength?"

3. What problem does Burke see with the contemporary notion of "taste?"

4. What does Burke mean by the word "Taste?"

5. Why is imitation important, according to Burke?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Describe Burke's definition of the sublime.

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

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

7. Describe Burke's idea of beauty.

8. Briefly describe the significance of human judgment to the faculty of taste.

9. What, according to Burke, is sublime about religion?

10. Why, according to Burke, are the principles of reason and taste the same in all humans?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Summarize Burke's definition of pain and pleasure. How do they exist relative to one another? How do they influence human passions? What state of being does one occupy when experiencing neither pain nor pleasure? How does Burke distinguish delight from pleasure, and how does he connect joy and grief? What examples does Burke use to support his definitions?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the role of the senses in producing the effect of the sublime. How does Burke describe the differences between light and dark, relative to the sublime? What types of colors are productive of the sublime, and which colors are not, according to Burke? What qualities of sound produce the sublime? How can certain smells and tastes be sublime? Use examples to reinforce your points, and explain how each example is relevant.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Burke's assertion that words may offer a greater interaction with the sublime or the beautiful than an experience with a sublime or beautiful object. Where, when, and how do we gain our general understanding of words and ideas, and how do we learn to become affected by them? What, according to Burke, is the primary strength of poetry? What role do human passions have in poetry? What, to Burke, is the most affecting type of language in poetry and literature? Why, according to Burke, are humans readily affected by the passions of others? How does descriptive poetry operate, according to Burke? How is this different from the operation of dramatic poetry? What are the "weaknesses" of words that Burke mentions on page 160? On the other hand, what are the great strengths of words? For instance, are words versatile, flexible, strong, etc.?

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