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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 is the same in all humans, according to Burke?

2. How does Burke define sympathy?

3. What set of animals does Burke use as examples of power and the sublime?

4. According to Burke, what will the result be of the long, close study of an object?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Burke describe sympathy?

2. Describe Burke's definition of the sublime.

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

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

5. What motivated Burke to write "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

How does Burke define and categorize power? What is the significance of power to the sublime? What is power's relation to pain and pleasure? How does Burke relate danger to power? What are some of the examples Burke uses to represent power, and do you think they are accurate examples?

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