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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. According to Burke, what parts of the mind do beautiful things engage, and how?

2. How does Burke define "blackness?"

3. What example does Burke use in his argument that perfection is not the cause of beauty?

4. How does this body part produce the sense of the sublime, according to Burke?

5. Burke contrasts smoothness to __________ in his discussion of beauty.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Burke assert affects the mind besides natural causes, and how does this thing relate to natural causes?

2. What primary example does Burke cite in his argument that words may be used without being connected to images, and what is the significance of this example?

3. How does Burke define ugliness, and how does Burke relate ugliness to beauty?

4. What is beautiful in feeling, according to Burke?

5. What, to Burke, is the most affecting type of language in poetry and literature?

6. How can pain be a cause of delight, in everyday life and in effecting the sublime?

7. What does Burke mean by "fitness," and why is fitness not, according to him, the cause of beauty?

8. What does Burke identify as the three effects of words?

9. Why, according to Burke, are humans readily affected by the passions of others?

10. What, according to Burke, is the primary strength of poetry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.?

Essay Topic 2

How does Burke define proportion, and under which human faculty does it fall? Why, according to Burke, is proportion not the cause of beauty in vegetation and animals? What examples does Burke use to prove this point? In his discussion of proportionality among human figures, what censure does Burke lay upon advocates of proportion-as-beauty? What influence does the theme of nature vs. artifice have upon Burke's perceptions of proportion and beauty?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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