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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. Which author has numerous flat characters who can express themselves in a single sentence?

2. Forster considers a novel to be any fictitious prose over __________ words.

3. Through characters, novels give the reader the illusion of _________________.

4. Characters must not spread themselves out too far, but rather should ____________.

5. What is the occupation of the husband Moll loves deeply in the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Forster trying to illustrate through the work of Gertrude Stein?

2. According to Forster, what does a good novel do?

3. What does Forster believe to be the flaws in Sir Walter Scott's writing?

4. How does Forster say that Scheherazade avoids her fate?

5. William George Clark was known as a Shakespearean scholar, but he also published two books on other subjects. What other books does Clark publish?

6. What image does Forster ask his audience to think of so as not to consider literature in the "stream of time"?

7. What does Forster mean when he says that novels give us the "illusion of perspicacity"?

8. What is striking about the funerals described in the excerpts by H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens?

9. What is one of the reasons that love is "unduly prominent" in novels, according to Forster?

10. What is the difference between an Austen character and a Dickens character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Forster think about the motto "History develops, Art stands still"? How does he come back to that in the conclusion of his lecture series?

Essay Topic 2

How does the development of the novel represent development in mankind? Do you agree with Forster's contention on this point? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the six authors Forster quotes to illustrate the futility of studying works of literature in terms of chronology.

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