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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 setting of The Ambassadors?

2. A plot requires a reader's intelligence and __________.

3. Forster says he will borrow from what in describing pattern?

4. Who is the author of Moby Dick?

5. Who is the one living prophetic novelist that Forster names at the time of his lecture series?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Forster mean when he describes the novel Thais as being in the shape of an hourglass?

2. What are the two elements that Forster says are necessary for plot?

3. How does Forster define prophecy in terms of fiction?

4. What are the two basic elements that Forster comes back to again and again throughout the lecture series?

5. How does Forster distinguish between fantasy and prophecy as aspects of the novel?

6. What is Forster's opinion of readers who do not like fantasy?

7. What role does the setting play in novels by Henry James?

8. What is the difference between an inquisitive novel reader and an intelligent one, according to Forster?

9. What is the relationship between pattern and plot in a novel?

10. Who does Forster classify as the prophet and the non-prophet in literature?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Forster tie in his main theme that the purpose of novels is to allow the reader a deeper, broader understanding of life with his discussion of the People aspect of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

As Forster discusses Wuthering Heights, his lecture reaches a higher point of emotion. How does his tone parallel that of the Emily Bronte novel? Does his lecture on prophecy border on obsession?

Essay Topic 3

What is the relationship that Forster paints between prophecy and symbolism? Discuss this in terms of Melville and other novelists.

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