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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Nature.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did the event described in the Prologue change Emerson's life?
(a) He secluded himself to write his first work.
(b) He gave up his independence and settled down.
(c) His religious beliefs took him away from the church.
(d) He retreated into solitude.

2. Where did Emerson and Lidian settle down after marrying?
(a) Walden Pond.
(b) Boston.
(c) Concord.
(d) Cambridge.

3. Who was Emerson reading at the time he fell in love with Lydia Jackson?
(a) Fuller.
(b) Hume.
(c) Hegel.
(d) Goethe.

4. How does Richardson characterize the year 1834 in Emerson's life?
(a) The year of transition.
(b) The year of trials.
(c) The turning point.
(d) The year of wonders.

5. What idea of Emerson's influenced Richardson's biography?
(a) That the lives of great mean can tell us about all men.
(b) That men can only be known through their historical context.
(c) That some men's lives define the extremes of human experience.
(d) That men are best described by the women in their lives.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Richardson say was happening as Emerson and his brother Charles grew closer?

2. How did Emerson change after opening Ellen's casket?

3. What stance did Emerson take on American literature?

4. Why was Emerson's meeting with Carlyle a "white day in his years"?

5. How did Emerson characterize Samuel Taylor Coleridge?

(see the answer key)

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