View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What event threw Emerson into despair in 1840?

2. How does Richardson characterize "The Dial?"

3. What theme does Richardson say Emerson began to write about as he turned forty?

4. On what theme did Emerson's letters and journals begin to focus after Margaret Fuller's death?

5. What did Emerson turn his house into?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Emerson's relationship with abolition?

2. What does Richardson say was Emerson's last characteristic book?

3. Describe Emerson's son's death and its effect on him.

4. How does Richardson describe Emerson's home life in the 1850s?

5. What was Fourier's influence on Emerson's thinking?

6. How does Richardson characterize the importance of Emerson's friendships after his return from Europe?

7. Who was Hafiz and what was his influence on Emerson?

8. How does Richardson characterize the change that took place in Emerson after Waldo's death?

9. Who was Jones Very?

10. Describe the effect Margaret Fuller Ossoli's death had on Emerson.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Emerson wrote essays on love and spiritual laws, but never marriage. Why not, do you think?

Essay Topic 2

In what way or to what extent is Emerson a Northern or New England writer or intellectual? How much does his region affect his legacy? Are there aspects of America he was not representing?

Essay Topic 3

How did Emerson overcome the grief and loss he experienced so many times? What counterbalanced the sorrow and misery? What emotional, spiritual or personal reserves did he draw on?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 815 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample