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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Commentary, Lines 1-4: I was the shadow of the waxwing slain, etc. through Line 70: the new TV.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Kinbote notes that the poem alludes to what fictional character?
(a) Sherlock Holmes.
(b) Lolita.
(c) Shakespeare's Henry VIII.
(d) King Charles.

2. Who or what does John Shade claim to see in his near-death experience?
(a) A fountain.
(b) His Wife.
(c) His daughter.
(d) The Zemblan Mountains.

3. Which best describes Kinbote's reason for rejecting the offer by the first potential publisher of "Pale Fire"?
(a) Kinbote would not have full editorial control.
(b) He made Kinbote responsible for any errors in the commentary.
(c) He would not let Kinbote translate the poem into Zemblan.
(d) Sybil Shade would not recieve her full share of the profits.

4. What happened to Shade's parents when he was a boy?
(a) They put him up for adoption.
(b) They died.
(c) They were imprisoned.
(d) They divorced/seperated.

5. John Shade vows to further explore what in Canto Two?
(a) The depths of human consciousness.
(b) The possibility of an afterlife.
(c) The Zemblan Kings and their Gods.
(d) Reincarnation vs. heaven and hell.

Short Answer Questions

1. Kinbote leaves his blinds open to give him a better view of what?

2. The phrase "pale fire" is used in the foreword to describe what?

3. John Shade reads an article written by this person about a woman who had a similar vision?

4. How does John Shade's daughter die?

5. In Canto Two we find that Shade's daughter had been vacationing in what faraway place?

(see the answer key)

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