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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. "Forty ounces of fine sand" describes what in Canto One?
(a) A bird's nest.
(b) The texture of a windowpane.
(c) A length of time.
(d) Snow falling from the sky.

2. John Shade reads an article written by this person about a woman who had a similar vision?
(a) Charles Kinbote.
(b) Jim Coats.
(c) The President of the IPH.
(d) Gerald Emerald.

3. The phrase "pale fire" is used in the foreword to describe what?
(a) The snow in New Wye.
(b) A squirrel.
(c) The reflection of sunlight off the moon.
(d) Index cards burning in an incinerator.

4. How does John Shade refer to the I.P.H.?
(a) The Institute.
(b) If.
(c) The International Poetry House.
(d) The "H".

5. John Shade recites his poetry to one person prior to its publication. Who is that person?
(a) The king of Zembla.
(b) Charles Kinbote.
(c) His wife.
(d) Dr. Sutton.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what day did John Shade begin composing his poem "Pale Fire?"

2. What does Shade find out when he tracks down the woman who had the same vision of the after-life that he did?

3. What is the assassin's real name?

4. Kinbote is steadfast in his assertion that "Pale Fire" was intended to be how many lines long?

5. In lines 936 and 937 of "Pale Fire" the phrase "I plow Old Zembla's fields" is used by John Shade as part of a metaphor for what literal activity?

(see the answer key)

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