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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Commentary, Line 681: gloomy Russians spied through Line 691: the attack.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. King Alfin the Vague was an amateur______ .
(a) Poet.
(b) Ornothologist.
(c) Pilot.
(d) Gardener.

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

3. Which of the following best describes the pervading theme of Canto Four?
(a) John Shade's relationship with Charles Kinbote.
(b) John Shade's relationship with his family.
(c) John Shade's writing process.
(d) John Shade's time in Zembla.

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

5. The final couplet of "Pale Fire" describes what image?
(a) A bird flying into a closed window.
(b) The Zemblan countryside.
(c) A gardener pushing a wheel barrow.
(d) John Shade's daughter.

Short Answer Questions

1. Canto Four contains a metaphor comparing this activity to John Shade's writing process?

2. Who is King Alfin the Vague's son?

3. Who makes sexual advances on King Charles during the commentary to line 149?

4. According to Kinbote what is the only real name used in the poem, "Pale Fire?"

5. Which of the following has Shade renounced?

(see the answer key)

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