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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following is not mentioned by Shade in Canto One?
(a) A baseball game.
(b) Dr. Sutton.
(c) The sky.
(d) The Zemblan countryside.

2. How old was Shade when he wrote Canto Two?
(a) 61.
(b) 40.
(c) 80.
(d) We are never told exactly, only that he is "a youth".

3. How do the people of Zembla aid in King Charles' flight?
(a) They fight off the Extremists.
(b) They create a distraction with a hot air balloon.
(c) They dress like him to serve as decoys.
(d) They provide Charles refuge along the way.

4. When did John Shade meet his wife?
(a) After his parents' funeral.
(b) Their senior year of high school.
(c) During the depression.
(d) 40 years ago.

5. How do the Shade's spend the evening of their daughter's blind date?
(a) Watching television.
(b) Studying birds.
(c) Reading.
(d) Writing poems.

6. 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?
(a) His relationship with his wife.
(b) The changing seasons.
(c) Revisiting his Zemblan ancestry .
(d) Shaving.

7. What does Kinbote want us to believe was the catalyst for John Shade's choice to set "Pale Fire" during the winter months?
(a) Bird flying south for the winter.
(b) The great tragedy Shade has experienced during winter.
(c) Shade meeting Kinbote during the previous winter.
(d) The Zemblan King's assasination in January.

8. How does King Charles get out of the room where he is being held prisoner without being detected?
(a) He escapes through a secret passageway.
(b) He seduces a guard who sets him free.
(c) He disguses himself as a guard and walks out the front door.
(d) He makes a rope ladder and climbs out the window.

9. Of the following, which has been added to Shade's childhood home?
(a) Electricity.
(b) A chimney.
(c) A garage.
(d) A TV antenna.

10. Once King Charles is outside his room he must escape from what part of the castle?
(a) The kitchen.
(b) The theater.
(c) The tower.
(d) The basement.

11. What event causes John Shade to have a vision of the afterlife?
(a) He is hit by a car.
(b) He suffers a stroke.
(c) He gets lost in the Zemblan Mountains without food or water.
(d) He has a heart attack.

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

13. How do the extremists think King Charles will try to escape Zembla?
(a) By boat.
(b) On foot.
(c) By plane.
(d) By car.

14. Why does young King Charles refuse to consummate his relationship with Fleur?
(a) Her family is poor.
(b) She tries to steal from him.
(c) She is ugly.
(d) He is homosexual.

15. Of the following, who is not mentioned in the first Canto?
(a) A Candian maid.
(b) Dr. Sutton.
(c) Shade's aunt.
(d) The King of Zembla.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which Pope is mentioned in the commentary to Line 85?

2. How did King Alfin the Vague die?

3. What typically goes on at the I.P.H.?

4. Which of the following does not happen to the I.P.H.?

5. What book does King Charles find on his way out of the castle?

(see the answer keys)

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