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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does King Charles finally marry?

2. Charles Kinbote criticizes an article written by Professor Hurley for what reason?

3. What event causes John Shade to have a vision of the afterlife?

4. What does Kinbote do during John Shade's birthday party?

5. King Alfin the Vague was an amateur______ .

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly describe John Shade's vision of the after-life.

2. What are some ways Kinbote tries to make the poem be about himself as opposed to Shade's childhood?

3. Give a brief synopsis of King Charles' escape.

4. Briefly describe the IPH.

5. How is Kinbote's birthday gift for Shade representative of Kinbote's commentary of the poem?

6. How does John Shade describe himself as a youth in Canto One?

7. Briefly describe King Alfin the Vague.

8. List a few possible motivations for Shade's desire to learn more about the after-life.

9. What do we learn about King Charles X in Canto Two?

10. Briefly describe Fleur.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Reflection is a major motif of the fictional poem "Pale Fire," and in the novel's commentary and foreword.

Give specific examples of Nabokov's use of reflection as it pertains to looking back at past events?

How does Nabokov use reflection in terms of mirror images or opposites?

How do these two interpretations of reflection work together in Shade's writing, and Kinbote's commentary?

Essay Topic 2

Make a list of names Charles Kinbote attributes to people and places in Zembla.

What do you notice about these names?

What do these names tell us about Kinbote, and potentially about Zembla?

Why do you think Nabokov chose to name these places the way he did?

Essay Topic 3

The first lines of the poem "Pale Fire" portrays a bird flying into a window. Charles Kinbote interprets these lines as they may relate to John Shade's experience.

How is Charles Kinbote like a bird who flies into a window?

(see the answer keys)

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