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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How was "The Transcendentalist" originally delivered?
(a) As a eulogy.
(b) As a commencement address.
(c) As a lecture.
(d) As a letter to Henry David Thoreau.

2. What aspect of man does "Nominalist and Realist" delve into?
(a) Greed.
(b) Spirituality.
(c) Psychology.
(d) Bipolar nature.

3. What is the primary tool of the poet?
(a) Language.
(b) Imagination.
(c) Experience.
(d) Truth.

4. Who can too often judge and categorize art and literature, according to "The Poet"?
(a) Umpires of taste.
(b) Poets.
(c) Censors of thought.
(d) Philosophers.

5. According to Emerson, who "should see that he can live all history in his own person"?
(a) The historian.
(b) The scholar.
(c) The enlightened individual.
(d) The philosopher.

Short Answer Questions

1. What, with friendship, creates a "cordial goodwill," according to "Friendship"?

2. What kind of friendship does Emerson prefer?

3. If the people within a commune did not work equally, what does Emerson say the harder-working individuals would do?

4. Who was Plato's teacher?

5. How is truth revealed, according to "Intellect"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the benefit of friendship, according to "Friendship"? What is the irony in Emerson's essay?

2. What do the nominalists and realists each have on their sides, according to Emerson?

3. What three categories of people does prudence manifest itself into, according to "Prudence"?

4. According to "The Over-Soul", what is the over-soul? What happens when individuals come together for the purpose of spiritual growth?

5. According to "Self-Reliance", what is the relationship between conformity and being a man?

6. How was Plato's dichotomy of the body and soul relevant to Emerson's time?

7. According to "The Poet", what is the effect of poets speaking the truth? How do poets speak the truth?

8. According to "Nature", what is the role of nature?

9. How is each person's vocation discovered, according to "Spiritual Laws"? How is one's potential realized?

10. According to "Experience", why do most people not recognize the changes in their lives until they are looking in retrospect?

(see the answer keys)

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