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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. Which place did Charles Lamb occupy amongst his siblings?
(a) He was the eldest.
(b) He was an only child.
(c) He was the youngest.
(d) He was the middle child.

2. What colorful phrase does Seneca provide as another way to describe asthma?
(a) Hellish hiccups.
(b) Rehearsing death.
(c) Speechless sweeps.
(d) Sucking wind.

3. What is wrong with the child in "Of A Monstrous Child?"
(a) The child is a criminal and menace to the town.
(b) The child was born badly deformed.
(c) The child had both male and female sexual organs.
(d) The child was born with three eyes.

4. Who raised Charles Lamb?
(a) The state.
(b) His uncle.
(c) His grandmother.
(d) His older sister.

5. In "Slaves," what accounts for the bad behavior of slaves?
(a) Their innate barbarity.
(b) Their confined quarters.
(c) The bad treatment they receive.
(d) Their diet.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did William Hazlitt decide to abandon painting for poetry?

2. In addition to a personal essayist, what kind of essayist is Samuel Johnson.

3. What tragedy did Charles Lamb's family endure?

4. In "On Noise," what is necessary for a person to ignore the noise of the outside world?

5. At what age did Montaigne begin writing?

Short Essay Questions

1. What accounts for Maria Edgeworth's nontraditional views of male/female relationships? How are these views represented in "An Essay on the Noble Science of Self-Justification"?

2. What caused Michel de Montaigne to start writing?

3. What is Seneca's philosophical background? Why is that background problematic?

4. What is the subject of Richard Steele's "Twenty-four Hours in London"? What point does Steele make in the story?

5. What is the subject of Montaigne's "Of Books?"

6. What personal details are included in Seneca's "Asthma"?

7. Describe the "monstrous child" Montaigne speaks of in "Of a Monstrous Child."

8. What was Michel de Montaigne's background prior to writing?

9. Provide some biographical information on Plutarch? What was his contribution to world literature?

10. What is dealt with by Kenko in his essay "Essays in Idleness?"

(see the answer keys)

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