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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. Who is the subject of Chapter 2 in the book?
(a) Kenko.
(b) Michel de Montaigne.
(c) Seneca.
(d) Mark Twain.

2. What is unusual about Montaigne's first book, as opposed to any books thereafter?
(a) His first book was the only commercially successful book.
(b) His first book was not of a personal nature.
(c) His first book was the only one published in his lifetime.
(d) His first book was the only one of a personal nature.

3. What tragedy did Charles Lamb's family endure?
(a) Charles' father had an incestuous relationship with his sister.
(b) Charles' mother was arrested for armed robbery.
(c) Charles' mother was killed by his sister.
(d) Charles' father died from cancer.

4. In "Of Books," why does Montaigne quote other writers?
(a) To provide fanciful stories that break up the monotony of the personal essay.
(b) To include love poetry for his most important reader, his wife.
(c) To further expand upon points he is making.
(d) To show how inferior other authors' works are to his own.

5. Beyond essays, Samuel Johnson is famous for which text?
(a) "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere."
(b) A translation of the writings of Julius Caesar.
(c) An English dictionary.
(d) The King James version of the Bible.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following labels BEST describe the writings of Montaigne?

2. What BEST describes the writing styles of Richard Steele and Joseph Addison?

3. Plutarch is known for his tenderness towards which group of people?

4. Where does Montaigne retire to study and write?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Samuel Johnson famous? What kind of essays did he write?

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

3. What philosophy of death does Plutarch advise in "Consolation to His Wife?"

4. What is "On Noise" about? What does Seneca advise?

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

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

7. To what extent were Charles Lamb's personal essays influenced by his family background? Describe that family background.

8. What is the biographical background necessary to understand "Consolation to His Wife" by Plutarch?

9. How are the writings of Montaigne structured?

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

(see the answer keys)

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