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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. Abraham Cowley's style is said to reflect what type of person?
(a) The lawyer.
(b) The aristocrat.
(c) The common man.
(d) The soldier.

2. Why prompted Montaigne to retire from his career to pursue writing?
(a) His own bankruptcy.
(b) The birth of his first child.
(c) The death of his wife.
(d) The death of his best friend.

3. What is the implicit message of "An Essay on the Noble Science of Self-Justification?"
(a) Even the greatest vices can be rationalized by the diseased mind.
(b) Women, like children, should be seen and not heard.
(c) A woman should be allowed to express her opinion.
(d) Humans live in a constant state of denial.

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

5. When was Maria Edgeworth born?
(a) 1512 A.D.
(b) 895 A.D.
(c) 1768 A.D.
(d) 1897 A.D.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which famous author does Michel de Montaigne rely upon for several quotations in the final essay in the volume?

2. What does Montaigne have in common with Saint Augustine?

3. What reasoning does Plutarch offer in "Consolation to His Wife?"

4. Plutarch is known as the first great what?

5. What is Montaigne's view on quoting and crediting other authors?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Montaigne say in "Of a Monstrous Child" about things or people humans consider "monstrous?"

2. Name three things that Sei Shonagon declares her dislike for in "Hateful Things."

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

4. What is the tone of Joseph Addison's "Nicolini and the Lions?" What details of the story account for this tone?

5. As expressed in "On Some Verses of Virgil," what does Montaigne have to say about the nature of the sexes?

6. For what style is Abraham Cowley known for?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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