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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. In Montaigne's "On Some Verses..." essay, what opinion does he express about the sexes?

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

3. Who wrote "On the Pleasure of Hating"?

4. At what age did Montaigne begin writing?

5. How did Montaigne's father treat Montaigne?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Why are Richard Steele and Joseph Addison so often presented as a literary pair, as they are in this volume?

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

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

7. What is the subject of Abraham Cowley's "Of Greatness"? What point does Abraham Cowley make?

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

9. What idea sparks Montaigne to write after his first book is a success?

10. What position on slaves does Seneca take in his essay "Slaves?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"The Fight" by William Hazlitt and "The Execution of Tropmann" by Ivan Turgenev are examples of sub-genres of the personal essay, reportage.

A) What makes each essay an example of reportage?

B) What is each author's opinion on what they are reporting? Are they intrigued, disgusted, objective, etc.?

C) Compare and contrast the tones in both pieces. How does tone relate to reportage?

Essay Topic 2

Ambition is the topic of both Abraham Cowley's "Of Greatness" and Seymour Krim's "For My Brothers and Sisters in the Failure Business"?

A) Contrast the tone of each essay. What might tone reveal about the author's own state of mind?

B) What message does each author have the audience? What should the reader take away from the essay?

C) What advice might Cowley have for Krim?

Essay Topic 3

Michel de Montaigne speaks about the nature of reading and writing in his essays "Of Books" and "On Some Verses of Virgil."

A) What is Montaigne's philosophy of education? What does it mean to acquire and have an education? How does level of education separate people?

B) What is Montaigne's philosophy in regards to borrowing from other sources, including classical authors. Why does he do this borrowing?

(see the answer keys)

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