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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. How was Emerson received in Europe?

2. What theme does Richardson say Emerson began to write about as he turned forty?

3. On what theme did Emerson's letters and journals begin to focus after Margaret Fuller's death?

4. Why did Emerson take over editorship of "The Dial?"

5. What does Richardson say were Emerson's feelings about marriage?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Emerson balance writing and editing?

2. How does Richardson characterize Emerson's fame?

3. What was Emerson's relationship with abolition?

4. Who was Jones Very?

5. What was Emerson's relationship with "The Dial?"

6. Why, according to Richardson, was Emerson's mood dark while he was preparing for his lecture tour in England?

7. What were Emerson's impressions of England when he traveled there in 1848?

8. How does Richardson characterize the importance of Emerson's friendships after his return from Europe?

9. Describe Emerson's son's death and its effect on him.

10. What does Richardson say was Emerson's last characteristic book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did Emerson distinguish himself from the writers and thinkers around him? What individuality and uniqueness did he call upon to accentuate the difference between himself and Jones Very? Thoreau? His brothers and forefathers? His Aunt Mary? Carlyle?

Essay Topic 2

In what way or to what extent is Emerson a Northern or New England writer or intellectual? How much does his region affect his legacy? Are there aspects of America he was not representing?

Essay Topic 3

Are there aspects of Emerson's personality that Richardson overlooks or underplays? Make a case that Richardson has misrepresented Emerson in some way. What other Emersons do you think there might be, whose stories are still waiting to be told? Use the text for evidence, and explain your hunch.

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