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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. John Shade vows to further explore what in Canto Two?
(a) Reincarnation vs. heaven and hell.
(b) The depths of human consciousness.
(c) The Zemblan Kings and their Gods.
(d) The possibility of an afterlife.

2. What is the assassin's real name?
(a) Jakob Gradus.
(b) Jacques de Gray.
(c) Jack Degree.
(d) Jake Ravus.

3. Where was the foreword written?
(a) Russia.
(b) New Wye.
(c) Cedarn, Utana.
(d) Zembla.

4. During what time of day does John Shade prefer to write?
(a) Late afternoon.
(b) After dinner.
(c) Bath time.
(d) Morning.

5. The phrase "pale fire" is used in the foreword to describe what?
(a) A squirrel.
(b) Index cards burning in an incinerator.
(c) The snow in New Wye.
(d) The reflection of sunlight off the moon.

6. Once King Charles is outside his room he must escape from what part of the castle?
(a) The theater.
(b) The kitchen.
(c) The tower.
(d) The basement.

7. How does John Shade's daughter die?
(a) She drowns.
(b) She steps in front of a train.
(c) She freezes to death in a field.
(d) She poisons herself.

8. John Shade recites his poetry to one person prior to its publication. Who is that person?
(a) Dr. Sutton.
(b) The king of Zembla.
(c) His wife.
(d) Charles Kinbote.

9. Why does young King Charles refuse to consummate his relationship with Fleur?
(a) She tries to steal from him.
(b) She is ugly.
(c) Her family is poor.
(d) He is homosexual.

10. Which of the following does not happen to the I.P.H.?
(a) It becomes more Buddhist.
(b) It becomes frequented by Freudians.
(c) It is turned into a church.
(d) It becomes a place where fake seances are held.

11. Which pair best describe the prominent motifs of the first Canto?
(a) Innocence and loss.
(b) Nature and technology.
(c) Windows and snow.
(d) Nature and death.

12. In lines 936 and 937 of "Pale Fire" the phrase "I plow Old Zembla's fields" is used by John Shade as part of a metaphor for what literal activity?
(a) Shaving.
(b) Revisiting his Zemblan ancestry .
(c) The changing seasons.
(d) His relationship with his wife.

13. John Shade's aunt is best described as what?
(a) Eccentric.
(b) Wicked.
(c) Agnostic.
(d) Religious.

14. "Forty ounces of fine sand" describes what in Canto One?
(a) Snow falling from the sky.
(b) The texture of a windowpane.
(c) A bird's nest.
(d) A length of time.

15. What is the first metaphor Shade uses to describe himself?
(a) A pheasant's feet.
(b) A great bear.
(c) A bird flying into a window.
(d) A snowflake falling to the ground.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is King Alfin the Vague's son?

2. King Alfin the Vague was an amateur______ .

3. How does King Charles get out of the room where he is being held prisoner without being detected?

4. Kinbote notes that the poem alludes to what fictional character?

5. Of the following, which most accurately describes the lines in the first stanza of Canto One?

(see the answer keys)

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