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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. Charles Kinbote "mercifully " attributes this name to one professor, perhaps due to his green jacket.

2. Who helps King Charles escape?

3. Queen Blenda's favorite hobby is ______ .

4. Where was the foreword written?

5. Charles Kinbote gave John Shade a detailed drawing of King Charles' castle; what does he want John Shade's wife to do with the picture?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly describe John and Sybil Shade's relationship.

2. How does Charles Kinbote portray himself in the foreword?

3. What are some ways Kinbote tries to make the poem be about himself as opposed to Shade's childhood?

4. Briefly describe the IPH.

5. What is Kinbote's secret?

6. Provide an example or two of the reflection motif found between the commentary to lines 131 and the commentary to lines 162.

7. What do we learn about King Charles X in Canto Two?

8. Describe John Shade's daughter.

9. List a few possible motivations for Shade's desire to learn more about the after-life.

10. What does John Shade ponder in the beginning of Canto Two?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

On pages 100-107 in the commentary on line 71: Parents, Kinbote describes King Alfin the Vague.

Compare what is known of Kinbote to this point in the story with his portrayal of King Alfin.

What function or functions does King Alfin serve?

Essay Topic 2

Using specific examples from the book, describe how Nabokov uses color and climate to describe the setting and characters in Pale Fire, both in the poem and in the commentary.

Do you think this is effective? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

At what point in the novel did you suspect Charles Kinbote was not mentally sound?

How does his dementia progress throughout the novel?

How does his grasp of reality change the way you perceive the events of the novel?

Do you think Zembla is a real place in the world created by Nabokov in Pale Fire, or a figment of Charles Kinbote's imagination?

(see the answer keys)

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