DSST Humanities 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which philosopher coined the term 'tabula rasa' to argue that the mind begins as a blank slate?
- René Descartes
- John Locke (Correct answer)
- Immanuel Kant
- David Hume
Correct answer: John Locke
John Locke argued in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa, shaped entirely by experience.
Question 2: The 'Harlem Renaissance' was primarily a flourishing of African American culture in which decade?
- 1890s
- 1910s
- 1920s (Correct answer)
- 1940s
Correct answer: 1920s
The Harlem Renaissance peaked in the 1920s, producing significant literary, artistic, and musical works by African Americans.
Question 3: What is the primary subject matter of 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer?
- A knight's quest for the Holy Grail
- Stories told by pilgrims traveling to a shrine (Correct answer)
- The fall of Troy and its aftermath
- A morality tale about sin and redemption
Correct answer: Stories told by pilgrims traveling to a shrine
The Canterbury Tales features a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury who entertain each other with stories.
Question 4: In classical music, a 'fugue' is best described as:
- A slow, mournful piece for solo piano
- A composition in which a theme is introduced and then imitated by successive voices (Correct answer)
- A piece for brass instruments played outdoors
- A set of dances arranged in sequence
Correct answer: A composition in which a theme is introduced and then imitated by successive voices
A fugue is a contrapuntal composition in which a short theme (subject) is introduced by one voice and then imitated by other voices in succession.
Question 5: Which term describes the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities in literature and art?
- Allegory (Correct answer)
- Metaphor
- Irony
- Allusion
Correct answer: Allegory
Allegory is an extended narrative or artwork in which characters and events symbolize deeper moral, political, or spiritual meanings.
Question 6: The Neoclassical movement in 18th-century art and literature drew its inspiration primarily from:
- Medieval Gothic cathedrals and illuminated manuscripts
- Ancient Greek and Roman culture and ideals (Correct answer)
- Eastern philosophy and Asian decorative arts
- The natural world and peasant life
Correct answer: Ancient Greek and Roman culture and ideals
Neoclassicism revived the order, symmetry, and moral themes of ancient Greek and Roman art, literature, and architecture.
Question 7: Which rhetorical device involves repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses?
- Epistrophe
- Chiasmus
- Anaphora (Correct answer)
- Asyndeton
Correct answer: Anaphora
Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses, as in Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I have a dream.'
DSST Humanities 5
Which philosopher coined the term 'tabula rasa' to argue that the mind begins as a blank slate?