Senior English Exam

The French tribes who conquered Britain spoke the earliest version of the English language.

False

Because war, disease, and early death beset their lives, Anglo-Saxons believed that they could not control their destinies or thwart fate by praying to their pagan gods, so their goal was to live for as much glory as they could garner during their lives.

true

Like most early Anglo-Saxon literature, "The Wanderer" would have been originally written down in Old English.

False

The statement which best illustrates the object of the Wanderer's search is

". . . seeking a gold lord / If far or near lived one to befriend me."

The Wanderer's exile was particularly difficult for him as an Anglo-Saxon warrior because

his entire purpose in life was bound up with his home, the mead-hall.

A type of Anglo-Saxon poetry that celebrates the deeds of a national hero

epic

Give two of the characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

elegaic and oral

What language was Beowulf originally composed in?

anglo-saxon

What language was Beowulf originally written down in?

latin

What is the geographical location of Beowulf?

scandinavia

What is the social setting of Beowulf?

england

What is the name of the Dane's king?

Hrothgar

At the beginning of Beowulf, who is the king of the Geats?

Hygelac

Who is the hero of the Geats?

Beowulf

At the beginning of Beowulf, before they are attacked, what are the warriors doing?

Singing about how God created the world

T/F - Despite Grendel being the enemy, he still represents many of the Anglo-Saxon warrior ideals of the time period.

False

Who questioned Beowulf's heroic claims by saying he was basically just boasting?

Unferth

Who did Beowulf defeat in the first battle?

grendel

What was unusual about how Beowulf planned to fight Grendel?

He decided not to use any weapons

Who did Beowulf defeat in the second battle?

Grendel's mother

After the second battle, what does Beowulf do?

Finds Grendel and cuts off his head as trophy and proof that he's dead

Who did Beowulf defeat in the third battle?

dragon

In the third battle, who was the follower of Beowulf who practiced the Code of Comitatus?

Wiglaf

Who is the first known major civilization group to settle in/invade Britain?

Iberians

Who is the second major civilization group to settle in/invade Britain?

celts

Who is the third major civilization group to settle in/invade Britain?

romans

Who is the fourth major civilization group to settle in/invade Britain?

Germanic Tribes

Who is the fifth major civilization group to settle in/invade Britain?

vikings

Who is the sixth major civilization group to settle in/invade Britain?

normans

What are the names of the two groups of Celts who settled in Britain?

Brythons and gaels

What are the names of the two more dominant invading Germanic tribes around 450-500 AD?

Saxons and Angles

What was the name of the written alphabet of the Anglo-Saxons?

runes

Name three civilization advancements brought to England by the Romans

Road systems, Towns, Christianity, Latin Alphabet, and Engineering

What was the name of name of the written language used by the Romans

Latin

What is the name of the Anglo-Saxon king who is known for preserving Anglo-Saxon culture and history?

Alfred the Great

Norsemen and Danes who invaded England

vikings

What is the name of the council of elders whose job was to elect a new king during the Anglo-Saxon time period?

witan

Which piece of literature is most similar in theme to "The Wanderer"?

the wife's lament

Which two poems are examples of the Anglo-Saxon dream poetry?

The Dream of the Rood and Caedmon's Hymn

England's first real king who preserved the Anglo-Saxon heritage and language

Alfred the Great

Considered to be the "Father of English History"

bede

The Celtic group which settled Ireland

gaels

Celtic priests

druids

Last successful foreign conqueror of England

william of normandy

Bards or minstrels who orally passed down songs in Anglo-Saxon society

scops

The Romans occupied a conquered England from approximately 55 B.C. to around 407 A.D.

false

The Germanic tribes who conquered Britain spoke the earliest version of the modern English language.

true

When the Romans withdrew, which major contributions to society did they leave behind? (select 3)

roads, towns, christianity

Anglo-Saxons believed their lives were controlled by an unknowable, supernatural fate, a concept known as wyrd.

true

When the Romans were called home to defend their empire, the Celts were then conquered by the Scots from northern Britain.

false

Because war, disease, and early death beset their lives, Anglo-Saxons believed that they could not control their own destinies or thwart fate, so their goal was to live for as much glory as they could garner during their lives.

true

The written language brought to England by the Roman missionaries was in the Latin alphabet.

true

One of the main contributions of William the Conqueror was the saving of the Anglo-Saxon language and culture.

false

What is the main subject of "Caedmon's Hymn"?

the creation of the world by God

What were the warriors singing about that made Grendel so angry at the beginning of Beowulf?

the creation of the world by God

What is the subject of "The Dream of the Rood"?

the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ

What is the subject of "The Wanderer"?

the longing for a place to belong in this world

"The Wife's Lament" is an example of which of these types of Anglo-Saxon poetry?

elegiac

What is the primary emotion in the final section of "The Dream of the Rood"?

hope

Like most early Anglo-Saxon literature, Beowulf would have been originally composed in Latin.

false

Harold II was defeated by Edward the Confessor in 1066, putting an end to the Anglo-Saxon time period in England.

false

What is the name of the literary work Alfred the Great commissioned to be written, which is one of our main sources of historic knowledge of this time period?

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles

The language of prose in England before Alfred's time was

latin

The language of prose in England after Alfred's time was

anglo-saxon

If you were a priest in Alfred's time, you would have read and written in this language:

latin

What is the term for the code of conduct that describes the bond between an Anglo-Saxon lord and his followers?

comitatus

The narrator throughout the Dream of the Rood is the dreamer himself.

false

An example of alliteration from "The Wanderer" is

"Old comrades remembered / But they poof into air"

A long poem that celebrates the deeds of a national hero

epic

A figure of speech in which a part of something represents the wholes

synecdoche

What is the literary term for a repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby stressed syllables?

alliteration

What is the literary term for a mid-line pause in poetry?

caesura

What is a literary term that describes poetry that laments the loss of something?

elegaic

If you had to speculate on the probable author for Beowulf, which of these is the most likely?

an Anglo-Saxon scop with Scandinavian ancestry

The social/cultural setting of Beowulf is

england

The central issue or theme of Beowulf is

the struggle between good and evil

The set of lines containing an example of synecdoche is

"His name was Edgetho, / His life lasted many winters."

The set of lines containing an example of kenning is

"One the gray wolf slew; one a grieving earl / Sadly gave to death, the grave's embrace."

When Beowulf tells the Geats he will cross the sea and destroy Grendel, the poet writes, "None of the wise ones regretted his going." What inference can the reader draw from that remark?

The Geats believed helping Hrothgar was an honorable duty

From which fact can the reader infer that Beowulf is honorable?

He refuses to use weapons because Grendel used none.

Wiglaf thinks he and his comrades should help Beowulf fight the dragon because

in the past they had promised to repay Beowulf's kindness with their lives, and they owed him their loyalty in his time of need.

List the 6 people groups of England in the order of their invasion/settling of England.

iberians, celts, romans, germainic tribes (angles, saxons, jutes), norsemen (vikings), normans (french)

List four of the main characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry we discussed in class.

elegiac/heroic themes, alliteration, kenning, two-part lines with two stressed syllables in each half.

What is the beginning date of the Middle English era of British literature?

1066

A literary term for a story that combines elements of adventure, chivalry, religious morals, and often the supernatural.

romance

King Arthur personally killed Mordred at the end of the battle because

he was enraged by the deaths of his own men at the hands of Mordred's army.

The code of comitatus is replaced by the code of what

chivalry

True/False? The Synod of Whitby was the meeting at which England split from the church in Rome.

false

Sir Gawain's asking permission from both his king and his liege lady, Queen Guenevere, to accept the challenge from the Green Knight, shows him following the chivalric ideal of courtesy.

true

One of Chaucer's achievements is writing The Canterbury Tales in which language?

middle english

Which is not something that made Chaucer an ideal person to write The Canterbury Tales?

His job as a Catholic priest meant that he would have interacted with the Pope himself

According to the notes, The Canterbury Tales was written for entertainment and what other purpose?

satire

What is the common story arc for a morality play?

Temptation, fall, and redemption.

True/False? Saint Ethelbert of Kent was the missionary from Rome who converted Augustine of Canterbury, the first English king to convert to Christianity.

false

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, who was the first to answer the Green Knight's challenge?

arthur

True/False? At the Battle of Bosworth Field, the English were finally able to defeat the French Normans and return England to Anglo-Saxon rule.

false

What is the term for narrative writing like Chaucer did that requires the reader to make inferences from actions and appearances rather than the reader being told what to think in a straightforward manner?

indirect exposition

Parcels of land "owned" by knights, the center of economic and social life in the Middle Ages

manor

After receiving his blow from the Green Knight's axe, Sir Gawain becomes extremely angry with the Green Knight for tricking him and testing his character

false

This kind of drama from the Middle Ages was based on the lives of saints.

miracle play

What challenge did the Green Knight give to Arthur's court?

beheading game

True/False? Despite trying to find people to accompany him along his journey, Everyman learns that you eventually stand essentially alone before the judgment throne, with just your own life choices to commend or condemn you

true

Le Morte D'Arthur contains all of the following characteristics of a romance EXCEPT

quest to rescue a fair damsel in distress and fighting for the honor of one's nation

This kind of drama from the Middle Ages was to teach the common people allegorical lessons on how to live.

morality play

The Battle of Bosworth Field also marked the end of which conflict?

the wars of roses

Which king split with the Roman Catholic Church to become head of the newly created Church of England?

Henry VIII

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a famous story written by Sir Thomas Malory.

false

This kind of drama from the Middle Ages was based on retelling biblical stories.

mystery play

A literary technique that functions as a way for the author to include several more stories within the main story

frame tale

By the end of the Middle Ages, Old English was being spoken as the language of the common people.

false

Which is one of the causes for the decline of the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages?

corruption of the clergy

Who did the code of chivalry apply to?

knights

In the feudal hierarchy, which group is ranked just below the monarch, also responsible for immediately paying taxes to the monarch?

nobles

Le Morte d'Arthur is considered the first major work of what in English?

prose fiction

True/False? In the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes characters who belong to the three main classes of medieval society: the clergy, the courts, and the commoners.

true

Owner of all the land under the feudal system?

king

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is which one of these?

a romance

The person who won the Battle of Hastings?

william

What is the end date of the Middle English time period?

1485 A.D.

Despite his original intentions, Chaucer completed (or partially completed) only how many tales?

24

Chaucer originally planned to write how many stories in The Canterbury Tales?

120 or 124, depending on how you count the pilgrims

What kind of play is Everyman?

morality play

What is one of the most famous examples of a medieval romance?

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Le Morte D'Arthur is one of the most popular morality plays of the Middle Ages.

false

True/False? Romances were often a dramatization of a story from the Bible or the life of a saint.

false

What is the date that England split with the Roman Catholic Church?

1534

What is the name sometimes given to the unkown author of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"?

the pearl poet

Spenser's "Epithalamion" is

a poem written to his wife for their wedding, reflecting a Protestant view of love and marriage as being glorious and wonderful

What do the 24 stanzas of "Epithalamion" represent?

the 24 hours of the poet's wedding day

T/F - Spenser reflects the Protestant view of beauty, focusing only on spiritual, inner beauty, rather than physical beauty.

false

T/F - Spenser departs from traditional 16th century love sonnets by writing about a happy and successful love instead of poems for someone painfully inaccessible.

true

Who was The Faerie Queene written in honor of?

queen elizabeth

T/F - Because Spenser was not very well educated like many of his great contemporary poets, his language is very antiquated and archaic, rather than forward thinking and experimental.

false

As Christian sets out for the City of Destruction, his biggest hindrance is that he cares too much about what others think of him, rather than the salvation of his soul.

false

According to Norton, Pilgrim's Progress is the most popular form of what literature in the English language?

allegory

Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress after recanting his religious beliefs in order to get out of prison.

false

In the Slough of Despond, how does Pliable's reaction to the mire differ from Christian's?

Pliable becomes angry at the difficulty, struggles out of the swamp on the side nearest his own house, and abandons the journey.

When the merchants at Vanity Fair ask the pilgrims what they wish to purchase, how do Christian and Faithful reply?

"We buy the truth."

What is the ultimate fate of Faithful in the town of Vanity?

He is burned at the stake after a show trial, but a chariot takes his spirit immediately to the Celestial City.