1) What does Chaucer write concerning the devastating effect of the Black Death upon English social, cultural, and economic life in “The Canterbury Tales” ? a. Priests died in great numbers. b. Rent prices increased because of the market boom. c. The upper classes were burdened by their monopoly of scarce resources. d. Chaucer wrote no direct descriptions.
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2) How did the Norman Conquest affect the international political situation in England ? a. The Norman Conquest increased the French influence. b. The Norman Conquest marked the last attempt for a Scandinavian nation to overtake England. c. The Norman Conquest ended cultural interaction with Norway and Denmark. d. All of these answers
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3) Which of the following is not an example of Arthurian legend ? a. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae b. Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love c. Marie de France’s Lanval d. Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur
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4) “The Second Shepherds’ Play” is part of which play cycle ? a. Cornish cycle b. York cycle c. Roman cycle d. Wakefield cycle
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5) Which of the following is the best example of a mystery play ? a. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” b. “The Second Shepherds’ Play” c. “The Knight’s Tale” d. “The Dream of the Rood”
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6) What is the significance of the phrase protecting the heart from Acrene Wisse ? a. The phrase refers to anchoresses’ responsibility to defend other Christians. b. The phrase suggests that women should safeguard their spirituality through total withdrawal from the world. c. The phrase is considered one of the positive effects of prayer. d. The phrase involves becoming a nunin order to escape the bad influence of men.
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7) Which of the following genres applies to Langland’s “Piers Plowman” ? a. Allegory b. Social satire c. Dream vision d. All of these answers
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8) What was historically significant about Chretien de Troyes Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion ? a. He recast the history of Arthur into the romance genre. b. He was the first to discuss the Knights of the Round Table. c. He separated Arthurian legend from tales of courtly love. d. He dropped the supernatural theme found in Arthurian legend.
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9) What is the primary focus of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History ? a. The life of everyday people in the 5th and 6th centuries b. The conversion of Britain to Christianity c. The history of Christianity before it reached Britain d. The spread of Christianity after the Norman Conquest
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10) What is the primary purpose of Chetien de Troye’s medieval romances ? a. To convert readers to Christianity through positive examples b. To inform illiterate readers about Arthurian legend c. To reconcile the hero’s responsibilities in love and wars d. To sway audiences away from reading tales of courtly love
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11) What is the significance of the dreamer in The Dream of the Rood ? a. The dreamer functions as an example of the comitatus ethic. b. The dreamer has a special hope for salvation. c. The dreamer is a relic from before the Christian conversion. d. The dreamer is an example of the superstition of paganism.
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12) Which of the following is not a characteristic of Old English ? a. Alliteration b. Personification c. Caesura d. Romance
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13) What is the significance of the title of “Everyman” ? a. The title suggests a long history of conflict between the government and the individual. b. The title is part of the morality play’s attempt to make Christian struggles universal. c. The title alludes to other plays in the same cycle. d. The title suggests that faith-based issues are individual to each Christian.
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14) Why is the Battle of Hastings relevant to the development of Middle English ? a. English as a language of the king’s court was replaced by Norman French. b. Eventually English was reestablished, deeply influenced by Norman French. c. For a time, England became a country with two languages. d. All of these answers
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15) Why is the presence of the comitatus ethic in Beowulf significant ? a. The comitatus ethic represents the shift from a nomadic to a more organized social structure. b. The comitatus ethic is evidence of a period in which behavior was guided by Christian ethics. c. The comitatus ethic shows a historical return to older types of political organization. d. The comitatus ethic represents a culture in which rulers had no responsibilities to their citizens.
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16) Chaucer and Langland were contemporaries, but there were several differences between their writing styles. Which of the following best describes these differences ? a. Langland wrote only about aristocratic characters that were similar to Arthurian legends, whereas Chaucer wrote about lower social classes. b. Chaucer and Langland wrote in different dialects. c. Chaucer copied French and Italian style, whereas Langland did not. d. Most of Chaucer’s poetry was for a secular court audience, whereas Langland’s was didactic, teaching a moral lesson.
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17) Chaucer’s pilgrims are a representative section of late medieval society. Which of the following economic situations is evident among this group ? a. Landlords had growing problems with their tenants. b. The lack of guilds led to a decline in available civic services. c. A modern social hierarchy developed. d. All of these answers
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18) What is problematic about calling Beowulf part of Old English literature ? a. There is no firm concept of when English literature began. b. The epic poem is written in a language that is unrecognizable to many English speakers. c. Danish and German scholars first claimed the poem. d. There are no English characters in the poem.
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19) Which of the following best defines Middle English ? a. An early form spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons b. A filed-down Old English with heavy French influence c. A unique form of English spoken in Germany d. A form brought to England by the Scandinavians
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20) Which of the following factors helped create a solidified British political identity ? a. The shift away from individual petty kingdoms to central rule under King Alfred b. Efforts to revive learning c. The translation of Latin religious and historical works in vernacular traditions d. All of these answers
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