British Literature Midterm Exam 2023
What character embodies England's greatest legend? -Answer= King Arthur
During whose reign did learning, literacy, and literature advance in Anglo-Saxon
times? -Answer= Alfred the Great
What genre is Beowulf? -Answer= oral epic
The Anglo-Saxon term for fate is ________________. -Answer= wyrd
Epics are traditionally ________________. -Answer= didactic
One evidence of the mixing of pagan and Christian elements in Beowulf is
___________________________. -Answer= the assertion that wyrd is providence.
Beowulf mortally wounds Grendel by ___________________________. -Answer= tearing off his arm.
What was the original purpose of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle? -Answer= to inform
According to The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, what heroic quality does Alderman Eadric
lack the most? -Answer= loyalty
In Sir Gawain, what does the pentangle symbolize about Gawain? -Answer=
faithfulness What number is repeatedly used symbolically in Sir Gawain? -Answer= 3
In Sir Gawain, what is the significance of the green girdle as it relates to Gawain's
character development? -Answer= Gawain's use of the girdle violates his vow but
provides an opportunity for true confession.
In Sir Gawain, why did the queen tempt Gawain? -Answer= The king directed her to tempt Gawain.
In Sir Gawain, by continuing to wear a green sash, what does every Round Table
knight commemorate? -Answer= the frailty of human hearts and the virtue of humility
Sir Gawain and Le Morte d'Arthur share all of the following except... -Answer= noble
death of the protagonist.
In Le Morte d'Arthur, what is the name of King Arthur's sword? -Answer= Excalibur
Sir Bedivere's part in Le Morte d'Arthur resembles which biblical figure? -Answer= Peter
, T/F Most Anglo-Saxon literature was written, not oral, literature. -Answer= False
T/F The epic and the elegy are among the most prominent genres in Old English
literature. - Answer= True
T/F Throughout the text's excerpt from Beowulf, Hrothgar clearly envies Beowulf's strength
and seeks to show how he is of greater heroic virtue than Beowulf. -Answer= False
T/F True courtly love was spiritual, not physical. -Answer= True
T/F Thomas Malory's life choices evidenced the wisdom displayed in his prose
romances. -Answer= False
T/F The legend of Arthur originated in the exploits of a Celtic chieftain in the fifth
century. -Answer= True
in texts, cues that indicate main ideas and supporting points or show how these
points relate to each other -Answer= transitional phrase
a long, stylized narrative poem celebrating the deeds of a national hero of legend -Answer= epic
a poetic narrative focused on courtly life and a knightly code of chivalry, involving a
knightly quest and magical elements -Answer= romance
something in a story—usually an object, character, or setting—that carries meaning or
significance in addition to itself -Answer= symbol
unrhymed, conventional Old English verse form, incorporating stresses and caesuras
and using words' initial sounds to structure its lines -Answer= alliterative verse
a relationship of mutual respect and friendship in which a tribal leader protects and provides for
his followers, who in turn pledge their loyalty and support in battle -Answer= comitatus bond
a device in Germanic oral poetry, communicating an indirect metaphor using a
compound expression -Answer= kenning
a record of a place's or group's history, organized by time and woven into a unified
narrative - Answer= chronicle
in literature, the affirmation of something by denying its contrary -Answer= litotes
a pagan Germanic concept functioning as a determiner in human affairs -Answer= wyrd
What character embodies England's greatest legend? -Answer= King Arthur
During whose reign did learning, literacy, and literature advance in Anglo-Saxon
times? -Answer= Alfred the Great
What genre is Beowulf? -Answer= oral epic
The Anglo-Saxon term for fate is ________________. -Answer= wyrd
Epics are traditionally ________________. -Answer= didactic
One evidence of the mixing of pagan and Christian elements in Beowulf is
___________________________. -Answer= the assertion that wyrd is providence.
Beowulf mortally wounds Grendel by ___________________________. -Answer= tearing off his arm.
What was the original purpose of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle? -Answer= to inform
According to The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, what heroic quality does Alderman Eadric
lack the most? -Answer= loyalty
In Sir Gawain, what does the pentangle symbolize about Gawain? -Answer=
faithfulness What number is repeatedly used symbolically in Sir Gawain? -Answer= 3
In Sir Gawain, what is the significance of the green girdle as it relates to Gawain's
character development? -Answer= Gawain's use of the girdle violates his vow but
provides an opportunity for true confession.
In Sir Gawain, why did the queen tempt Gawain? -Answer= The king directed her to tempt Gawain.
In Sir Gawain, by continuing to wear a green sash, what does every Round Table
knight commemorate? -Answer= the frailty of human hearts and the virtue of humility
Sir Gawain and Le Morte d'Arthur share all of the following except... -Answer= noble
death of the protagonist.
In Le Morte d'Arthur, what is the name of King Arthur's sword? -Answer= Excalibur
Sir Bedivere's part in Le Morte d'Arthur resembles which biblical figure? -Answer= Peter
, T/F Most Anglo-Saxon literature was written, not oral, literature. -Answer= False
T/F The epic and the elegy are among the most prominent genres in Old English
literature. - Answer= True
T/F Throughout the text's excerpt from Beowulf, Hrothgar clearly envies Beowulf's strength
and seeks to show how he is of greater heroic virtue than Beowulf. -Answer= False
T/F True courtly love was spiritual, not physical. -Answer= True
T/F Thomas Malory's life choices evidenced the wisdom displayed in his prose
romances. -Answer= False
T/F The legend of Arthur originated in the exploits of a Celtic chieftain in the fifth
century. -Answer= True
in texts, cues that indicate main ideas and supporting points or show how these
points relate to each other -Answer= transitional phrase
a long, stylized narrative poem celebrating the deeds of a national hero of legend -Answer= epic
a poetic narrative focused on courtly life and a knightly code of chivalry, involving a
knightly quest and magical elements -Answer= romance
something in a story—usually an object, character, or setting—that carries meaning or
significance in addition to itself -Answer= symbol
unrhymed, conventional Old English verse form, incorporating stresses and caesuras
and using words' initial sounds to structure its lines -Answer= alliterative verse
a relationship of mutual respect and friendship in which a tribal leader protects and provides for
his followers, who in turn pledge their loyalty and support in battle -Answer= comitatus bond
a device in Germanic oral poetry, communicating an indirect metaphor using a
compound expression -Answer= kenning
a record of a place's or group's history, organized by time and woven into a unified
narrative - Answer= chronicle
in literature, the affirmation of something by denying its contrary -Answer= litotes
a pagan Germanic concept functioning as a determiner in human affairs -Answer= wyrd
