TEST for “The Seafarer” (translated by Burton Raffel)
On the line provided, write the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
Textbooks may be used for this assessment.
_____ 1. Most images at the beginning of the poem portray
a. coldness
b. color
c. animals
d. heroes
______2. The speaker’s feelings for the sea are best described as
a. hostile and resentful
b. friendly and loving
c. respectful and fascinated
d. cheerful and sympathetic
______3. The tone in which the speaker describes earlier times is
a. objective, because he describes past events as a reporter would
b. nostalgic, because he speaks with longing
c. bitter, because he speaks of his former companions with hatred
d. humorous, because he uses irony to describe the past
______4. The speaker thinks that the world in its present state is
a. an improvement on the past
b. not seriously flawed
c. striving to improve
d. without glory and honor
______5. Which of the following statements best describes the speaker’s thoughts about
death?
a. He fears suffering and dying a painful death.
b. He is afraid of freezing to death.
c. He believes that he will die at sea.
d. He wants to be buried with gold to please God.
______6. The poem ends with a
a. prayer to Thor
b. statement of the poet’s beliefs
c. song of praise for the sea
d. return to the speaker’s story
______7. That “The Seafarer” is an elegy that is supported by all of the following
assertions except that the
a. speaker laments something lost
b. poem is filled with a sense of sadness
c. speaker begs God’s forgiveness
d. speaker stresses the transience of earthly life
______8. Life has taught the speaker that
a. worldly glory and power vanish
b. fate and God help only sailors
c. life on land can be exciting
d. kings reward courageous acts
______9. The phrase “summer’s sentinel,” meaning a cuckoo, is an example of
a. a kenning
b. a predicate
c. a scop
d. an exile
______10. During this time in history, many groups of people left or were sent from their
homes. Knowing this helps the reader understand why
a. each person was sent away
b. each person was lonely
c. the theme of “exile” was so common
d. the lyric poem was popular
______11. Which of the following best describes the speaker’s message at the end of
“The Seafarer”?
a. Life at sea is both exhilarating and wearisome.
b. Gifts of gold for heaven will not redeem a sinful soul.
c. Those who walk with God shall be rewarded.
d. The earth no longer flourishes in glory.
______12. Which of the following characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry is illustrated by
“The Seafarer”?
a. celebration of heroic achievements
b. use of caesura
c. rhymed couplets
d. Caedmonian verse
______13. The first part of “The Seafarer” is the story of
a. a man’s life on the sea
b. a sailor’s conversion to Christianity
c. an exile’s lament for his country
d. an ocean storm off the coast of England
______14. The purpose of a caesura in a line of Anglo-Saxon poetry is to
a. remind a scop what to say
b. provide a metaphorical name for something
c. indicate a pause for breath
d. mark the four beats in the line
______15. When reading Anglo-Saxon poetry, how does recognizing historical context
Help a reader understand why certain things occur?
a. It gives the reader clues about the situation in the time period in which it
was written.
b. It helps readers restate in their own words what the poem says.
c. It requires readers to use a dictionary to find the meaning of complicated
words.
d. It shows the reader how important correct spelling and grammar is.
______16. What is the reason, despite all the hardships he’s suffered, that the narrator in
“The Seafarer” continues to follow the life of the sea?
a. weary fatalism
b. passionate curiosity
c. religious vision
d. material need
______17. Which element in “The Seafarer” is most characteristic of lyric poetry?
a. regular rhythm and rhyme
b. strong reliance on figurative language
c. intense personal emotion
d. narrative structure
______18. “The Seafarer” is considered to be an elegiac poem because
a. it mourns the death of a warrior’s lover
b. it sings about the loss of the king
c. it mourns the emptiness the poet feels inside
d. it praises the heroism of Beowulf