Ms. Hampson’s World Literature II Final Exam
Review Guide and Information Sheet:
June 2011
DATE: Tuesday, June 14, 2011
TIME:
7:55am to 9:55am
PLACE: Period 5 meets in Room 110.
PLEASE NOTE:
The exam period will be 100 minutes, and the exam grade will count toward 20% of your
semester grade. You may not leave early. If you think you might finish early, consider
bringing other materials to read or to study. Make sure that you bring two sharpened pencils
to the exam.
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What does the exam consist of?
During the exam period, you will need to read two poems (one Shakespearean, one Romantic)
and a piece of fiction. For each of the verse passages, you will answer ten multiple-choice
questions; for the story, you will answer 20 questions. These forty multiple-choice questions
will count toward 40% of your exam grade. You will also write ONE ESSAY, which will count
toward the other 60% of your grade.
What are we being tested on?
This exam will assess your abilities to do the following:

to read for understanding verse and prose works of literature;

to understand how and why various literary genres (drama, essay, short stories, novels,
poetry, etc.) can be used to communicate meaning;

to analyze literature for meaning, or meanings;

to recognize the use of literary devices, and to say how they function within works of
literature;

to see literature as reflective of the culture and time period from which it comes, including as
reflective of philosophical and artistic ideas;

to understand that literature is sometimes a vehicle of social commentary, including criticism
of the dominant philosophical or artistic ideas of a time, and can even be political in content;

to write about literature clearly and effectively in essay form;

to demonstrate effective control of writing skills, allowing you to communicate clearly and
with style.
How can I study for this exam?
To prepare for the exam, you should review your notes from this semester, along with
evaluations (tests, quizzes, essays and so on). This review will allow you to call to mind what
we’ve covered in class as well as your personal performance on evaluations. Considering both
of these things is essential preparation.
While the exam focuses on skills learned – not content – the third essay option does ask that you
discuss another work you read this semester. If you choose to answer question (and keep in
mind that it is the only option that doesn’t involve discussing poetry), then you should be able to
discuss literary works with specificity. You should, for example, be able to call to mind the
exact plot as well as character names.
This packet contains some materials for you to consider. Since you will be faced with new
poems on the exam, it will be helpful to experience new poems now. Consider what each poem
means and how poetic devices help convey meaning. Practice Shakespearean poems as well as
Romantic ones.
In class we will discuss connections among various literary works; between poems; between
poems and stories; and between stories and other literary works we’ve read this semester. Since
the essay question involves such comparison, this sort of thinking will also help you prepare.
Ask yourself what connections you can make.
Make sure that you consider your timed writing skills and performance. Spend time planning
before you begin writing. In your essay state your direct and specific answer to the essay
question. Maintain that focus throughout your essay, as you support your thesis with specific
points and references to the literary works under discussion. End with a conclusion in which you
re-assert your thesis.
What did we read this semester?
This semester we studied literature from the Middle Ages to the present.
List what you read from each of the following periods:
from the Middle Ages:
from the Renaissance:
from Rationalism or the Age of Reason and Satire:
from Romanticism:
from Realism to present:
Review of Important Literary Terms
1) Inference
2) Speaker
3) Imagery
4) Simile
5) Metaphor
6) Alliteration
7) Apostrophe
8) Irony
9) Sonnet
10) Quatrain
11) Couplet
12) Octave
13) Sestet
14) Volta
15) Iambic Pentameter
16) Personification
17) Satire
18) Onomatopoeia
19) Hyperbole
20) Mood
21) Tone
22) Foreshadow
23) Narrative
24) Rhyme Scheme
25) Alternating Rhyme
26) Lines of Verse
27) Synonymous
28) Paradox
29) Context
30) Theme