British Literature
st
1 Semester Review
Anglo-Saxon Period
Medieval Period
Language
Canterbury Tales
Sonnets
Beowulf
Ballads
Drama
Oral Literature
Literary Terms
Renaissance
17th Century Poetry
Anglo-Saxon Period
100
200
300
Medieval Period
100
200
300
Renaissance
100
200
300
Language
100
200
300
Canterbury Tales
100
200
300
Sonnets
100
200
300
Beowulf
100
200
300
Ballads
100
200
300
Drama
100
200
300
Oral Literature
100
200
300
Literary Terms
100
200
300
17th Century Poetry
100
200
300
Anglo-Saxon 100
What was the name of the building which
was the center or “heart” of a kingdom
where everyone ate, drank, and enjoyed
entertainment in this culture?
 Answer:
 Mead Hall

Medieval 100
What is the code the Green Knight tests
on Sir Gawain?
 Answer:
 Code of Chivalry

Renaissance 100
What is the single most influential piece of
English literature that allowed for the
common man to read and was created by
a committee in 1611?
 Answer:
 King James Version of the Bible

Language 100
William the conqueror brought what
language to England?
 Answer:
 French

Canterbury Tales 100
What is the literary term Chaucer used
that uses humor to mock human and
institutional weaknesses, always has
targets, and varies in tone from
subtle to harsh or biting?
 Answer:
 Satire

Sonnets 100
How many lines are in a sonnet?
 Answer:
 14

Beowulf 100
Who is the author of Beowulf?
 Answer:
 anonymous

Ballads 100
What period of literature in which the
literacy level was very low did ballads
flourish because they were musical and
easy to remember?
 Answer:
 Medieval

Drama 100
What is the literary term used to describe
a situation when the audience knows
something the characters do not?
 Answer:
 Dramatic irony

Oral Literature 100
What is a traveling story-teller in the
Anglo-Saxon era called?
 Answer:
 Scop

Literary Terms 100
What is the term for a pause or break
within a line of poetry?
 Answer:
 caesura

17th Century Poetry 100
What is Latin for “seize the day”?
 Answer:
 Carpe diem

Anglo- Saxon 200
What is the name of an artifact recovered
from an archeological dig that revealed
people from this culture did appreciate
beauty?
 Answer:
 Sutton Hoo

Medieval 200
What literary form is a relatively short
narrative that focuses on a single tragic
event while telling its tale in dialogue and
archaic language?
 Answer:
 ballad

Renaissance 200
The English Renaissance particularly
appreciated this type of art, which
distinguishes it from the Italian
Renaissance:
 Answer:
 Performing arts (drama)
 FYI: appreciated sonnets, too!

Language 200
English is largely a ____________
language.
 Answer:
 Germanic

Canterbury Tales 200
What is the science used in Canterbury
Tales that believes a character’s inner self
can be revealed through outward
appearance?
 Answer:
 physiognomy

Sonnets 200
What are the two terms used to describe
many sonnets that are on the same topic
and show the changing attitude of the
speaker?
 Answer:
 Sonnet sequence AND sonnet cycle

Beowulf 200
Who is responsible for the Christian
overlay?
 Answer:
 Monks who translated it

Ballads 200
What is the main subject of which a ballad
is centered?
 Answer:
 A tragic event

Drama 200
Name the king for whom Shakespeare’s
Macbeth was written as a response to the
recently foiled Guy Fawkes’ plan to blow
up Parliament?
 Answer:
 King James I

Oral Literature 200
What is the Anglo-Saxon poetic device
that is a descriptive phrase taking place of
a noun? (ex: ring-giver=king)
 Answer:
 kenning

Literary Terms 200
What is the term for an extreme
exaggeration?
 Answer:
 hyperbole

17th Century Poetry 200
“There is no typical 17th century outlook,”
because a a variety of writing styles
emerged during this time. Name them:
 Answer:
 Metaphysical, cavalier, puritan

Anglo-Saxon 300
Who is credited for the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicles, Exeter Book, and the
translations with the aid of the monks?
 Answer:
 Alfred the Great

Medieval 300
Who is known as “The Father of English
Literature,” who also wrote during this
period?
 Answer:
 Geoffrey Chaucer

Renaissance 300
Renaissance means “rebirth.” What is the
rebirth?
 Answer:
 Of the Classics (Greek and Roman)

Language 300
Name, in order, the four invasions that
influenced the English language.
 Answer:
 Romans-Germans-Vikings(Danes)-French

Canterbury Tales 300
Canterbury Tales is a frame story structure
in which the speaker tells us who, what,
when, where, and why the pilgrims took
their journey. What are the 5 “w”s?
 Answer:
 People from all classes, on a pilgrimage,
spring in 14th century, to Canterbury, visit
tomb of Thomas Becket

Sonnets 300
Fourteen lines of iambic pentameter which
follows a strict rhyme scheme of
ababcdcdefefgg is called:
 Answer:
 An English sonnet

Beowulf 300
What characteristic makes Beowulf
different from a heroic figure in the
Medieval period?
 Answer:
 Bragging/boasting

Ballads 300
Name a ballad we have read.
 Answer:
 Barbara Allen, Lord Randall, Get Up and
Bar the Door, The Twa Corbies

Drama 300
What is the name of the theater in which
many of Shakespeare’s plays were
performed?
 Answer:
 The Globe Theater

Oral Literature 300
“Literature reflects the dominant
tendencies of an era.” Name one cultural
element valued that is evident from the
Anglo-Saxon riddles we have read.
 Answer:
 Farming (plow), sea (anchor and iceberg),
entertainment (goblet of mead).

Literary Terms 300
What is the term when a speaker in a
poem addresses something either absent,
dead, or abstract?
 Answer:
 apostrophe

17th Century Poetry 300
Name the type of poetry that focuses on
carpe diem, wine, women, and song.
 Answer:
 Cavalier
