English III 11th grade English Homeschool

When Lady Macbeth cries out, 'unsex me here', what does she mean?

'Make me cruel and unwomanly'

_____ is an example of a Shakespearean _____, typically categorized by a happy ending, in comparison to _____, which is known as a tragedy because of the deaths of most of the characters.

'Twelfth Night'; comedy; 'Hamlet'

In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' is an example of which genre?

A beast fable

How does the epic poem Beowulf end?

A dragon attacks the Geats, and Beowulf dies a hero's death defeating him.

In The Miller's Tale of 'The Canterbury Tales', what does Nicholas tell Alisoun's husband, John, in order to trick him so that he can spend a night with Alisoun?

A flood of biblical proportions is coming, and they will all need to spend the night in bathtubs to avoid drowning.

Which of the following BEST explains the frame narrative of The Canterbury Tales presented in the General Prologue?

A group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury tell stories to impress their host, who will reward his favorite pilgrim with a dinner paid for by the rest.

What is a caesura?

A short break in the middle of a line.

A medieval chivalric romance is closest to which modern genre, and why?

Adventure story, because the stories tend to follow the adventures of a knight.

Why does it matter what literary period a work is written in?

All of these are right.

In Shakespeare's Othello, why is Othello's ethnicity somewhat disputed?

Among Elizabethans, being a Moor might just mean having a shade of skin that's slightly darker from a typical Elizabethan English person.

''In this story, the word 'safe' most likely means...'' Regardless of what story is being referenced, what kind of test question would this be classified as?

An analysis or interpretation question.

Which is closest in meaning to lines 3-4 of the following passage of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales? 'Whan that Aprille, with hise shoures soote, / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote / And bathed every veyne in swich licour, / Of which vertu engendred is the flour'

And bathed every vein in such liquid, the power of which creates the flower.

Why might someone write an elegy?

As a dedication to someone who has passed away.

Why is Old English difficult for contemporary people to read?

Because it's essentially a foreign language.

What is often considered the first work of literature in the English language?

Beowulf

In Shakespeare's King Lear, how does King Lear decide to divide his kingdom?

By giving more to the daughter who loves him the most.

In 'The Pardoner's Tale' in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, two of the friends send the third to town for supplies and plot to kill him when he returns, in order to increase their share of the prize. How does the third friend plan to kill the other two?

By poisoning some of the wine he's bringing back.

In 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, how does Chauntecleer escape from the fox?

By suggesting that the fox brag about his success, thus making him open his mouth.

Caedmon's Hymn is the earliest recorded poem in Old English. What about its authorship makes it unique?

Caedmon was illiterate, so the poem was composed orally and then scribed by someone named Venerable Bede in the 7th century.

In Shakespeare's Othello, Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with _____.

Cassio

In Shakespeare's Othello, what evidence does Othello have of Desdemona's affair?

Cassio has Desdemona's handkerchief.

The Canterbury Tales is probably Chaucer's most famous work. It is likely that Chaucer had the ability to write about all of the different included characters because:

Chaucer did many different jobs, traveled, studied, and had many friends of different backgrounds to give him context.

In 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, how do Chauntecleer and the fox's actions depict the moral of the story -- Don't trust a flatterer?

Chauntecleer is flattered by the fox's request to hear him sing, leading to the fox snatching him up. The fox is flattered by Chauntecleer's request to brag about how the fox caught him, leading to Chauntecleer's escape.

Joe is taking a literature test. He easily eliminates one answer choice. The remaining choices all seem very similar to him. Which of the following are ways for Joe to determine which one of the answers is correct?

Check any absolutes, eliminate any red flags, and conduct the true/false test with the remaining answer choices.

In 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the name of the protagonist rooster, Chauntecleer, means what?

Clear singer

Which buzzword is associated with new criticism?

Close reading

Shakespeare's writing is best organized into which three categories?

Comedies, tragedies, and histories

The three basic parts of literary analysis are

Comprehension, Interpretation, and Analysis

In Shakespeare's King Lear, which character is ultimately the truest and most loyal to Lear?

Cordelia

In the basic prose structure, what do we call the part where everything ties up in the end?

Denouement

What is the moral of 'The Pardoner's Tale' in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales?

Don't be greedy.

What is the defining feature of alliterative verse?

Each line features many words that start with the same letter.

In Shakespeare's King Lear, which character is NOT with Lear during the storm on the heath?

Edmund

In The Knight's Tale from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, cousins Arcite and Palamon end up staging a battle for the heart of which lady?

Emily

What are four very common types of multiple-choice questions used for literature?

Factual, drawing conclusions, analysis, and inference

What is the basic unit of measurement in poetry?

Feet

The last line of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel 'The Great Gatsby' reads as follows: So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. What point-of-view does this line's narrator have?

First-person

Why is 'The Prioress's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales notable?

For its extreme anti-Semitism.

In Shakespeare's King Lear, how is Gloucester affected by his metaphorical and literal blindness?

Gloucester cannot see Edgar's loyalty and Edmund's treachery.

In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, when the three friends in 'The Pardoner's Tale' go looking for Death under a tree, what do they find instead?

Gold

In the epic poem Beowulf, what happens after Beowulf defeats Grendel?

Grendel's mother comes to avenge him.

One of the things that potentially leads to Ophelia's insanity and Laertes feeling negatively toward Hamlet is likely:

Hamlet mistaking their dad, Polonius, for Claudius and stabbing him to death.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, in the To be or not to be soliloquy, why does Hamlet worry about dying?

He doesn't know what comes after death, and it might be worse than life.

Why does Macbeth kill Banquo?

He doesn't want Banquo's sons to inherit the throne.

Why is Othello unusual among Shakespeare's title characters?

He's from North Africa.

In the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath is quite interesting and one of the only female characters who gets to tell stories. All of the following are true about the Wife of Bath EXCEPT:

Her son is traveling with her.

What do the witches NOT tell or show Macbeth the second time he goes to see them?

His wife will commit suicide.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, which of the following is NOT an example of Hamlet's indecision?

His worry that his mother might have sinned by marrying Claudius.

In the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, the pilgrims represent a diverse group of people. Which of the following is a common trait shared by the pardoner, summoner, and friar?

Hypocrisy

In what meter are most of Shakespeare's sonnets written?

Iambic pentameter

What style of writing was Shakespeare primarily known for?

Iambic pentameter

Why did Shakespeare use iambic pentameter more than other rhythms?

Iambic pentameter has five iambs per line and sounds more natural than other rhythms.

Why do scholars believe that The Canterbury Tales are likely unfinished?

In the General Prologue, the frame narrative suggests that each pilgrim will tell four tales, but fewer tales are told.

Why is imagery important?

It can help reinforce the text's meaning.

A fabliau is a comic genre characterized by which of the following?

Jokes about sex and bodily functions

The video lesson of Shakespeare's King Lear, presents which pairing below as an example of a double?

Kent and Edgar disguised as peasants

Macbeth gives his tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow speech in response to which event?

Lady Macbeth's suicide.

In examining author style and language, what is it that you need to already have a working knowledge of?

Literary devices

A helpful hint for deciphering Middle English is _____.

Look for words that sound the same as modern day English.

Sir Thomas Malory is a famous medieval writer who wrote Le Morte d'Arthur, which is something most of us are familiar with from the references we see in pop culture. However, his book differs from the typical novels of the time because _____.

Malory created a compilation of Arthurian legends and added just a few of his own to create the novel

Which branch of literary criticism are you primarily practicing when analyzing a text through the lens of class relations?

Marxism

In 'The Prioress's Tale' in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, after being killed, the little boy miraculously keeps singing a hymn in praise of whom?

Mary

T.S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land' is a crucial example of which period?

Modernism

The genre of literary criticism evolved alongside which movement?

Modernism

In Shakespeare's Sonnet #18, how is the subject's beauty described?

More permanent than a summer's day

Why was the fact that Chaucer wrote in the vernacular of the time in which he was living considered pretty revolutionary?

Most important works were written in Latin, and using the common vernacular made his work more accessible to everyday people.

What does This Nicholas anon leet fle a fart mean?

Nicholas farted

In Shakespeare's Othello, which of the following is NOT a reason for Iago's villainy?

Othello killed his father.

In The Knight's Tale from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, who ends up getting married?

Palamon

In 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Chauntecleer is comforted after a bad dream by his favorite wife, _____.

Pertelote

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, what does Hamlet do in order to prove that Claudius killed his father?

Put on a play designed to make Claudius act guiltily.

Shakespeare's Dark Lady sonnets are known for which of the following?

Realistic subject

What is the most likely reason we don't know Shakespeare's exact birthday or the exact publication dates of his plays and poetry?

Records were not kept as regularly or accurately as they are now, especially for those who weren't wealthy.

Which list puts 3 literary movements in the correct order?

Renaissance, The Enlightenment, Romanticism

What is analyzing a poem for its rhythm and meter known as?

Scansion

At the beginning of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, we are given the information that the characters live in Verona. What basic part of comprehension does this information fulfill?

Setting

How does setting comprehension differ from setting analysis?

Setting comprehension involves identifying the setting, while setting analysis is gathering information about the setting that is not explicitly stated.

When taking a multiple choice test in literature, which of the following is NOT a way to increase comprehension of a piece when reading for a test?

Skimming through the text in order to get the general idea of a text to save time.

In what form did Shakespeare write many of his poems?

Sonnets

To whom is Shakespeare's Sonnet #18 addressed?

The Fair Youth

What is one of the primary interests of postmodern literary theory?

The Other

In what period did the novel really become the dominant literary form?

The Victorian era

According to most modern schools of literary theory, how important is a text's author in determining its intent?

The author's intent doesn't matter.

In a prose structure, what is the subtext?

The ideas buried beneath the literal words of the text

What do we call the tale of the conflict or the clash of characters or ideas in a story?

The story's narrative

What does the last phase of literary analysis involve?

Themes and morals/messages

Some of the other characters really want Hamlet dead. When Laertes and Claudius team up on Hamlet in Act IV, why do they decide to have two ways to kill Hamlet when they have a duel?

They think Hamlet might win the duel, so they need poison wine to finish the job if the poisoned sword does not.

How did J. R. R. Tolkien influence Beowulf scholarship?

Through his insistence that the supernatural aspects not be separated from the historical aspects.

In 'The Canterbury Tales', why does the miller tell his tale?

To upset the knight.

Which is closest in meaning to lines 1-2 of the following passage of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales? 'Whan that Aprille, with hise shoures soote, / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote / And bathed every veyne in swich licour, / Of which vertu engendred is the flour'

When April's sweet showers have pierced the drought of March to the root.

Which of the following witchy lines is from Shakespeare's Macbeth?

When shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain?

How is the The Wife of Bath's Tale from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales considered to have feminist elements?

Women getting sovereignty over their husbands is a major theme.

Beowulf is similar in structure to Caedmon's Hymn because of the _____ verse and use of _____. However, it's different because it's really long, and is classified as _____ instead of a poem.

alliterative; caesura; an epic

William Langland's Piers Plowman is an allegorical poem that differs from other kinds of poems because allegorical poems are _____.

big metaphors for something else

In the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, the prioress affects the manners of a _____.

courtly lady

In a poem, the _____ is its literal meaning and _____ is what it implies.

denotation; connotation

Underlining _____ will help you select the proper response in a multiple-choice question, thus avoiding _____, or incorrect responses.

key words, distractors

In The Wife of Bath's Tale in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, as a punishment for _____ the knight is charged with figuring out what women most want in the world.

rape

In The Miller's Tale of 'The Canterbury Tales', when Absalon arrives at the window to ask for a kiss, Alisoun presents her _____.

rear end

William Shakespeare is often noted to have had his plays performed at _____, which tragically burned down in the 1613, but has been restored an is open for visitors today.

the Globe Theatre