ENG 241 Final Exam Review
How does Archimago separate the Red Cross Knight from Una?
He manufactures a sexy dream and a vision that casts doubt on Una's faithfulness
When Beowulf arrives to help the Danes, what does the king remind Beowulf of?
that Beowulf's father Ecgtheow had come to the Danes for help and protection years before, and so Beowulf implicitly owes the Danes a debt which he is now repaying
Chivalry
he medieval knightly system with its religious, moral and social code
597
re-Christianization of Engla-Land and the English is begun by missionaries from Rome
rhyme, rhyming poetry
repetition of identical vowel sounds in stressed syllables whose initial consonants differ. In poetry, rhyme often link the end of one line with another.
What is the "octave" of a sonnet?
the first two quatrains
Briefly summarize the three contrasting responses to Gawain's actions at the end of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
1) The Green Knight praises and forgives Gawain for his actions noting that, "by confessing your failings you are free from fault and have openly paid penance at the point of my axe. I declare you purged, as polished and pure as the day you were born, without blemish or blame." 2) Gawain still feels ashamed and regretful for his actions and promises to the King and the rest of the court that he will wear the sash as a reminder of what he has done. 3) The court laughs and each member agrees to wear a sash/belt along with him as a means of honoring Gawain.
Identify three of the contrasts, antitheses, and paradoxes that Wyatt uses in "I find no peace" (p. 650-651).
1. "I find no peace, and all my war is done..." The war/violence/fighting is over, yet the narrator still can't find peace 2. "I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise..." Despite metaphorically feeling as if he/she is "flying," the narrator cannot arise 3. "And holdeth me not, yet can i 'scape nowise..." Despite no one/thing holding the narrator back or in its clutches, the narrator still feels as if he/she cannot "escape"
Identify three poetical characteristics of alliterative poetry that are found in Old English poetry, as explained in class.
1. Old English poetry is split into half-lines that are separated by a caesura. 2. Across the caesura, there are 2 or 3 alliterations of stressed syllables 3. There are frequent uses of repetition in describing the same thing (ex. Eternal Lord, Holy Creator, mankind's Guardian etc.) This repetition was considered highly artistic.
identify and briefly discuss at least three characteristics of the romance genre...
1. They are episodic and sequential. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows this example. The story moves along with the structure of "this happened, then this happened, then this happened." 2. They deal with specific social class content. A good example is found in Capellenus' The Art of Courtly Love in which 'love' is described with strong class consciousness, detailing scenarios for upper class men and women. 3. They frequently focus on 'the subject' or the interior psychological life of the individuals in the story.
the period of the Wars of the Roses, ending with the advent of the Tudor dynasty
1450-1485
the first printing press comes to England
1476
the beginning of the Protestant Reformation
1517
the publication of Tottel's Miscellany, beginning the strong influence of Petrarchanism in English poetry
1557
the period of Queen Elizabeth I's rule
1558-1603
the death of Queen Elizabeth I and the accession of King James I
1603
the Gunpowder Plot
1605
publication of the King James Version of the bible
1611
the first Civil War
1642-1646
the second Civil War
1648
the Commonwealth Period, including the English Republic and Protectorate
1648-1660
According to tradition, when did the Germanic tribes—the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—arrive in Britain?
449-450 A.D.
According to Alison of Bath's "Prologue" to her tale, how many husbands has she had in her life?
5
The Green Knight enters the court of Arthur bearing what?
A holly bob an axe
What is the persona Viola adopts as her disguise in Twelfth Night?
A male courtier
Which of the following is the rhyme scheme of a Spenserian stanza?
ABAB BCBC C, in iambic pentameter, with the last line in iambic hexameter
What is the rhyme scheme of Edmund Spenser's Amoretti #1 "Happy ye leaves"? (p. 985-986)
ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
What is the rhyme scheme of William Shakespeare's sonnet #130 "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"? (p. 1184)
ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
What is the rhyme scheme of Sir Thomas Wyatt's "I find no peace"? (p. 650-651)
ABBA ABBA CDD CEE, or ABBA ABBA CDDC EE
Which angel is the one who gets caught up with Satan's rebelling angels but refuses to go along with them after he learns they are planning to revolt against God?
Abdiel
In Book 9 of Paradise Lost. Adam and Eve have a sort of "argument" over how best to go about their work. What do they disagree on? Explain.
Adam and Eve disagree about whether or not they should work together. Eve believes they could accomplish more if they split up, but Adam argues that Eve will be more vulnerable by herself.
Who wrote "The Rules of Love"?
Andreas Cappellanus
Who commands Cædmon to sing, and what does he sing about?
Anonymous; The Genesis
Which of the following is a comedic misrecognition in Twelfth Night?
Antonio mistakes Cesario for Sebastian Malvolio mistakes Maria's handwriting for Olivia's Olivia mistakes Sebastian for Cesario
Which character consistently misleads the Red Cross Knight and Una through "magic" and false images/imaginings ?
Archimago
14 Oct 1066
Battle of Hastings, Norman Conquest: William of Normandy defeats Harold Godwinson and conquers England
Who tells the story of Cædmon, the first named English poet?
Bede, in The Ecclesiastical History of the English People
When he returns to Geatland, what does Beowulf give Hygelac, and in turn what does Hygelac give Beowulf?
Beowulf gives Hygelac all the treasure and significant items he has received, and in return Hygelac gives Beowulf treasures and lands
In Book 2 of Paradise Lost, who comes up with the idea to get back at God by causing the downfall of humanity?
Beëlzebub expresses the idea in the meeting of the devils, but actually Satan came up with it first For this detail see Beëlzebub's speech and the reaction to it at 2.299-389, especially lines 378-385: Thus Beëlzebub / Pleaded his devilish counsel, first devised / By Satan, and in part proposed...
What is the name of the genre of short, magical romance tales written by Marie de France?
Breton lai
What is the kin of Grendel?
Cain's clan and a fiend of hell
How does Chaucer create complex voices by weaving together narratorial points-of-view and different voices?
Chaucer creates complex voices and descriptions for his characters by offering multiple points of view for the same character. For example, with the wife of bath, we get a description of her from the narrator, her personal description of herself through her first-person narrated prologue, as well as a more in-depth and implicit view of her character from her actual tale. These three layers, narrator, first person, and story character combine to form an collaborative but contrasting view of the character. Can we take the Wife of Bath's story as literal or truthful? Do we trust her personal recollection of the story when she readily admits that she is a manipulator of men? The contrast is a common theme within the tales as we have multiple characters who readily admit to their sin before giving a tale that usually has something to do with that very sin. Can they be authorities on subjects they are scrutinized for?
Briefly explain the ending of The Second Shepherd's Play: whom do Coll, Gib, and Daw meet, and what do they give him?
Coll, Gib, and Daw meet baby Jesus (the messiah) and give him three presents: a branch (bob) of cherries, a ball, and a bird (depicted in most images as a dove).
To whom does Lear say, "Do not laugh at me, for, as I am a man, I think this lady to be my child?"
Cordelia
Order of texts from earliest/oldest: Lanval Beowulf Canterbury Shephards Play History of Kings of Britain?
Correct Answer: Beowulf, History of the Kings, Lanval, Canterbury Tales, Second Shepherd's Play
In the Pardoner's "Tale," who are the young rioters looking for?
Death
Where do the events of the story of Beowulf take place?
Denmark and southern Sweden
The "cursed man" with "griesie locks, long growen and unbound" whom Red Cross Knight and Una encounter in Canto 9 is an allegorical representation of:
Despair
What is Fidessa's real name?
Duessa
Who is the architect of the plot to frame Gloucester in King Lear?
Edmund
At the beginning of Book 8, why does Eve get up and leave the discussion? Explain what her motivations are, according to the narrator.
Eve gets up and leaves the discussion because she would rather hear the words directly from Adam instead of hearing it from Raphael.
Which of the following works does not use alliterative versification?
Everyman
Which character adopts the disguise of a priest?
Feste
What verse form did Chauer use in Canterbury Tales?
Five-stress rhyming couplets
Which of the following characters is stuck in a tree and tries to warn the Red Cross Knight to beware of Duessa?
Fradubio, Brother Doubt, in Canto 2.
What were some of Chaucer's strongest artistic influences in both style and content?
French poets like the authors of the Romance of the Rose, Guillaume de Machaut, and Eustache Deschamps Italian poets such as Dante Alighieri, Francis Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio
In Katherine Philips' lyric "Friendship's Mystery", what mystery or mysteries does she describe?
Friendship is a captive freedom Friendship is a princely subjection Friendship is an engrossing loss Friendship is a deathless death
Which work sometimes uses a free indirect style of narration?
General Prologue of Canterbury Tales
449
Germanic invasions of Britain begin in earnest: the arrival of the "Angles" "Saxons" and "Jutes" from the continent
Who says, "ah my middill/I pray to God so mild/if ever I you beguiled/that I eat this child"?
Gill in Second Shephards Play
In Raphael's retelling of the fall of the rebel angels, what event or change first motivates Satan's rebellion against God?
God's announcement of The Son's pre-eminence, who is appointed "head" of all the angels
Who is the judge of the rapist-knight in the first part of Wife of Bath's tale?
Guinevere
Where does Piers the Plowman come from when we meet him first?
He appears from among the community of folk when they look for a guide to Saint Truth
How does Beowulf react to the Dragon's arrival?
He is deeply troubled and confused, wondering if he broke some divine commandment or law to deserve this punishment
At the end of the story, where does Lanval go?
He leaves with his lady to go to the Isle of Avalon, departing from the court of Arthur forever
When Piers Plowman agrees to take the folk on a pilgrimage to Truth, what actually happens?
He puts them all to work plowing his half-acre
In Book 9 of Paradise Lost, how does Satan, in his guise of the Serpent, tempt Eve?
He says that by eating the fruit she will gain wisdom, and that can only be a good thing since knowledge is a good thing. He claims that she will not die, any more than he died when he ate the fruit. He asks, Does it make sense that God would forbid humans to eat something that he let beasts eat? He argues that knowing evil will enable her to avoid evil, so gaining the knowledge of good and evil will actually be morally helpful and just.
How does Beowulf respond to the insulting challenge by Unferth about the swimming contest with Breca?
He speaks eloquently, tells a different version of the story, and then he challenges Unferth right back about how Unferth killed his own clansmen
Why is Red Cross Knight so easily defeated when he faces the giant Orgoglio?
He's not wearing his armor He's "enchanted" by a magical fountain
1399
Henry Bolingbroke returns to England, King Richard is deposed, the last of the Plantagenets Dynasty, and Henry Bolingbroke becomes King Henry IV, the first king of the Lancastrian Dynasty.
670
Hilda is abbess of Whitby, a great English monastery in North Yorkshire; period of the legendary poet Cædmon
Who tells the Dreamer "when all treasures are tried, Truth is the best" in Piers?
Holy Church
At the start of Beowulf, which leader decides to build a great hall as a monument to his growing power as a king?
Hrothgar
When Piers puts all the people to work on his half-acre, and some people refuse to work, who attacks them?
Hunger
When does the frame narrative of The Canterbury Tales begin?
In April, during Spring
Where did Spenser live for much of his professional life?
In Ireland as secretary to Arthur, Lord Grey de Wilton, the Lord Deputy of Ireland
satire, estates satire
In Roman literature, the communication, in the form of a letter between equals, complaining of the ills of contemporary society. Characterized by first person narrator exasperated by social ills, the letter form, a high frequency of contemporary reference and the use of incentive in low-style language
Summarize Despair's argument to Red Cross Knight for committing suicide: how does Despair try to convince him that it is better to die than to live? Be brief but specific in your summary, providing at least three specific points.
In order to convince the Red Cross Knight, Despair asserts an argument built on the following three points: One; The Red Cross Knight has hurt/harmed the people he most cares about Two; Life undoubtedly breeds sin. By continuing to live, the Red Cross Knight will continue to sin. Three; Death is sweet release. It is final. Whereas life harbors terrible pains such as sickness, sorrow, age loss, strife, cold, and hunger.
In the beginning of the second part of the story, where did the Dragon's treasure hoard come from?
It was left by an ancient "highborn race" of men who drove themselves to extinction through war, and then the dragon found it
"Great Charles his double misery was this / Unfaithful friends, ignoble enemies..." : who is referred to here?
King Charles I, abandoned by friends and executed by the parliamentary forces
Of the following characters, which one represents "Church Theft" in The Faerie Queene?
Kirkrapine
"Everyman I will go with thee and be thy guide" who says this?
Knowledge
Which of the following characters advises Everyman to go to confession?
Knowledge
How do Maria and her accomplices manage to trick Malvolio into embarrassing himself in front of Olivia in Twelfth Night?
Leave him a forged note
What happens at the end of the story of King Leir?
Leir and Cordelia recover the kingdom of Britain
What happens to King Leir at the end of Monmouth's "Story of King Leir and his Daughters"?
Leir regains control of his kingdom with the help of Cordelia and Aganippus
In Shakespeare's sonnet #130, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (p. 1184), where is the turn?
Line 13
What conflicting ideals of chivalry and courtly love must Lanval uphold?
Loyalty to his beloved and to his lord, devotion to his beloved and courtesy to his feudal lord's lady, and secrecy with his beloved and the desire for public fame and a good reputation at court
Error vomits up ______________ in Book I:
Lumps of flesh Books and papers Frogs and toads
Who in the play is heavily implied to be a "Puritan" in Twelfth Night?
Malvolio
Epic Poems and Heros:
Many of the famous Greek Epic Poems, such as The Odyssey and The Iliad, contain these larger-than-life heroes and their deeds. King Arthur, Beowulf, Siegfried, Gilgamesh, and Rama are all
According to Andreas Capellanus, which of the following is one of the "rules of love"?
Marriage is no excuse for not loving
Which of these lines, spoken by Satan, best express Satan's paradoxical and tragic reaction upon seeing the beauty and nobility of Adam and Eve for the first time?
O Hell! what do mine eyes with grief behold! Into our room of bliss thus high advanced Creatures of other mold, earth-born perhaps, Not Spirits, yet to heavenly Spirits bright Little inferior; whom my thoughts pursue With wonder, and could love, so lively shines In them divine resemblance...
Name one theme that is central to Mary Wroth's sonnet sequence that isn't central to Sidney's sonnet sequence.
One theme that is central to Mary Wroth's sonnet sequence that isn't central to Sidney's sonnet sequence is female desire. It stands in contrast to Sidney's sequence which focuses on the theme of male desire.
Using the categories you have learned and the comparative genres we have studied, explain briefly how Shakespeare's changes to "The Story of Lear and his Daughters" make it "tragic" in a formal sense. Identify at least three specific things that make King Lear into an innovative tragedy, when it could have been a different kind of story. Credit will be given only for answers that demonstrate an undertanding both of the drama and of the literary-historical categories we have discussed in class.
Peripeteia: The turn or change in fortune occurs when King Lear, originally a powerful lord, loses everything when the daughters whom he has bequeathed his land ownership to betray him and kick him out of his own house. Catastrophe: The final disaster in which everyone dies and everything lies in ruin. Anagnorisis: Only after Gloucester is blinded is he able to see the real truth.
In Lanyer's Salue Deus Rex Judaeorum, who is the main speaker or speaking character who expresses the critical sentiments of the poem?
Pilate's Wife
Who rescues Red Cross Knight from Orgoglio by killing the giant and by freeing him from the giant's prison?
Prince Arthur
Seven Deadly Sins/Seven Corporal Works of Mercy:
SDS- pride, gluttony, lust, anger, envy, sloth, greed; SCWM- feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter to travellers, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead
In the Wife of Bath's prologue, who is the Apostle with whom Alison of Bath argues so much?
Saint Paul
At the end of Twelfth Night Sebastian says, "So comes it, lady, you have been mistook. But nature to her bias drew in that. You would have been contracted to a maid, Nor are you therein, by my life, deceived. You are betrothed both to a maid and man" (5.1.257-262). Explain this: what is Sebastian saying, and how is it true, in a sense, that the "lady" was both deceived and not deceived?
Sebastian is confessing that Olivia was indeed deceived into thinking that Viola was Sebastian. However, he notes that nature really made it all work itself out in the end. Nature turned Olivia's love for Viola (the fake Sebastian) into a love for the real Sebastian. Furthermore, Sebastian is a virgin, so even though Olivia was going to marry a "maid" in the form a girl, she is now marrying a "maid" in the sense of a virgin, Sebastian.
During the Commonwealth Period and Protectorate (1649-1658), what was Milton's primary job?
Secretary of Foreign Tongues or Latin Secretary
What does Guenevere do that puts Lanval in a difficult position?
She propositions Lanval and says she wants to be his lover, which he must refuse because of his commitment to his lady She accuses Lanval of having propositioned her, and so she goes to her husband king Arthur for vengeance She charges Lanval with treason, and so Lanval must prove what he said to Guenevere is true by providing the testimony of his lady
Which of these texts was written in the fourteenth century?
Sir Gawain
Anti-Catholicism/nascent Protestant nationalism:
Sorry, find information on this one by yourself XD
Elizabethan court culture and the Cult of Elizabeth:
Sorry, find information on this one by yourself XD
Who is "The Apostle" that Alison argues with in her "Prologue" about marriage and the body?
St. Paul
What does Mak try to do to Coll, Gib, and Daw?
Steal their sheep
What are some defining characteristics of Anglo Saxon alliterative poetry?
Stress accent on root syllables of words and a medial caesura between half-lines of variable syllables joined by alliteration on two or three out of those four root syllables
At the end of Lanval, what choice does the knight make?
Submit indifferently to the courts judgement as long as his lover still loves him
What is the predicted fate of the Geatish people at the end of the story?
The Geatish nation will be destroyed, its people killed and scattered
What event did Chaucer live through?
The Great Plague of 1348 The Peasant's Revolt of 1381 The Downfall of King Richard II in 1399
In the "General Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales, which character suggest that the pilgrims all travel together and that they have a tale-telling contest along the way?
The Host
Which Canterbury pilgrim is described as "meeke as is a maide"?
The Knight
What was the important political event that brought about the ned of the Old English period?
The Norman Invasion of 1066
What historical event is the pivotal beginning of the Anglo-Norman period?
The Norman Invasion of 1066 which made William of Normandy the king of England
The opening episode with the fight against the monster Error is an allegorical representation of what?
The need to stay "on the right path" from the start when undertaking an important task The dangers of "wandering" and vacillation in spiritual faith and fidelity to the truth A lesson in reading allegorically, that is, of being alert to the potential for multiple meanings in a single setting or environment
In the discussion of the doctrinal background of the Red Cross Knight's encounter with Despair, you learned about the three fundamental elements of Protestant doctrine: they are the "only" (Latin sola) things that the faithful person needs to be saved, and they are the three things — or manipulation of them — that Despair uses to drive the Red Cross Knight to attempt suicide. Name these 3 "solas" either in Latin or in English.
The three "solas" are as follows: Sola fides (which means 'only faith'), Sola Scriptura (which means 'only scripture'), and Sola Gratia (which means 'only grace').
Who travels with Red Cross Knight the beginning of The Faerie Queene?
Una and a dwarf
How is Duessa finally dealt with?
Una has her stripped and lets her go
Name two characteristics of Satan that make him a kind of anti-hero. Obviously Satan is a villain: he is the author of all evil. And yet he holds the narrative position of major protagonist, the one whom we identify with. Why? How? Briefly identify two things (for one point each) about him that make him heroic and sympathetic. And (for two points), say why Milton made Satan his "hero". What end or purpose might it serve to present Satan this way?
We identify with Satan because he is imperfect and because he displays very human emotions (he is 'pathetic'). If Milton wrote a story from the perspective of God or The Son, it would be dull or impossible to empathize with because they are perfect -- and thereby not complex -- beings. Satan has the ability to make mistakes and makes them often. It is this fallible nature that we as humans can relate to and allows us to potentially identify with Satan -- at least in the beginning. Satan also shows very human emotions. He is prideful, overconfident, self-doubting and many more pathetic characteristics that humans are able to empathize with. He pride and confidence make him seem heroic in the beginning of the tale, yet his self-doubt ingratiates us to him as a character with real, complex emotions. Milton tasked himself with answering one of the most difficult questions in Theodicy. If God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving, where does evil come from? By painting Satan as partially heroic, yet partially pathetic and someone we can empathize with, he is able to address the question in a way that the Bible never would. We can see the slow, spiral toward downfall that Satan ventures on, and in doing so, evil is not seen as God's creation, but Satan's fallacy.
What religious movement began to influence English literature and language during the later fourteenth century?
Wycliffism or Lollardy
What does Malvolio wear in the hopes of wooing Olivia?
Yellow Stockings
According to the surviving records of his life, what were some of the jobs Chaucer held?
a court bureaucrat and royal diplomat, and a legal official
The Second Shepherd's Play is what kind of play?
a cycle play or mystery play
When the host and Gawain exchange winnings in Part 3 of the story, what does the host give to Gawain?
a deer, a boar, and a fox
Assonance
a figure of speech. The repetition of identical or near identical stressed vowel sounds in words whose final consonants differ, producing half-rhyme.
Type
a figure of thought in Christian allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament, pre-Christian figures were regarded as "types" or foreshadowings, of Christ of the Christian dispensation
Apostrophe:
a figure of thought. An address, often to an absent person, a force, or a quality. For example: a poet makes an apostrophe to a Muse when invoking her for inspiration.
epic, heroic poetry
a genre. An extended narrative poem celebrating martial heroes, invoking divine inspiration, beginning in medias res, written in a high style, and divided into long narrative sequences
elegy*, lament
a genre. In classical literature, a form written in elegiac couplets devoted to many possible topics. In Ovidian elegy, a lover mediates on the trials of erotic desire.
courtly love
a highly conventionalized medieval tradition of love between a knight and a married noblewoman, first developed by the troubadours of Southern France and extensively employed in European literature of the time. The love of the knight for his lady was regarded as an ennobling passion and the relationship was typically unconsummated.
tetrameter (meter)
a line with four stresses
Catalogues:
a list of people, things, or attributes, usually extended to some length. It is a device used particularly by ancient and oral literatures
dream vision
a literary device in which a dream or vision is recounted as having revealed knowledge or a truth that is not available to the dreamer or visionary in a normal waking state
Literary Epic:
a long narrative poem, often written about a hero or heroines.
Epic poetry
a long, serious,poetic narrative about a significant event, often featuring a hero
What kind of play is Everyman?
a morality play
Introduction and solidification of a 'feudal' social system
a more legally codified and extensive system of dependent cultivation is introduced, with the king at the top as supreme land-holder and 'feudal' dependents (from Latin feodum 'fee, payment') forming a chain down to the lowest reaches of society, villeins and serfs. Primogeniture (inheritance by eldest son) gradually becomes the norm; common law gradually codified in the twelfth century.
third-person narration
a narration in which the narrator recounts a narrative of characters referred to explicitly or implicity by third-person pronouns without the limitation of a first-person narration
first-person, first-person narration
a narrative in which the voice narrating refers to itself with forms of the first person pronoun and in which the narrative determined by the limitations of that voice
Story
a narrative's sequence of events, which we reconstruct from those events os they have been recounted by the narrator
Caesura
a pause or breathing space within a line or verse, generally occurring between syntactic units
Character
a person, personified animal, or other figure represented in a literary work, especially in narrative and drama
Before Beowulf confronts Grendel's mother, Unferth loans Beowulf something. What item does Unferth loan Beowulf, and what happens to it?
a rare and ancient sword, but it fails when Beowulf tries to use it against Grendel's Mother
Plot
a sequence of events in a story as narrated
What does Gawain exchange with the lady of the castle, which Gawain then gives to the lord of the castle?
a series of big, smoochy kisses
lai, Breton lai:
a short narrative, often characterized by images of great intensity
Lyric
a short poetic form, without restriction of meter, in which the expression of personal emotion, often by a voice in the first person, is given primacy over narrative sequence
Parable
a simple story designed to provoke, and often accompanied by, allegorical interpretation, most famously by Christ as reported in the Gospels.
Beginnings of "courtly love
a social and sexual ethic stressing refined or 'courtly' behavior, class distinction, service to women and devotion to the domna or high lady, and an aesthetic value of love, combined with a new sense of psychological interiority, all reflected in new genres of 'romance', = literature written in Romanz, Latin-derived vernacular languages.
Sermon; mock-sermon, sermon joyeux; theme
a talk on a religious or moral subject, especially one given during a church service and based on a passage from the Bible.
Apposition
a term of syntax. The repetition of elements serving an identical grammatical function in one sentence. The effect of this repetition is to arrest the flow of the sentence, but in doing so to add extra semantic nuance to repeated elements.
In Book 4 of Paradise Lost, when Satan crouches next to Eve's ear and gives her bad dreams by whispering in her sleep, what form does he resemble?
a toad See lines 4.797-802: "... Him there they found Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve, Assaying by his devilish art to reach The organs of her fancy, and with them forge Illusions, as he list, phantasms and dreams..."
trochee (meter, rhythm)
a two-syllable foot following the pattern, in English verse, of stressed followed by unstressed syllable, producing a falling effect
exemplum, exemplary story
an example inserted into a usually nonfictional writing to give extra force to an abstract thesis
Where do Chaucer's pilgrims meet before going on their pilgrimage?
an inn in Southwark
In "The Dream of the Rood" who is the one dreaming?
an unnamed narrator
In "The Dream of the Rood" how is Jesus described as he approaches the cross?
as a warrior going into combat, strong and stout-hearted
Where do the pilgrims meet?
at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, just outside London
While Milton had long wanted to write a great epic, when did he start working on his epic project in earnest?
at the end of the Protectorate when Oliver Cromwell died in 1658, when it appeared inevitable that the Commonwealth was coming to an end and the monarchy would be re-established
Spenserian formal allegory
believed to be the necessary condition for the poem's functioning as a cautionary tale against the seductive dangers of figurative and formal ambiguity.
In the "Prologue" of Piers Plowman, where does the dreamer see a "Fair field of folk" full of different kinds of people from all walks of life?
between a tower on a toft and a dungeon in a dale
What is the poetic form of the verse in Paradise Lost?
blank verse
What are some of the genres that Shakespeare creatively combines in King Lear?
classical tragedy, romance, medieval tragedy, and history Recall that in King Lear, Shakespeare draws the story of Gloucester and his sons from romance (via Sidney's Arcadia); the story of King Leir and his daughters from national history (ultimately from Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain); the emphasis on the "downfall of great men" from medieval tragedy of the "de casibus" tradition; and the overall structure of the play from classical tragedy, especially Seneca.
morality play-
discrete single dramas focusing on the spiritual life of a symbolic character — "Mankind", "Everyman", "Humanum Genus" — tracing the personal spiritual history of a representative figure faced with allegorized temptations, admonishments, and moral decisions;
What is the genre of the "General Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales?
estates satire
What is the explicit thematic contrast that Alison establishes right at the very start of her "Prologue"?
experience vs authority
frame narrative
explains the genesis of, and/or gives a perspective on, the main narrative of narratives to follow
How does Chaucer's Pardoner fool people?
fake holy relics, fake papal bulls and pardons, and preaching outrageously and making tempting but absurd claims
1348
first arrival of the Black Death or Great Pestilence, a bubonic plague killing up to 50% of the population in some areas; the disease recurs in the following decades and leads to long-term demographic shifts.
Introduction of "chivalry
from French chevalier (from Latin caballus 'horse'), a new style of horse-mounted warfare requiring extensive training, coordinated tactics, and expensive resources, resulting in a new martial class of elite trained warriors with their own esprit de corps and social ethic
estates satire
genre of writing from 14th Century, Medieval literary works. The three Medieval estates were the Clergy (those who prayed), the Nobility (those who fought) and lastly the Peasantry (those who labored)
mystery play
great collections of civic dramas for towns such as York, Towneley, Chester, Coventry, and elsewhere, often covering scriptural history from The Creation to the Last Judgment. Some collections have over 40 separate plays;
Stanza
groupings of two or more lines, usually reserved for groupings of at least four lines. Joined by rhyme, often in sequence, where each group shares the same metrical pattern and, when rhymed, rhyme scheme.
What is the one condition that Lanval's lover gives him for having her love?
he must never reveal it to anyone else
How old was Shakespeare when he first married, and what was his probable job before he became renowned as a playwright and actor?
he was 18 years old and he may have been a local schoolteacher around Stratford-upon-Avon before heading to London to start his career in the theater
What were John Milton's personal origins?
he was the son of a London merchant Puritan family, attended Cambridge University, and sided strongly with the Puritans at the time of the Revolution and Commonwealth
In "The Wanderer" the wanderer recounts kissing his loved one and putting his head and his hands in the lap of his beloved. Who is he referring to?
his man-lord, that is, his warrior lord and protector
"Great Chain of Being":
is composed of a great number of hierarchical links, from the most basic and foundational elements up through the very highest perfection: God. God sits at the top of the chain, and beneath him sit the angels, both existing wholly in spirit form
After the decline of drama in the late classical and early medieval period, how did drama arise again in the west during the Middle Ages?
it arose largely as a part of liturgy and church services where plays became a part of Christian worship and teaching
What is the temporal and structural framework of Everyman?
it is an allegorical representation of the soul's last moments before death, but it also structurally parallels the course of a whole human life
What is the First Folio and when did it appear?
it was the collected edition of Shakespeare's plays published by his friends and business partners in 1623, seven years after his death
comedy
iterary genre and a type of dramatic work that is amusing and satirical in its tone, mostly having a cheerful ending. The motif of this dramatic work is triumph over unpleasant circumstance by creating comic effects, resulting in a happy or successful conclusion
In the "Anglo-Saxon Genesis" how is Satan characterized?
like a proud and presumptuous warrior stirring revolt against his rightful lord
tragedy-
literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances
According to Andreas' story, which of the following is one of the Rules of Love?
marriage is no excuse for not loving
Legend
narrative of a celebrated, possibly historical, but mortal protagonist
Myth
narrative of protagonists with, or subject to, superhuman powers. Expresses some profound foundational truth, often by accounting for the origin of natural phenomena
free indirect style
narrative voice that manages, without explicit reference, to imply, and often implicitly to comment on, the voice of a character in the narrative itself
Which character in Sir Gawain for his ethical failure?
no one does
What is the poetical style of Lanval?
octosyllabic rhyming couplets
What is the primary genre or style of Beowulf?
oral formulaic folk-epic, with elements of mythology and history
Persona
originally the mask worn in the Roman theater to magnify an actor's voice; in literary discourse persona refers to the narrator or speaker of a text, whose voice is coherent and whose person need have no relation to the person of the actual author of a text.
In Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella sonnet #15, "You that do search for every purling spring" (p. 1087), who is the "you" of line 1 (and also of lines 5, 6, 7, 9, and 13)?
other poets and/or the reader
In Katherine Phillips' lyric "Friendship's Mystery", the lines "we court our own captivity" and "t'were banishment to be set free" are examples of what kind of rhetorical maneuver?
paradox
According to Aristotle, what is the subject of comedy?
people who are ridiculous and worse than the average, but whose ridiculousness does not cause pain
1154-1189
reign of Henry II Plantagenet (Henry I's grandson) and Eleanor of Aquitaine: Andreas Capellanus writes the Art of Courtly Love around this time in France (c. 1170), and Marie de France writes her lais (c. 1180).
1377-1399
reign of Richard II The 'Ricardian Era' of poetry: the era of Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, William Langland, and the poet of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
1135-1154
reign of Stephen of Blois: Geoffrey of Monmouth writes the History of the Kings of Britain around this time (c. 1136-38)
1066-1087
reign of William I "The Conqueror" : introduction of the Norman aristocracy as the ruling class of England
Consonance
repetition of final consonants in words or stressed syllables whose vowel sounds are different
allegory
saying one thing and meaning another.
In the story of King Leir and his daughters, why does Leir banish his daughter Cordelia?
she refuses to flatter him when he asks his daughters to declare how much they love him
skepticism and melancholy:
skepticism- a skeptical attitude, doubt as to the truth of something, the theory that certain knowledge is impossible; melancholy- a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause
symbol, symbolism:
something that stands for something else, and yet seems necessarily to evoke that other thing
In Book 9 of Paradise Lost, what reason does the narrator give for Adam's decision to eat the forbidden fruit?
that he was fondly overcome with female charm See lines 9.997-999: ...he scrupled not to eat, / Against his better knowledge; not deceived, / But fondly overcome with female charm. Not a very good reason, in this reader's opinion, given everything Adam has thought and said up to this point.
Formally speaking, what is the "catastrophe" of King Lear?
the "down-turn" at the end, when everybody dies and everything lies in ruin
1381-82
the Church condemns the Oxford theologian and preacher John Wyclif; the start of the Wycliffites and Lollards, a proto-Protestant religious movement in England.
Which was the theatre build by Shakespeare's company?
the Globe Theatre, built by the Lord Chamberlain's Men
1378-1417
the Great Schism: Christendom split between two Popes, one in Italy and another in France.
In the "Epilogue" of the Pardoner's "Tale," whom does the Pardoner try to convince to "kiss the relics"?
the Host
In the fourteenth century, what were some of the important events and upheavals during Chaucer's lifetime?
the Hundred Years' War between England and France, the Great Schism in the church, Lollardy, and the Black Death or Pestilence
What was the name of the dissenting religious movement that began in England in the fourteenth century?
the Lollards or Wycliffites
1388
the Merciless Parliament, a coup among the nobility against King Richard, leading to the execution of several of the king's ministers and favorites.
Which of the following pilgrims leads the group out of town playing his bagpipes?
the Miller
Which of the pilgrims offers the cagey disclaimer, "Also I praye you to foryive it me / Al have I nat set folk in hir degree... My wit is short, ye may wel understonde."
the Narrator
What biblical scene forms the framework for the ending of the Second Shepherd's Play?
the Nativity of Christ
1339-1453
the One Hundred Years' War between France and England, begun because the
1154-1399
the Plantagenet Dynasty rules England down to the end of the fourteenth century (the age of Chaucer)
The later fourteenth century is sometimes called what era of English literature?
the Ricardian era
731
the Venerable Bede, monk, writes the first history of the English, titled An Ecclesiastical History of the English People, with the story of Cædmon in it.
Diction
the actual words used in any utterance-speech, writing, and, for our purposes here, literary works
Personification
the attribution of human qualities to nonhuman forces or objects
iamb (meter, rhythm)
the basic foot of English verse, two syllables following the rhythmic pattern of unstressed followed by stressed and producing a rising effect
Arthurian legend/history:
the body of stories and medieval romances, known as the matter of Britain, centring on the legendary king Arthur. Medieval writers, especially the French, variously treated stories of Arthur's birth, the adventures of his knights, and the adulterous love between his knight Sir Lancelot and his queen, Guinevere. This last situation and the quest for the Holy Grail (the vessel used by Christ at the Last Supper and given to Joseph of Arimathea) brought about the dissolution of the knightly fellowship, the death of Arthur, and the destruction of his kingdom.
What important developments influenced the English language in Shakespeare's day and after?
the continued production and wide spread of English language liturgy and bibles, such as the English Prayer Book of 1552 and the Geneva Bible of 1560 the significant growth of the English lexicon from Latin and Greek sources, making the English language grow at a faster rate than ever before or since
Feudalism
the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.
When was the period of Roman control over Britannia/Britain, prior to the coming of the Anglo-Saxons?
the first to the fifth centuries, c. 44-410 A.D.
Which of the following historical developments contextualize 16th century English poetry?
the growth of printing in England the influence of the European Renaissance the Protestant Reformation the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
43 AD
the island of Britain is successfully conquered by the Roman emperor Claudius
What clan or kin is Grendel said to be a part of?
the kin of Cain, cursed for the murder of his brother Abel
Vernacular
the language of the people, as distinguished from learned and arcane languages
What is the "sestet" of a sonnet?
the last six lines
In the end, who decides to wear green sashes in solidarity with Gawain?
the lords and ladies of the Round Table
Style:
the manner in which something is expressed contributes substantially to its meaning
order; natural order, artificial order
the narrative order in which a story is told. A narrator might use a sequence of events as they happened, and thereby follow what classical rhetoricians called the natural order. The narrator might reorder the sequence of events, beginning the narration either in the middle or at the end of the sequence of events, thereby following an artificial order.
What is "The Great Chain of Being"?
the philosophical notion that all created things, from lowest to highest, are part of a great "chain" of creation, each thing with its own proper place in the divine order
What is the conceit or controlling metaphor of Sir Thomas Wyatt's "My Galley" (p. 651)?
the poet is like a ship on storm-tossed seas, helpless and hopeless in the passion of his love, without guidance and bound to sink beneath the waves of disappointment
What is the conceit or controlling metaphor of Edmund Spenser's Amoretti #54, "Of this world's theatre in which we stay" (p. 986)?
the poet is like an actor, his beloved is the audience, and even though he tries to convince her of his love through his theatrical performances, she is not convinced and remains unmoved like a stony audience
Which of the following things characterized Renaissance humanism?
the rediscovery of classical authors and texts, and the re-birth of classical modes of learning
In the history of the period of Shakespeare's life, what does the phrase "the Elizabethan settlement" refer to?
the religious settlement or compromise that came to characterize English Protestantism in doctrine and liturgy
What were important cultural and political changes occurring in the Anglo-Norman period?
the replacement of the English aristocracy by the Anglo-Norman aristocracy, effectively resulting in a total regime-change in the ruling class of England the beginning of strong French influence on the English language and literature the introduction and solidification of a feudal social system, primogeniture, and the development of common law the introduction of the military and cultural practices associated with chivalry, as well as the cultural practices associated with courtly love
Regime change
the ruling class of England was now Norman French, not English: all major property holdings, both secular and ecclesial, were held by Norman barons.
'scripture'/bible, biblical literature
the sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Bible.
In The Canterbury Tales, where are the pilgrims traveling to?
the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral
Syllable
the smallest unit of sound in a pronounced word
accent, stress-accentual poetry:
the special force devoted to the voicing of one syllable in a word over others. In the noun "accent", for example, the accent, or stress, is on the first syllable
genre; genre and mode:
the style, structure and often, length of a work, when coupled with a certain subject matter, raise expectation that a literary work conforms to a certain genre
verse form
the terms related to meter and rhythm describe the shape of individual lines. Lines of verse are combined to produce larger groupings, called verse forms.
folklore, folkloric elements
the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth.
Theodicy:
the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil; his presumption to "justify the ways of God to men"; to explain, or explain away, the inexplicable, or to justify the unjustifiable
What is the name given to the "turn" of a sonnet?
the volta
Who tries to seduce Gawain?
the wife of the lord of the castle
When Milton writes in the beginning of Paradise Lost that he hopes to "assert eternal Providence, / And justify the ways of God to men", what is this proposition or project of dealing with "God's justice" called? What word describes it specifically?
theodicy
What are the "three estates" of traditional medieval social ideology?
those who fight (pugnatores), those who pray (oratores), and those who work (labores)
How long does the War in Heaven last in Book 6, and how does it end?
three "days", and after two days of stalemate, God the Son arrives and drives out Satan and the rebel angels on the third day, purging them from Heaven
Katherine Philips, Margaret Cavendish, and John Donne explore the concept of _____________ of souls, which was taken from Platonic doctrine (we read a modern example with the in-class handout).
transmigration
Renaissance "fashioning" in poetry:
used to describe the process of constructing one's identity and public persona according to a set of socially acceptable standards
meter (accentual, accentual-syllabic)
verse as a more compressed form of expression, shaped by metrical norms. Refers to the regularly recurring sound pattern of verse lines. The means of producing sound patterns across lines differ in different poetic traditions. May be quantitative, syllabic, accentual (determined by number of accents, or stresses in the line), accentual-syllabic (determined by number of accents, but possessing a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, so as to produce regular numbers of syllables per line)
Romance
verse or prose, often characterized by a tripartite structure of social integration, followed by disintegration, involving moral test and often marvelous events, itself the prelude to reintegration in a happy ending, frequently of marriage and aristocratic social milieux
blank verse (e.g. Paradise Lost):
verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter
When do we first meet Satan at the start of Paradise Lost?
when he wakes up on the lake of fire in Hell, after having been defeated by God's angels in the war in Heaven and thrown down to Hell
Connotation
words evoke different associations. For example, depression...the blues
What were the "three estates" of the Three Estates model of medieval society?
workers, fighters, prayers
Manuscript
written with minimal punctuation and no line breaks
What is the name of the earliest English poet we know of?
Caedmon, the cowherd at Whitby Abbey
In the "General Prologue" how is the Monk described?
"An outridere that loved venerye / A manly man, to been an abbot able"
In the "General Prologue" how is the Knight described?
"And though that he were worthy, he was wis, / And of his port as meeke as is a maide"
In the "Pardoner's Prologue," what does he say is always the "theme" of his preaching?
"Avarice is the root of evil"
Identify two of the Petrarchan clichés of female beauty that Shakespeare says his lady does not fulfill in sonnet #130. (one point each)
"Coral is far more red than her lips' red..." His lady's lips are not very red like Petrarchan cliches dictate they should be "If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun..." His lady's skin (breasts) are not the desirable quality of white as identified by Petrarchan cliches.
What are some of the traditional characteristics of courtly love?
"Devotion of a knight to his superior lady whom he serves as a devoted lover, often in secret
Which text is a dream vision?
"The Dream of the Rood"
In Piers Plowman Passus 7 what does the pardon say, and what does Piers do after he reads it?
"They that have done good shall go into life everlasting; And they that have done evil into everlasting fire": he tears it up
In the "General Prologue" how is the Prioress described?
"[she] pained hire to countrefete cheere / Of court, and to been statlich of manere"
What kind of play is The Second Shepherd's Play?
A mystery play or Corpus Christi play
How old was Alison of Bath when she first got married, and how old was she when she married Jankyn?
12 and 40
How many lines does a sonnet have?
14
Of the 1000 most common modern English words, about what percentage of them come from Old English?
83%
1381
: the "Peasant's Revolt" or Uprising of 1381 in England, which occurs in May and June: a broad-based popular rebellion that almost topples the monarchy of England before it is suppressed.
What genre is Beowulf?
A traditional epic of "folk" epic
What is the rhyme scheme of Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella sonnet #7 "When nature made her chief work, Stella's eyes" (p. 977)?
ABAB ABAB CDCD EE
At the end of the Wife of Bath's "Prologue", what happens to Jankyn's Book of Wicked Wives?
Alison forces him to burn it as a part of their mutual agreement
What is the Green Knight carrying when he first encounters the court at Camelot?
An axe and a holly branch
Which one of these is Kent?
An earl of Lear who later disguises himself as Caius
Who comes to help Una when she realizes the trouble that Red Cross Knight is in?
Arthur
What is the genre of the General Prologue of Canterbury Tales?
Estates satire
Whom does Lear banish in the first act of King Lear?
Cordelia
Which of the following characters accompanies Everyman into the grave?
Good Deeds
Which of Alison's husbands is the one who "beats her for a book"?
Her fifth husband, a young clerk named Jankin
What is odd about Red Cross Knight's armor at the outset of The Faerie Queene?
It's well worn despite the knight's inexperience.
Who advises the Dreamer, "When all treasures are tried, Truth is the best"?
Lady Holy Church
In Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella sonnet #7, "When nature made her chief work, Stella's eyes" (p. 977), who is the "him" of line 13?
Love
871
King Alfred "the Great" (849-899) ascends English throne of Wessex and leads the defense against the Scandinavians
In Sir Gawain, which character first accepts the Green Knight's challenge?
King Arthur
Which one is Beowulf's wife?
NOT, I REPEAT NOT! -> Freawaru, Wealhtheow, Hildeburh or Queen Modthyth
Which canterbury pilgrim says "I praye you to forgive it me/al have i nat set folk in hir degreee/ my wit is short ye may wel understonde"?
Narrator
What event provide the concluding scene of Second Shephard's play?
Nativity of Christ
Whom in the play does Orsino woo unsuccessfully?
Olivia
What literary genres characterize the hybrid narrative of Piers Plowman?
Quest romance, estates satire, dream vision, and allegorical narrative
Who talks with Adam and Eve and advises them in Books 5 through 8?
Raphael
Who dies from drinking poison in the last act of King Lear?
Regan
Which of the following characters challenges the Red Cross Knight immediately after Red Cross has abandoned Una?
Sans Foy
Which of the following works is a romance?
Sir Gawain
In Medias Res:
Starting in the middle of the action
How does Beowulf defeat Grendel?
Tears his arm off
Which Canterbury Pilgrim is a devoted student of Aristotle?
The Clerk
Who are the courtiers in the House of Pride who accompany Lucifera in her procession?
The Deadly Sins: Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, Envy, Greed, and Wrath
Which of the following is a good example of an elegy?
The Wife's Lament
Which of the following is a mock sermon?
The first part of the Wife of Bath's Prologue
Denotation
a word has a basic, "prosaic" (factual) meaning prior to the associations it connotes
In the Wife of Bath's "Tale", the knight goes on a quest to find the answer to a question. What is the question, and what is the answer he eventually gets that saves his life?
The question that the knight goes on a quest to find is, "What do all women desire?". The answer that he eventually gets is, "Wommen desiren to have sovereynetee As wel over hir housbond as hir love, And for to been in maistrie hym above." Essentially, they want autonomy over themselves or some sovereignty over their husbands.
In the Pardoner's "Tale," who ends up killing the three rioters?
Themselves
What happens to the Dragon's treasure at the end of the story?
They burn it and bury it with Beowulf's body in Beowulf's funeral rites
'Theme'; sermon theme
designates what the work is about, the concept that unifies a given work of literature
In Second Shephards Play, how is Mak punished?
Tossed in a blanket
Who helps Beowulf kill the dragon?
Wiglaf
Which of the following is an example of an allegory?
Will speaking to Lady Holy Church in Piers Plowman
Metaphor
designates identification or implicit identification of one thing with another with which it is not literally identifiable
In Lanyer's Salue Deus Rex Judaeorum, what defenses does the speaker give for Eve's original sin?
all she did "was for knowledge sake" her "fault was too much love" she "was simply good and had no power to see" what she was doing if there was any evil in Eve, since she was made from Adam then "he was the ground of all"
Piers Plowman is written in what poetical style?
alliterative long lines
What is the poetical style of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?
alliterative long lines with a short "bob-and-wheel" quatrain at the end of each verse section
Profound influence on the English language:
begins the long and powerful French influence on vocabulary, pronunciation, syntax, and style, a trend that will continue for centuries in all aspects of English.
When was Beowulf probably composed?
between the eighth and tenth centuries
irony, dramatic irony:
designates the result of inconsistency between a statement and a context that undermines the statement
Syntax
designates the rules by which sentences are constructed in a given language
Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain is a fanciful example of what kind of writing?
chronicle history
Rhythm
denotes the patterns of sound within the feet of verse lines and the combination of those feet
Which animals are hunted in third part of Sir Gawain?
deer, boar, and fox
What two genres are most explicitly joined in Paradise Lost?
epic and tragedy: it combines an epic scope in the poem's subject and treatment (and in the many epic conventions it copies and satirizes), and the tragedy of Mankind's fall from grace.
What is "the only evil that walks / Invisible, except to God alone, / By his permissive will, through Heav'n and earth..." ?
hypocrisy This is specified in 3.681-685, when Satan deludes the archangel Uriel who is standing guard over creation.
pentameter(meter)
in English verse, a five-stress line
Couplet
in English verse, two consecutive rhyming lines usually containing the same number of stresses
In "The Wife's Lament" where does the wife reside as she tells her story?
in exile from her lord and his kin, in an earth-cave beneath a tree in the forest
Folk Epic:
is a long poem about a traditional or historical hero. An example of a folk epic is Beowulf, a poem that describes the traditions of a nation.
Sonnets: sonnet form (octave, sestet, turn/volta); different stanza forms (e.g. Italian, "Shakespearean," Spenserian); Petrarchan conventions and their revision:
is a poem of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter, that has one of two regular rhyme schemes, octave- a poem/stanza of 8 lines, sestet- a poem/stanza of 6 lines, turn/volta- the shift of thought or argument: in Petrarchan or Italian sonnets it occurs between the octave and the sestet, and in Shakespearean or English before the final couplet
Which of these texts is an example of symbolism?
the pentagram on Gawain's shield in Sir Gawain
meter; rhythm
the rhythm of a piece of poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line.