English 2322 exam

Nilfheim

"House of Mists", Far northern region of icy fogs and mists, darkness and cold. Lowest level of the universe.

Hel

- Ruler of Helheim, realm of the dead - Youngest child of Loki - Half-alive (face and body); half-dead (thighs and legs)

The norns (Demi-goddesses of destiny)

-Urd (fate) -Verdandi (necessity) -Skuld (being). They control the destinies of both gods and men, as well as the unchanging laws of the cosmos.

How many chains/cords TOTAL were made to bind or to attempt to bind Fenrir?

2

Loki and Angrboda had how many monstrous children?

3

How many husbands had the "Wif of Bathe" (Wife of Bath) had?

5

Canterbury Tales

A collection of stories written in Middle-English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey .

character: kindred (everyman

A friend of Everyman's, who deserts him along with Cousin. 'Kindred' means 'of the same family', so when Kindred forsakes Everyman, it represents family members deserting him.

character: cousin (everyman)

A friend of Everyman's, who deserts him along with Kindred. 'Cousin' means 'related', so when Kindred forsakes Everyman, it represents family members - and perhaps close friends - deserting him.

Character: Sir Andrew Aguecheek (12th night)

A friend of Sir Toby's. Sir Andrew Aguecheek attempts to court Olivia, but he doesn't stand a chance. He thinks that he is witty, brave, young, and good at languages and dancing, but he is actually an idiot.

character: doctor of theology (everyman)

A generic character who only appears to speak the epilogue at the very end of the play.

Character: Beowulf

A hero who fights Grendel, Grendel's Mother and a fire breathing dragon; protagonist

Describe what an allegory is. Define it and explain its purpose.

A story with a hidden meaning. An allegory can refer to certain complex meanings or can express certain emotions.

Please identify and explain this term in the context of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: pentangle

A symbol on Sir Gaiwan's shield. It represents the five virtues of knights

The Miller's Tale

Allison is a young bride who is sought after by two other men, Nicholas and Absolon. The story continues to explain how Allison and Nicholas devise a plan to distract John, so that they can sleep together. The character Absolon is also in love with Allison and attempts to win her over through song. However, she will not have it and she and Nicholas decide to play a joke on Absolon.

character: confession (everyman)

Allows Everyman to confess and repent for his sins.

Character: The dragon (beowulf)

An ancient, powerful serpent, the dragon guards a horde of treasure in a hidden mound. Beowulf's fight with the dragon constitutes the third and final part of the epic.

What does the Green Knight carry in his hands when he enters King Arthur's court?

An ax and some holly.

character: angel (everyman)

Appears at the very end of the play with Everyman's Book of Reckoning to receive Everyman's soul.

Character: God (everyman)

Appears only at the very beginning of the play. Angry with the way humans are behaving on Earth, God summons Death to visit Everyman and call him to account.

006:001 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 006:002 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Beowulf

006:003 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 006:004 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Beowulf

006:005 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 006:006 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly

Beowulf

006:007 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 006:008 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Beowulf

006:009 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 006:010 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 006:011 Give us this day our daily bread. 006:012 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 006:013 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Beowulf

006:014 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 006:015 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Beowulf

006:016 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 006:017 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

Beowulf

006:018 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 006:019 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

Beowulf

006:020 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 006:021 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Beowulf

006:022 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 006:023 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Beowulf

006:024 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 006:025 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Beowulf

006:026 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 006:027 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

Beowulf

006:028 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 006:029 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Beowulf

006:030 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 006:031 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Beowulf

006:032 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 006:033 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 006:034 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Beowulf

Bertilak's wife

Bertilak's wife attempts to seduce Gawain on a daily basis during his stay at the castle. Though the poem presents her to the reader as no more than a beautiful young woman, Bertilak's wife is an amazingly clever debater and an astute reader of Gawain's responses as she argues her way through three attempted seductions. Flirtatious and intelligent, Bertilak's wife ultimately turns out to be another pawn in Morgan le Faye's plot.

Tyr

Boldest of the gods, inspiring courage and heroism in battle

How does Bertilak's wife convince Sir Gawain to accept the girdle?

By seducing him

Who is the first character Everyman turns to after encountering Death? What happens during this encounter?

Everyman turns to Fellowship. Fellowship is willing to help until he learns that he must also die. So then he refuses.

Character: death (everyman)

God's "mighty messenger", who visits Everyman at the very start of the play to inform him that he is going to die and be judged by God.

Who goes into the grave with Everyman?

Good Deeds go into the grave with Everyman.

character: good deeds (everyman)

Good Deeds is the only character who does not forsake Everyman - and at the end of the play, accompanies him to his grave. Good Deeds represents Everyman's good actions - nice things that he does for other people.

character: goods (everyman)

Goods represents objects - goods, stuff, belongings - and when Everyman's goods forsake him, the play is hammering home the fact that you can't take belongings with you to the grave.

character: knowledge (everyman)

Guides Everyman from around the middle of the play, and leads him to Confession. 'Knowledge' is perhaps best defined as 'acknowledgement of sin'.

Odin

He is a god of war, death, wisdom, poetry, and knowledge, and rides the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. He is connected with the horse, the spear, and the raven.

What does Everyman have to do to do penance for his sins

He says he must ask God for forgiveness.

Asgard

Homeland of the Aesir, a powerful race of warrior gods and goddesses. Located on the highest level of the Norse universe, it is surrounded by a high wall of closely fitted stone blocks.

Chaucer's voyage to which country and exposure to some of the most important Renaissance authors was highly influential to his invention of new verse forms?

Italy

Character: King Hrothgar (beowulf)

King of the Danes; Father figure to Beowulf

But what availleth hym as in this cas? She loveth so this hende Nicholas That Absolon may blowe the bukkes horn; He ne hadde for his labour but a scorn. And thus she maketh Absolon hire ape, And al his ernest turnesth til a jape. Ful sooth is this proverb, it is no lye, Menseyn right thus, 'Alwey the nye slye Maketh the ferre leeve to be looth.'

Miller's tale

Oure Hooste saugh that he was dronke of ale, And seyde, 'Abyd, Robyn, my leeve brother; Som better man shal telle us first another. Abyd, and lat us werken thriftily.'

Miller's tale

The neighebores, bothe smale and grete, In ronnen for to gauren on this man, That yet aswowne lay, bothe pale and wan, For with the fal he brosten hadde his arm. But stonde he moste unto his owene harm; For whan he spak, he was anon bore doun With hende Nicholas and Alisoun.

Miller's tale

Jormungand/Midgard Serpent

Monstrous serpent and child of Loki, thrown into the ocean surrounding Midgard so large that it surrounds the entire world. Serpent eating its own tail symbolizes the cyclic nature of the universe: creation out of destruction, life out of death.

Loki

Norse god of mischief, shapeshifter, connected to fire and magic, crafty and malicious

Thor

Norse god of thunder and Odin's son. Norse myth predicts that at Ragnarok (the end of the cosmos), Jormungand and Thor will destroy each other. Some scholars believe that the hero Beowulf was originally meant to represent Thor.

Character: Maria (12th night)

Olivia's clever, daring young waiting-gentlewoman. Maria is remarkably similar to her antagonist, Malvolio, who harbors aspirations of rising in the world through marriage.

Character: Sir Toby (12th night)

Olivia's uncle. Olivia lets Sir Toby Belch live with her, but she does not approve of his rowdy behavior, practical jokes, heavy drinking, late-night carousing, or friends (specifically the idiotic Sir Andrew). Sir Toby also earns the ire of Malvolio

Character: fellowship (everyman)

Represents friendship. Everyman's friend and the very first one to forsake him. Fellowship suggests going drinking or consorting with women rather than going on a pilgrimage to death.

Character: five wits (everyman)

Represents the Five Senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell. One of the second group of characters who deserts Everyman in the second half of the play.

Please identify and explain this term in the context of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: two kisses/a boar

Sir Gaiwan kills a boar and receives two kisses.

He shrank for shame at what the chevalier spoke of. The first words the fair knight could frame were: 'Curses on both cowardice and covetousness! Their vice and villainy are virtue's undoing . . . I was craven about our encounter, and cowardice taught me To accord with covetousness and corrupt my nature And the liberality and loyalty belonging to chivalry.'

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

I am the weakest, the most wanting in wisdom, I know, And my life, if lost, would be least missed, truly. Only through your being my uncle, am I to be valued; No bounty but your blood in my body do I know. And since this affair is too foolish to fall to you, And I first asked it of you, make it over to me; And if I fail to speak fittingly, let this full court judge Without blame.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Lay flat with fine adroitness and feigned sleep. . . . There she watched a long while, waiting for him to wake. Slyly close this long while lay the knight, Considering in his soul this circumstance, Its sense and likely sequel, for it seemed marvelous. 'Still, it would be more circumspect,' he said to himself, 'To speak and discover her desire in due course.'

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

was reputed good and, like gold well refined, He was devoid of all villainy, every virtue displaying In the field. Thus this Pentangle new He carried on coat and shield, As man of troth most true And knightly name annealed.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Morgan le Fay

The Arthurian tradition typically portrays Morgan as a powerful sorceress, trained by Merlin, as well as the half sister of King Arthur. Not until the last one hundred lines do we discover that the old woman at the castle is Morgan le Faye and that she has controlled the poem's entire action from beginning to end. As she often does in Arthurian literature, Morgan appears as an enemy of Camelot, one who aims to cause as much trouble for her half brother and his followers as she can.

What was Chaucer's first important original poem?

The Book of the Duchess

Who is the last character to speak in the play? What is the purpose of this last monologue?

The Doctor of Theology. The purpose of the monologue is to remind the audience of the play's moral message.

character: Feste (12th night)

The clown, or fool, of Olivia's household, Feste moves between Olivia's and Orsino's homes. He earns his living by making pointed jokes, singing old songs, being generally witty, and offering good advice cloaked under a layer of foolishness. In spite of being a professional fool, Feste often seems the wisest character in the play.

Midgard

The defensive fortress which the gods build about the middle portion of the earth allotted to men in order to protect mankind from the giants.

Character: messenger (everyman)

The first character to appear. The Messenger has no role within the story of the play itself, but simply speaks the prologue outlining what the play will be like.

Who decided that Loki's children should be killed, and why?

The gods decided that his children should be killed because they were evil.

What happens to Sir Gawain at the Green Chapel?

The green knight tries to fight him, and manages to draw blood on the third swing

King Arthur

The king of Camelot. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Arthur is young and beardless, and his court is in its golden age. Arthur's refusal to eat until he hears a fantastic tale shows the petulance of youth, as does Arthur's initial stunned response to the Green Knight's challenge. However, like a good king, Arthur soon steps forward to take on the challenge. At the story's end, Arthur joins his nephew in wearing a green girdle on his arm, showing that Gawain's trial has taught him about his own fallibility.

What type of literary genre is the work, Everyman? What is the purpose of this genre?

The literary genre is a morality play. the purpose of a morality play is to influence a religious morality on the audience.

Bertilak of Hautdesert

The noble lord of the castle where Gawain seeks refuge on his travels. He is described as being even more strong and knightly than King Arthur, and he reigns over a court that is less artificial and earthier than Camelot. His wife is quite a beauty. Bertilak kindly offers Gawain hospitality and engages him in a three-day game, exchanging his winnings from hunting with Gawain's winnings in the court. At the end of the poem we learn that Bertilak and the Green Knight are the same person, magically enchanted by Morgan le Faye for her own designs.

character: Everyman (everyman)

The representative of "every man" - of mankind in general. He dresses in fine clothes, and seems to have had led a wild and sinful life. Throughout the course of the play, he is told that he is going to die (and therefore be judged) and undergoes a pilgrimage in which he absolves himself of sin, is deserted by all of his friends apart from good deeds, and dies.

Please identify and explain this term in the context of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: New Year's Day

The story takes place on New year's Day.

Sir Gaiwan

The story's protagonist, Arthur's nephew and one of his most loyal knights. Although he modestly disclaims it, Gawain has the reputation of being a great knight and courtly lover. He prides himself on his observance of the five points of chivalry in every aspect of his life

What did Strength, Beauty, Discretion, and Five-Wits do toward the end of the play?

They left Everyman.

The Wife of Bath

Though she is a seamstress by occupation, she seems to be a professional wife. She has been married five times and had many other affairs in her youth, making her well practiced in the art of love. She presents herself as someone who loves marriage and sex, but, from what we see of her, she also takes pleasure in rich attire, talking, and arguing. She is deaf in one ear and has a gap between her front teeth, which was considered attractive in Chaucer's time. She has traveled on pilgrimages to Jerusalem three times and elsewhere in Europe as well.

character: Sebastian (12th night)

Viola's lost twin brother. When he arrives in Illyria, traveling with Antonio, his close friend and protector, Sebastian discovers that many people think that they know him. Furthermore, the beautiful Lady Olivia, whom he has never met, wants to marry him

Character: Viola (12th night)

Washed up on the shore of Illyria when her ship is wrecked in a storm, Viola decides to make her own way in the world. She disguises herself as a young man, calling herself "Cesario," and becomes a page to Duke Orsino. She ends up falling in love with Orsino—even as Olivia, the woman Orsino is courting, falls in love with Cesario. Thus, Viola finds that her clever disguise has entrapped her: she cannot tell Orsino that she loves him, and she cannot tell Olivia why she, as Cesario, cannot love her

'My lige lady, generally,' quod he, 'Wommen desiren to have sovereynetee As wel over hir housbond as hir love, And for to been in maistrie hym above. This is youre mooste desir, thogh ye me kille; Dooth as yow list, I am heer at youre wille In al the court ne was ther wyf, ne mayde, Ne wydwe, that contraried that he sayde, But seyden he was worthy han his lyf.

Wife of Bath

Lordynges, right thus, as ye have understonde. Baar I stifly myne olde housbondes on honde That thus they seyden in hir dronkenesse. And al was fals; but that I took witnesse On Janekyn and on my nece also. O lord, the peyne I dide hem and the wo — Ful giltelees, by Goddes sweete pyne! — I For as an hors I koude byte and whyne. I koude pleyne, thogh I were in the gilt, Or elles often tyme hadde I been spilt.

Wife of Bath

Ye herde I nevere tellen in myn age Upon this nombre diffinicioun. Men may devyne and glosen, up and doun, But wel I woot, expres, withoute lye, God bad us for to wexe and multiplye; That gentil text kan I wel understonde. Eek wel I woot, he seyde myn housbonde Sholde lete fader and mooder, and take to me. But of no nombre mencion made he, Of bigamy, or of octogamye; Why shold men thane speke of it vileynye?

Wife of Bath

Character: Nicolas (Miller's tale)

a poor astronomy student who boards with an elderly carpenter, John, and the carpenter's too-young wife, Alisoun. Nicholas dupes John and sleeps with Alisoun right under John's nose, but Absolon, the foppish parish clerk, gets Nicholas in the end.

Please identify and explain this term in the context of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Morgan le Faye

an enchantress and the lover of Merlin. She is Arthur's half-sister

Valhalla

an immense hall where warriors slain in battle await the final conflict, is located in Asgard.

Character: Grendel (beowulf)

demon descended from Cain, terrorizes Herot, killed by Beowulf

Character: John (Miller's tale)

dim-witted carpenter to whom Alisoun is married and with whom Nicholas boards. John is jealous and possessive of his wife. He constantly berates Nicholas for looking into God's "pryvetee," but when Nicholas offers John the chance to share his knowledge, John quickly accepts. He gullibly believes Nicholas's pronouncement that a second flood is coming, which allows Nicholas to sleep with John's wife.

Who made the successful fetter that bound Fenrir?

dwarfs

Before he died, Chaucer finished the definitive version of The Canterbury Tales, establishing a precise table of contents, order to the stories, etc.true or false

false

Canterbury Tales was Chaucer's first multifaceted work, true or false

false

Fenrir

gigantic, terrible monster in the shape of a wolf. Loki's son.

Who is the sister of Good Deeds?

knowledge

Character: Absolon (Miller's tale)

local parish clerk in the Miller's Tale, Absolon is a little bit foolish and more than a little bit vain. He fancies Alisoun.

Green Knight

mystery man whose body, hair, and clothing were green when he issued a challenge to King Arthur's men regarding the ax

the shrine of becket

one of the premier destinations of pilgrims in late medieval Europe. Assassinated in his own cathedral in 1270, Becket's status as a saint was closely tied up with his defence of the rights of the Church against the encroachments of King Henry II

character: orsino (12th night)

powerful nobleman in the country of Illyria. Orsino is lovesick for the beautiful Lady Olivia, but becomes more and more fond of his handsome new page boy, Cesario, who is actually a woman—Viola. Orsino mopes around complaining how heartsick he is over Olivia, when it is clear that he is chiefly in love with the idea of being in love.

Character: Alisoun (Miller's tale)

sexy young woman married to the carpenter in the Miller's Tale. She is bright and sweet like a small bird, and dresses in a tantalizing style. She willingly goes to bed with Nicholas, but she has only harsh words and obscenities for Absolon.

character: Malvolio (12th night)

straitlaced steward—or head servant—in the household of Lady Olivia. Malvolio is very efficient but also very self-righteous, and he has a poor opinion of drinking, singing, and fun. His priggishness and haughty attitude earn him the enmity of Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria, who play a cruel trick on him, making him believe that Olivia is in love with him

Since Fenrir was suspicious, what condition did he demand before allowing himself to be bound the final time?

that one of the gods put his hand in Fenrir's mouth

Of which character in the General Prologue is the following quote said: "And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche." (And gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.)

the clerk

Which "worthy man" is the first character Chaucer introduces in the General Prologue?

the knight

characters: beauty, strength, five wits, and discretion (everyman)

the second group of characters who deserts Everyman in the second half of the play.

Character: Grendel's mother (beowulf)

unnamed swamp hag, gets mad at Beowulf after he kills her son, decides to take revenge. Beowulf wins and returns with her head

character: Olivia (12th night)

wealthy, beautiful, and noble Illyrian lady, Olivia is courted by Orsino and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, but to each of them she insists that she is in mourning for her brother, who has recently died, and will not marry for seven years. She and Orsino are similar characters in that each seems to enjoy wallowing in his or her own misery. Viola's arrival in the masculine guise of Cesario enables Olivia to break free of her self-indulgent melancholy. Olivia seems to have no difficulty transferring her affections from one love interest to the next

Chaucer's plan for Canterbury Tales

•A Prologue followed by a series of stories and linking dialogues and commentaries •Each character would tell 2 stories going and 2 stories coming home