Old English Literature

When did early middle ages start?

• 300 A.D

• 400 A.D

• 500 A.D

• 600 A.D

Choose the right period of High Middle Ages

• 1050-1210

• 1110-1200

• 1115-1255

• 1150-1215

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.

• blank; caesura; an epic

• alliterative; caesura; an epic

• alliterative; hyperbole; a novel

• blank; caesura; a novel

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

• about finding deeper meanings in everyday life

• mostly about saints

• big metaphors for something else

• mainly about life and wisdom

Why is Old English difficult for contemporary people to read?

• Because works written in Old English have radically different approaches to description.

• Because it's essentially a foreign language.

• Because it's difficult to find examples of work written in Old English.

• Because works written in Old English have radically different approaches to dialogue

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

• Caedmon's Hymn was written by Venerable Bede, but then translated later on by Caedmon, and he gave the poem his name.

• Caedmon didn't write the poem at all -- it was named for him by a female writer who was in love with him.

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

• Caedmon's Hymn was originally published as a piece of music that could be performed by the author

What is alliterative verse?

• words in the same line start with the same letter

• break, pause

• using metaphors

Who is the author of Beawulf?

• Caedmon

• Venerable Bede

• author is unknown