The Aeneid Excerpt Review

Charon’s role in the underworld is to —

• pass judgment on human souls

• prevent people from drowning in the rivers

• welcome people to their lives after death

• take souls across the river Styx in his boat

Which two things does the poet compare to the crowd of souls on the beach?

• leaves falling from trees in autumn

• water swirling wildly in a river

• hairs growing in a thick beard

• birds migrating to warmer climates

• bones piling up in a graveyard

Charon refuses to help the souls of people who —

• died while their parents were still alive

• did not receive a proper burial

• approach him on the shore of the river

• are not descended from gods

What type of text is The Aeneid?

• Autobiography

• Epic poem

• Fantasy novel

• Sociological study

Which of the following words is NOT part of the poet's description of Charon?

• Disheveled

• Grim

• Old

• Severe

What is the meaning of the phrase old age in a god is tough and green in line 12?

• When gods get old, they stop taking care of themselves

• Old gods may seem powerful, but they are helpless

• When gods get old, they create terror for everyone

• Old gods may look weak, but they stay powerful

What is the meaning of the phrase to swear falsely in line 37?

• To cry

• To lie

• To curse

• To scream

What is the tone of the excerpt from The Aeneid?

• Grim and wretched

• Concerned and calming

• Fearless and questioning

• Ghoulish and emotionless

Which two quotes from The Aeneid best show the tone?

• A whirlpool thick / with sludge, its giant eddy seething, vomits / all of its swirling sand into Cocytus. (lines 2–4)

• Alone / he poles the boat and tends the sails . . . (lines 9–10)

• And here a multitude was rushing, swarming / shoreward, with men and mothers, bodies of / high-hearted heroes stripped of life . . . (lines 13–15)

• thick as the leaves that with the early frost / of autumn drop and fall within the forest, / or as the birds that flock along the beaches . . . (lines 18–20)

• But Charon, sullen boatman, / now takes these souls, now those . . . (lines 25–26)

Which of the following phrases best describes your reaction to reading part of The Aeneid?

• It was interesting, and I'd like to learn more

• It was interesting, but sort of hard to understand

• This text didn't interest me