Contest English Literature I (Unit 1)

What is the name of the rhetorical device illustrated by the phrase “Beowulf, Hygelac’s thane?

• Kenning

• Formulaic phrase

• Near-synonym

What metrical pattern characterises the Anglo-Saxon epic?

• Blank verse

• Stress-rhyme metre

• Alliteration-stress metre

Which of the following characters represents best the expected role of thanes in the system of comitatus?

• Hrothgar

• Wiglaf

• Grendel's mother

In the structural analysis of Beowulf, which of the fights can be considered the kernel?

• Beowulf vs the dragon

• Beowulf vs Grendel

• Beowulf vs Grendel's mother

What is Beowulf’s funeral like?

• He is cremated on a funeral pyre

• His corpse is laid on a ship

• His retainers tear off his arms

Where does Beowulf’s second fight take place?

• Into Heorot

• In a funeral mound

• In an underwater cave

Which of the following characteristics does NOT apply to Anglo-Saxon elegies?

• Stoic resignation

• Depiction of favourable nature

• Comfort in Christian values

Which of the following statements describes best Caedmon’s miracle?

• He managed to give voice to a stone cross

• He learned to sing a hymn on God’s creation, even if he was illiterate

• He wrote a hymn dedicated to God and became an official translator