wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

NEW

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Brit Lit Semester I exam

Total questions: 70

Worksheet time: 1hrs 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The Anglo-Saxons ruled England from:

a)

1976 AD to 2005 AD

b)

300 BC to 449 AD

c)

1066 AD to 1492 AD

d)

449 AD to 1066 AD

2.

The group most responsible for the preservation of learning in England was:

a)

The monks

b)

The French

c)

The Scotts

d)

The Anglo-Saxons

3.

Animism was a form of religion practiced by the:

a)

Anglo-Saxons

b)

The Italians

c)

The Muslims

d)

the Celts

4.

The most sophisticated form of government in England prior to the Norman Conquest was that of:

a)

The French

b)

The Romans

c)

the Druids

d)

the Scandanavians

5.

A fundamental feature of the Anglo-Saxon way of life was:

a)

loyalty to the stone gods

b)

loyalty to the artist's colony

c)

loyalty to the lord

d)

loyalty to women warriors

6.

The end of the Anglo-Saxon era was brought about by:

a)

The fall of the Roman Empire

b)

The Norman Conquest

c)

The Crusades

d)

The Discovery of Sutton Hoo

7.

Grendel was said to be a descendant of :

a)

Jesus Christ

b)

Hrothgar

c)

Cain

d)

Moses

8.

Hrothgar's men were most threatened by the monster when they:

a)

worked in the farm fields

b)

were sailing on the ocean

c)

were in the thick of battle

d)

were in the mead hall

9.

Grendel had been terrorizing the Danes for how long?

a)

Six months

b)

Twelve years

c)

Twelve months

d)

One hundred years

10.

Beowulf contains both:

a)

Welsh and Scottish references

b)

French and Swiss references

c)

Christian and pagan references

d)

Hebrew and Muslim references

11.

Beowulf went to Hrothgar's defense because:

a)

his father had been helped by Hrothgar and because he wanted to add to his warrior reputation

b)

Beowulf had pledged loyalty to Unferth, his lord

c)

Beowulf owed the Danes a great deal of money

d)

Hrothgar was Beowulf's grandfather.

12.

Beowulf shows great tact to Hrothgar when he:

a)

Asks Welthow to translate Hrothgar's speech

b)

Asks permission to fight Grendel

c)

Invites Unferth to fight along side him

d)

Refuses to take any reward for his services

13.

Beowulf vanquishes Grendel by:

a)

cutting off his head

b)

attacking Grendel's mother

c)

ripping off Grendel's arm

d)

all of these

14.

Beowulf is able to defeat Grendel's mother by:

a)

using a sword made by giants

b)

striking her with a blessed crucifix

c)

burying her under a pile of rocks

d)

hitting her with Grendel's arm

15.

Beowulf's "Final Battle" takes place when:

a)

Beowulf is much older

b)

Beowulf is fighting a dragon

c)

Wiglaf remains with Beowulf

d)

All of these

16.

As he lay dying, Beowulf asks Wiglaf to:

a)

Find his only son, Unferth

b)

Lead Beowulf's people and share the treasure with them

c)

Become a bard so he can tell Beowulf's story

d)

Make sure he has a ship burial at Sutton Hoo

17.

Even in death, Beowulf is helping his people by:

a)

Appearing as a ghost along the harborline

b)

Having his tomb serve as a guide for voyagers

c)

Having his sons serve as kings for hundreds of years

d)

Sharing his songs and stories with the bards and scops.

18.

The most important attribute Beowulf possessed was:

a)

Absolute loyalty to the lord

b)

A talent for singing and storytelling

c)

Extremely good looks

d)

Cleverness

19.

In The Canterbury Tales,

"She spoke daintily in French, extremely

After the school of Stratford-atte-Bowe;" describes

a)

The Pardoner

b)

The Wife of Bath

c)

The Oxford Cleric

d)

The Prioress

20.

"The rule of good St. Benet or St. Maur

As old and strict he tended to ignore" refers to:

a)

The Prioress

b)

The Monk

c)

The Summoner

d)

The Reeve

21.

"I'll go along with you myself and ride,

All at my own expense and serve as guide" refers to:

a)

The Narrator

b)

The Manciple

c)

The Pardoner

d)

The Host

22.

"They were so trim and fresh their gear would pass for new" refers to:

a)

The Clerk of Oxford

b)

The Knight

c)

The Sargent at the Law

d)

The Guildsmen

23.

"She knew the remedy for love's mischances

An art in which she knew the oldest dances" refers to

a)

The Wife of Bath

b)

The Prioress

c)

The Guildsmen

d)

The Friar

24.

"His house was never short of baked meat pies

Of fish and flesh, and these in such supplies

It positively snowed with meat and drink" refers to:

a)

The Manciple

b)

The Reeve

c)

The Host

d)

The Franklin

25.

"He wore a fustian tunic stained and dark

With smudges where his armor had left its mark" refers to:

a)

The Squire

b)

The Wife of Bath

c)

The Host

d)

The Knight

26.

"And at its very tip his nose displayed

A wart on which thee stood a tuft of hair

Red as the bristles on an old sow's ear" refers to

a)

The Summoner

b)

The Miller

c)

The Narrator

d)

The Yeoman

27.

"But what a pity--so it seemed to me

That he should have an ulcer on his knee" refers to:

a)

The Doctor

b)

The Reeve

c)

The Yeoman

d)

The Cook

28.

"Though there was nowhere one so busy as he

He was less busy than he seemed to be" refers to:

a)

The Sargent at the Law

b)

The Miller

c)

The Prioress

d)

The Manciple

29.

"He was emroidered like a meadow bright

And full of freshest flowers, red and white" refers to:

a)

The Knight

b)

The Squire

c)

The Host

d)

The Franklin

30.

"A tone of moral virtue filled his speech

And gladly would he learn, and gladly teach" refers to

a)

The Parson

b)

The Guildsmen

c)

The Clerk of Oxford

d)

The Friar

31.

"He wouldn't speak a word except in Latin,

When he was drunk, such tags as he was pat in" refers to

a)

The Monk

b)

The Pardoner

c)

The Summoner

d)

The Parson

32.

"This estimable _______________ so had set

His wits to work, none knew he was in debt" refers to

a)

The Merchant

b)

The Skipper

c)

The Plowman

d)

The Sargent at the Law

33.

The opening scene of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is:

a)

The Easter Vigil

b)

New Year's Eve

c)

King Arthur's birthday

d)

Chanukah

34.

When the Green Knight presents his challenge,

a)

All the soldiers fight to see who will get to accept the challenge

b)

Arthur banishes him from the kingdom

c)

Gawain accepts the challenge to save Arthur

d)

Galahad begs Arthur to be allowed to accept the challenge.

35.

Gawain feels that he has eliminated the threat of the Green Knight because he:

a)

Cut off the Green Knight's head

b)

Invited the Green Knight to feast with the men rather than fighting

c)

Hid Arthur in a remote part of the castle where the Green Knight couldn't find him.

d)

Banished the Green Knight with Gawain's magical powers.

36.

The Green Knight surprises Arthur's men by:

a)

Finding Arthur with very little effort

b)

Picking up his head and riding off

c)

Refusing to feast with them because their food is unclean

d)

Giving each of Arthur's men a handful of golden coins

37.

At the end of a year, Gawain is required to do what?

a)

Pledge his absolute loyalty to Arthur as his knight

b)

Meet the Green Knight at the Green Chapel

c)

Return all of the golden coins the Green Knight threw to Arthur's men

d)

Use his magical powers to defeat the Green Knight

38.

While searching for the Green Knight, Gawain takes refuge:

a)

At a Jesuit monastery

b)

At the castle of the Host and his wife

c)

At Arthur's Scottish castle

d)

In Canterbury

39.

Gawain feels he will die when he meets the Green Knight because:

a)

He knows the Green Knight will cut off his head

b)

The Green Knight's castle is in an extremely cold and damp swamp

c)

The Green Knight is known as an unbeatable swordsman

d)

Gawain has no horse, and must walk a long distance to the Green Chapel

40.

The Green Knight doesn't kill Gawain because:

a)

Gawain is able to outrun him

b)

Gawain has kept almost all of his bargains with the Host

c)

Gawain is an excellent swordsman himself

d)

Arthur has paid Gawain's ransom

41.

Gawain didn't give the Host the green sash because:

a)

Gawain had fallen in love with the host's wife

b)

Gawain needed a token from his lady to take into battle

c)

Gawain had lost the sash, but was too embarrassed to admit it

d)

The green sash was supposed to guarantee immortality

42.

The Green Knight tells Gawain that the whole "game" was a test of Arthur's men set up by:

a)

King Arthur

b)

Lot of Orkney

c)

Lady Igraine

d)

Morgan Le Fey

43.

Hamlet is a example of:

a)

An Elizabethan tragedy

b)

An Elizabethan comedy

c)

An Elizabethan problem play

d)

An Elizabethan history

44.

An example of Hamlet "falling from a high place" is:

a)

Being expelled from school at Wittenburg

b)

Losing the crown he was entrusted with protecting

c)

Experiencing the death of his father

d)

Experiencing the death of his godfather

45.

The Ghost reveals what to Hamlet?

a)

He was murdered

b)

Hamlet's mother was an adulteress

c)

Hamlet needs to get revenge for him

d)

All of these

46.

Hamlet's true friend is:

a)

Rosencrantz

b)

Horatio

c)

Guildenstern

d)

Osric

47.

Hamlet doesn't immediately fulfill the Ghost's command because:

a)

He has hopes of becoming an ambassador to England

b)

He thinks that he has been hallucinating

c)

He is not sure if the Ghost is from heaven or hell

d)

He wants to get Ophelia's opinion

48.

The turn or shift in Act III is:

a)

The death of Claudius

b)

The death of Polonius

c)

The death of Laertes

d)

The death of Gertrude

49.

Hamlet's tragic flaw is:

a)

His extreme ambition

b)

His uncontrolled jealousy

c)

His impetuous behavior

d)

His inability to act and his procrastination

50.

It is obvious to the audience that Hamlet will die because:

a)

Ophelia, his girlfriend dies.

b)

The Ghost foretold it.

c)

That is one of the characteristics of an Elizabethan tragedy.

d)

His death is foretold in the title.

51.

Hamlet asks Horatio to stay alive to do what:

a)

Kill Claudius and fulfill the revenge

b)

Marry Ophelia and have many children to honor Hamlet

c)

Challenge Fortinbras to be ruler of Denmark

d)

Tell Hamlet's story and clear his name.

52.

Hamlet's final words are:

a)

"Marry Ophelia, Horatio"

b)

"The rest is silence."

c)

"Stay alive, and avenge my death."

d)

"Fortinbras, Claudius is the murderer."

53.

Renaissance Poets:

A very popular writing format for the Renaissance poets was the:

a)

epic

b)

ode

c)

sonnet

d)

monologue

54.

The poet who served as Queen Elizabeth's confidential secretary and wrote a witty reply to another's pastoral poem was:

a)

John Donne

b)

Sir Walter Raleigh

c)

Sir Thomas Wyatt

d)

Wm. Shakespeare

55.

This poet wrote 154 sonnets, chiefly to the "beloved young man" and "the dark lady."

a)

Wm. Shakespeare

b)

Christopher Marlowe

c)

Andrew Marvell

d)

Edmund Spencer

56.

This poet was a metaphysical poet who began life as a Catholic, but later became a Doctor of the Anglican Church.

a)

John Donne

b)

Wm. Shakespeare

c)

Richard Loveless

d)

Robert Herrick

57.

This poet was one of a "tribe" of a major poet; he wrote lighter verse, became a priest, and espoused the "carpe diem" ideal in poetry.

a)

Thomas Wyatt

b)

Robert Herrick

c)

Christopher Marlowe

d)

Andrew Marvell

58.

A Cavalier poet, this man wrote lighter verse, and is said to have invented the card game of cribbage.

a)

Ben Johnson

b)

Richard Lovelace

c)

John Suckling

d)

Edmund Spencer

59.

A courtier of Henry VIII, he brought the Italian sonnet to England.

a)

Wm Shakespeare

b)

Andrew Marvell

c)

Sir Thomas Wyatt

d)

Ben Johnson

60.

Belonging to the first generation of Elizabethan dramatists, this poet showed Shakespeare what was possible in dramatic poetry.

a)

Christopher Marlowe

b)

Wm. Shakespeare

c)

Richard Lovelace

d)

John Suckling

61.

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,/Old time is still a-flying" was written by:

a)

Christopher Marlowe

b)

Andrew Marvell

c)

Ben Johnson

d)

Robert Herrick

62.

"I sent thee late a rosy wreath/Not so much honoring thee/As giving it a hope that there/it could not withered be" was written by:

a)

Edmund Spencer

b)

Robert Herrick

c)

John Suckling

d)

Ben Johnson

63.

"One short sleep past, we wake eternally/and death shall be no more; Death, thou shall die" was written by

a)

John Donne

b)

Ben Johnson

c)

Andrew Marvel

d)

Thomas Wyatt

64.

Name the poem: "Go and catch a falling star,/Get with child a mandrake root"

a)

"Sonnet 30"

b)

"Song"

c)

"Sonnet 29"

d)

"Song: to Celia"

65.

Name the poem: "My verse your virtues rare shall eternize/And in the heavens write your glorious name."

a)

"The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd"

b)

"Why So Pale and Wan?"

c)

"Sonnet 75"

d)

"The Faerie Queen"

66.

Name the poem: "But at my back I always hear/Time's winged chariot hurrying near."

a)

"To His Coy Mistress"

b)

"The Fowl Duessa"

c)

"Whoso List to Hunt"

d)

"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time"

67.

Name the poem: "Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy/My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy."

a)

"Sonnet 29"

b)

"On My First Son"

c)

"Why So Pale and Wan?"

d)

"Sonnet 130"

68.

The format and rhyme scheme of the Italian Sonnet is:

a)

Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet, with abab/cdcd/efef/gg

b)

Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet, with abba/abba/cde/cde

c)

An octave and a sestet, with abba/abba/cde/cde

d)

Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet, with abab/bcbc/cdcd/ee

69.

The form and rhyme scheme of a Spenserian sonnet is:

a)

An Octave and a sestet, with abba/abba/cde/cde

b)

Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet with abab/cdcd/efef/gg

c)

An Octave and a sestet, with abab/cdcd/efef/gg

d)

Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet, with abab/bcbc/cdcd/ee

70.

The form and rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet is:

a)

Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet with abba/abba/cde/cde

b)

Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet, with abab/cdcd/efef/gg

c)

An Octave and a sestet with abba/abba/cde/cde

d)

An Octave and a sestet with abab/bcbc/cdcd/ee