English Literature Test Questions – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
facts about Geoffrey Chaucer
answer
He was born in London in the year of 1340. His mother was a member of the court and his father was a successful wine maker. He was from a high society so his audience would have been highly educated. He is buried in London's famous Westminster Abbey in a special area reserved for poets called "The Poet's Corner."
question
Chaucer's Language
answer
Middle English
question
Where did the Pilgrimage begin
answer
Began at Southwark-southeast of London
question
Where are the Pilgrims headed
answer
TO the shrine of the martyr Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury in Tabard Inn.
question
in what area does the wife of bath see herself as an expert
answer
an expert on marriage
question
what is the wife of baths prologue about
answer
she first establishes herself as a marriage expert, since she has been married five times She thinks men can only guess and interpret what Jesus meant when he told a Samaritan woman that her fifth husband was not her real husband, so she thinks her behavior is acceptable. She uses sex to manipulate her husbands into giving her way and money.
question
in the pardoners tale, who are the three men searching for
answer
searching for death
question
who was branded by a red hot poker
answer
Nicholas was branded
question
which tale is much like a medieval sermon
answer
the pardoners tale
question
which pilgrims are most richly attired
answer
the wife of bath, the squire, monk, physician, and franklin
question
which characters are connected to the church
answer
the pardoner, the prioress, the monk, the friar, and the parson
question
which character carries a brooch inscribed with Latin words meaning "love conquers all"
answer
Prioress
question
who gas ab ugly wart on his nose
answer
Miller
question
WHo has yellow flaxen hair
answer
the pardoner
question
who proposed the telling of stories
answer
the host
question
who received a broken arm
answer
John falls to the floor and breaks his arm
question
who was described as a lady's man and a hot lover
answer
the squire
question
who spoke latin when he got drunk
answer
the summoner
question
who will determine the fate of the knight
answer
the queen. the knight had raped a young beautiful girl and at that time you are killed for raping someone but the queen told him he had a year to answer the queens question right or he would be beheaded.
question
who becomes beautiful when the knight kisses her
answer
the old woman in the tale that the knight meets.
question
which tale has the longest prologue and who complains about it
answer
the wife of bath and the friar complains- saying it is too long
question
why does the pardoner upset the host?
answer
the pardoner offered indulgences to the pilgrims who had repented of their sins they had committed, after he has already told the host to cheat them.
question
what is physiognomy
answer
it was a science that judged a persons temperament and character based on his or her anatomy. It plays a significant role in Chaucer's description of the pilgrims in the general prologue. The miller represents the stereotypical peasant- round and ruddy, with a wart on his nose. the pardoner's glaring eyes and limp hair illustrate his fraudulence.
question
define fabliaux as a literary motif
answer
fabliaux were comical and often twisted stories in which the characters succeeded by means of their sharp wits. Most often, the plot turns or climaxes around the most grotesque feature in this story, usually bodily noise or function. For ex: the millers tale is a perfect experiment with this literary motif: Nicholas cleverly tricks the carpenter into spending the night in his barn so that Nicholas can sleep with the carpenter's wife; the ending takes place when Nicholas farts in Absolon's face.
question
true or false, the narrator promises to be accurate and objective
answer
true. He explains ahead of time that he is sorry if he hurts or offends people, but that he will give the most accurate account possible for each character.
question
which character is deaf and why
answer
the wife of bath is the character that is deaf because she got stuck in the head by Jankyn.
question
name the three symbols in the Canterbury Tales
answer
Springtime, Clothing and Appearance, and Physiognomy.
question
give the basic plot of the millers tale
answer
the plot of the millers tale is a hilarious lovers triangle between Alsion, her boarder Nicholas, and a parish clerk named Absalom. The plot is further complicated by the presence of Alisoun's husband John. Nicholas and Alisoun launch a crazy plot convincing John that there is going to be a flood and that they will die unless they follow his instructions to set up tubs to float away in. Once John falls asleep in his tub, they lovers have their tryst. Contributing to the hilarity, Absalom comes to call and begs for a kiss from Alisoun, and she complies in not the way he expects- by pulling her pants down and him kissing her bare bottom.
question
give the basic plot of the wife of baths tale
answer
the tale begins with a maiden being raped by a young and lustful knight. int eh eyes of the court, the punishment for rape was death. but the queen and other women intervened on his behalf. The queen makes him an offer. She tells him if he can find the answer to her question in one year she will spare his life. the knight has to answer the question "what do women want?" The knight begins to journey and ask every woman he finds the question he was given but he just gets the answers "money..etc." leaving him empty handed. On his journey back to the queen, he comes across a group of ladies dancing and decides to make one last attempt, but all of the women suddenly disappear and the only one left is an old woman. The old woman says she will give him the answer but then he will have to give her her wish too. He goes before the queen and gives her the answer the old lady has given him and the queen says that the answer is correct. He later finds out the old woman's wish is to marry her. He is disgusted. She asks him why he is so upset and he tells her he is married to an old ugly woman. and she tells him he can either choose for her to be young and beautiful but yet unfaithful or ugly but loyal. he tells her to choose because he trusts her decision and because he gave her what she wanted: a choice, she became both beautiful and loyal.
question
give the basic plot of the pardoners tale
answer
the pardoners tale is a unique story introduced by a unique character. the tale focuses on three young men drinking, gambling, etc, in a tavern. While in the tavern, the rioters hear a bell signaling a burial that someone known as death had killed their friend. The men were outraged and set out to find and kill Death which is at the the foot of an oak tree. When the men arrive at the tree, they find a large sum of money-gold coins and they forget about their mission to find Death. They decide to stay the night at the oak tree and take the coins back with them in the morning. The three men draw straws to see who should go back in town and get wine and food while the other two wait under the tree. The youngest of the three men draws the shortest straw and leaves for town while the other two remain. The two men left discuss a plan to kill the young boy when he gets back so they can keep more money. The young boy while gone, comes up with a plan to kill the other two guys so he can keep all of the money to himself and he poisons the wine. When he comes back the other two jump out and kill him. In the end, each individual is overcome with greed and kill one another.
question
what character in which tale wears slippers decorated "like fanciful stain-glass Windows in a church cathedral"
answer
Absolon, the local parish clerk in the Millers Tale, wears slippers decorated.
question
what character in which tale dresses in tantalizing style
answer
Alisoun dresses in tantalizing style. She is a character in the Millers tale and is described as a sexy young woman.
question
who wrote hamlet
answer
william shakespeare
question
"the rest is silence"
answer
Hamlet
question
"Strengthen your patience in our last night's speech"
answer
Claudius
question
"Alas, I know him, Horatio"
answer
Hamlet
question
"There's rosemary; that's for remembrance."
answer
Ophelia
question
"I'll have prepared for him a chalice for the nonce"
answer
Claudius
question
"So you shall; and where the offense is let the great ax fall."
answer
Claudius
question
"He is dead and gone lady, he is dead and gone."
answer
Ophelia
question
"Follow her close; give her good watch; i pray you"
answer
Claudius
question
"O from this time my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth"
answer
Hamlet
question
"Go to your rest; at night we'll feast together."
answer
Claudius
question
"Good gentlemen, he hath much talked of you."
answer
Queen Gertrude
question
"I pray stay with us go not to Wittenberg."
answer
Gertrude
question
"Never make known what you have seen tonight."
answer
Hamlet
question
"What if it tempt you to the flood my lord."
answer
Horatio
question
"The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables."
answer
Hamlet
question
"My lord I came to see my father's funeral"
answer
Horatio
question
"A little more than kin and less than kind."
answer
Hamlet -first lines
question
"Cast thy knighted color off."
answer
Gertrude
question
"My dread lord, your leave and favor to return to france."
answer
Laertes
question
"you are as good as a chorus"
answer
Ophelia
question
"Thou art fat and scant of breath"
answer
Gertrude
question
"A willow grows aslant a brook"
answer
Gertrude
question
"Alas poor Yorick, I knew him well."
answer
Hamlet
question
"goodnight ladies, goodnight"
answer
Ophelia
question
"I shall obey you, madam."
answer
Hamlet
question
"We'll teach you to drink ere you depart"
answer
Hamlet
question
Who tried to stop the possible war with Norwar
answer
Claudius
question
By the end of scene 1, which character was summoned
answer
Hamlet. Horatio suggests that they summon Prince Hamlet in hopes that the ghost will speak to him.
question
Who loved Rhenish
answer
Claudius
question
Who ordered a proper burial for Hamlet
answer
Fortinbras
question
Who didn't seemed to be worried about dying
answer
Hamlet
question
A valuable pearl was offered to whom
answer
Hamlet by Claudius- in the poisoned drink
question
what character was puzzled over danish customs
answer
Hamlet
question
whom was spied on by Reynaldo
answer
Laertes
question
Who described man as the "pargon" of animals
answer
Hamlet- while speaking to Rosencrantz
question
Who bought an unction of a mountebank
answer
Laertes bought an unction of a montebank
question
Who did not believe in ghosts
answer
Horatio- even tho he saw it multiple times
question
whose skull did hamlet hold
answer
Yorick- the jester
question
who was the judge at the sword fight
answer
osric
question
which country might attack denmark
answer
Norway
question
who had gathered a group to support him as the new Danish king
answer
Laertes
question
Insanity is a theme of this play. Whose insanity is real?
answer
Ophelia
question
In the famous eavesdropping scene, Ophelia is instructed by whom to read what?
answer
Ophelia is instructed by Polonius to read a book of devotions
question
what is an arras
answer
a rich tapestry that can be hung on a wall or used to conceal an alcove
question
who calls polonius a fish monger
answer
Hamlet
question
who reports that Hamlets stockings are down to his knees
answer
Ophelia
question
define Drabbing
answer
a combination of swearing, drinking, fencing, or quarreling, it was also slang for spending time with a prostitute.
question
who uses polonius for his own good
answer
Claudius
question
what do beating of drums and blasting cannons mean
answer
King Claudius is drinking
question
who speaks the first plays soliloquy
answer
Hamlet
question
which character asks to leave Denmark
answer
Polonius son, Laertes
question
the king has received several threatening letters from whom
answer
Horatio
question
By the end of Act 1, the king decides to call in which two characters?
answer
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
question
What is a partisan
answer
a spear with a long handle
question
Horatio can speak what archaic language?
answer
Latin
question
In scene one, which character is not a regular guard?
answer
Horatio
