english literature

by

Humanities

The phrase “summer’s sentinel,” meaning a cuckoo, is an example of

  1. a kenning.
  2. a predicate.
  3. a scop.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight a sense of supernatural is found when

  1. the Green Knight does not die from Sir Gawain’s blow.
  2. the Green Knight challenges King Arthur’s knights.
  3. Sir Gawain arrives at the Green Castle and finds it hideous.

The first part of “The Seafarer” is the story of

  1. a man’s life on the sea.
  2. a sailor’s conversion to Christianity.
  3. an exile’s lament for his country.

What keeps Bede from being completely accurate in A History of the English Church and People?

  1. He sometimes accepted unlikely stories as true.
  2. He usually did not tell where he got information.
  3. Much of his information comes from his own observations.

In real life, King Arthur is believed to have been a Celtic chieftain from the fifth or sixth century.

  1. True
  2. False

What is being said about the character in the following quotation from The Canterbury Tales? “He was an easy man in penance-giving / Where he could hope to make a decent living; / It’s a sure sign whenever gifts are given / To a poor Order that a man’s well shriven, / And should he give enough he knew in verity / The penitent repented in sincerity.”

  1. He knew that if he exacted a large enough price for the sin, the penitent person would feel truly sorry for what he’d done.
  2. He gave out easy penances and absolution so he could make money.
  3. He gave out easy penances and absolution because he couldn’t stand to criticize people.