STUDY GUIDE FIRST TERM TEST

STUDY GUIDE FIRST TERM TEST
1) What do you know about the begging of British History?
Write a brief account using the following key words as a guide:

Pre-Celtic people.
The Celts. Social life. Warfare. Religion.
Roman Britain. Invasion. Christianity. Legacy.
The Anglo-Saxon period. Social life. Institutions. Law. The Heptarchy.
The Danes. Invasions. King Alfred. Learning. The Saxon downfall.
Edward the Confessor and the Normans.


2) What do you know about Old English or Anglo-Saxon Literature?

Define the concept of genre: epic.
Write a short essay about Beowulf. Include:
The world of the poem. The bonds of society in Anglo-Saxon times. Plot and structure of Beowulf. Pagan and Christian elements. Description of Characters. Versification. Alliteration. Kenning. Variation. Repetition. Recapitulation. Digression. Imagery.

3) What do you know about The Early Middle Ages and
The Early Middle Ages Proper?
Write briefly about the Norman Kings of England and Feudalism, Government,
Law and Justice, Church and Religion and Economy.



4) What do you know about Anglo-Norman Literature / Lyrics and Ballads?

Write about:
A) The Romances. Cycles. King Arthur. “Merlin”. “The Poisoned Apple”. Courtly Love.
B) The medieval lyric and its development. The popular ballad. Subject matter, meter, form. Characteristics. Themes. Literary qualities.

5) What do you know about The Later Middle Ages and
The Later Middle Ages Proper?
Write a brief essay using the following key words:
England at War: the Hundred Years' War. Edward I. Edward II. Edward III. Richard II.
The Black Death. Social consequences.
The Peasants' Revolt.

The House of Lancaster

Henry IV. Rebellions.
Henry V. Popularity. Dominions. Henry VI. The Wars of the Roses.

The House of York

Edward IV. Rebellions.
Edward V. Family struggles. Questionings.
Richard III. Buckingham. Rebellions.

Wealth, Population and Social Change.
Towards a Nation.
Lollardy.



6) What do you know about Middle English Literature?

A) Write a short essay including:
Geoffrey Chaucer. Life and works. Chaucer's times. The Canterbury Tales. The General Prologue. His characters: the military, the clergy and the bourgeois. The tales proper. Versification and style. "The Miller's Tale". "The Wife of Bath’s Tale".

A) Write a short essay including:
B) Drama in the Middle Ages. Christian liturgical drama. Miracle plays. The Four Cycles. The Deluge: Noah and Hís Sons. The medieval stage. The pageant. Moralities and interludes. Use of allegory. Anachronism. Everyman.