English Literature

Question	Answer
Talk about the main characters in Beowulf and the story.	Danish King Hrothgar, Beowulf slays monster Grendel and his mother and a dragon of which he dies.
What is the centre of the storyline of Beowulf?	It centres on a hero of enormous strength, who acquires fame by fighting various monsters.
What was the construction of Beowulf?	Linked by alliteration(the same starting letters)
Where was the story Beowulf set?	It was set in Scandinavia, but written in England.
Describe the relationship between the kings and their retainers	The kings were expected to pay royally for their retainers support, and the retainers were expected to be willing to die for their lords.
Describe the relationship between the kings and their retainers.	The kings were expected to pay royally for their retainers support and the retainers were expected to be willing to die for their lords.
Tell something about the Anglo-saxon world.	Great-Britain was divided into numerous small states, each with its own king/lord. In this period, society was dominated by lords and retainers.
How old is the poem Beowulf?	The only copy in existence is a manuscript from the late tenth century, but the poem is probably a lot older than that. It dates from some tiime in the 6th century.
Who was Bede?	Bede (673-735\0 was a monk who wrote a history of the anglo-saxons, the historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum.
What came with Christianity?	Latin Literature
What happened at the end of the sixht century regarding the pope?	The popehad sent missionaries to britain to convert the Anglo-saxons to Christianity.
Describe the history of early england.	The Celts --> the romans(55BC-450AD) --> The angles, the saxons, the jutes --> Christianity(7th century) --> The vikings(from 793) --> Normans(william the conquer, 1066)
What is the Huns?	An asian people who invaded Europe from the East.
The Romano-British found themselves beset by enemies. Who were the enemies and where did they come from?	They were attacked by the Celts of Scotland and Ireland, while from across the North Sea came the Angles, saxons and jutes. They were driven off by the Huns.
What happened in 450AD?	The romans withdrwe from Britain to defend the continental empire, leaving the britons to fend for themselves.
What is vernacular?	written in common people's language
What did the Duke of normady do in 1066?	He crossed the channel with his army and defeated the anglo-saxons at the battle of hastings. This is the beginning of the norman period.
What is sutton hoo?	It is a burial site of a 7th century king, laid to rest in a ship, buried with valuable objects. It is evidence of a sophisticated society. It also illustrates the transition from paganism to Christianity.
Tell something about the anglo-saxon chronicle.	It is a key source of information about the history of the various kingdoms an the viking invasions.
What are chronicles?	Annual rcords of contemporary events.
What is the most famous work in Old English?	the peom Beowulf, written in old english, consists of more than three thousand lines of verse.
What is a chronicle?	An annualised record of events, a little like a diary.
What does the title the anglo-saxon chronicle mean?	It is the collective title given to a number of chronicles, which were actually written quite independently.
which time is written in the anglo-saxon chronicles?	they span more than a millenium, the first entry relates to the year AD 1, and the last to AD 1154.
What was the consequence of the monks describing events way before their time?	Their knowledge of what had happened was often sketchy and their acounts very brief.
name the different sources that were used, writing the chonicles.	written sources, own observations and of others, established sources(bede's book), genealogical list detailing the names of kings and the lengths of their reigns.
What is surprising about the chronicles, taking in account that is written by monks.	the ntries do not confine themselves to church matters and many events are described in a open-minded way. one striking aspect is the amount of emphasis placed on omens.
Name a anglo-saxon chronicle	Peterborough Chronicle
1066	The battle of hastings
French influence	Language, Normans --> key postitions in chruch, government and judicary
Feudal system	Lords and vassals --> 3 classes: clergy, nobility, commoners
1154	Plantagenets --> a new royal family(dynasty)
Magna Carta(1215)	A certain contract between the king and nobility
100 years' war	1337-1453 (England and France)
the Plague	Black death
1381	Peasants' revolt
Wars of the Roses	war between hous of Lancester and house of York
The Tudors	1485 --> New royal family (dynasty)
Literature in the late middle ages	French language, Canterbary Tales
the mediaeval English society became divided in three classes, which ones?	The nobility (French-speaking), the clergy (conserved and wrote in Latin) and the commoners (English-speaking)
Who was the first king that actually spoke English?	Edward III, who did not reign until 1327 to 1377.
Who was the duke of normady?	William the conqueror
What did the normans do to protect themselves?	They built castles, one of which was Colchester Castle in the country of Essex
When was the first Crusade organised?	In 1095, with the aim of recovering the Holy land from the Saracens and defending Christendom.
1215	King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a sort of contract under which the nobility were granted certain privileges in return for their loyalty
What was the cause of the end of population growth in England?	The Plague, nearly hald the population perished, leading to major labour shortages and to cultivatable land being left untilled. this in turn caused a major economis downturn
What was the reason for the Peasants' revolt in 1381?	the labour shortage caused by the plague made the peasantry more self-confident and they began to demand greater rights.
who wore the crown in 1453?	The crown was contested by two noble houses: the House of Lancester(red rose) and the House of York(white rose).
what is the reason for the name battle of roses?	the house of Lancester's symbol was a red rose and the house of York's was a white rose.
1485	A new dynasty was brought to the throne: the tudors, who ruled until 1603
What are the French influences in the English culture?	In architecture this is most evident in the predominance of the romanesque style, particularly in churches and moasteries. In Literature we find French-language stories in circulation and the introduction of rhyme.
Name the most famous man from the late middle ages.	Geoffrey Chaucer, whose best known work were the Canterbury Tales.
What were the most popular genres in the middle ages?	Fables, ballads and romances(havelok, the dame and king horn)
What are examples of early literature written in the language of the masses?	the thirteen-century ditties and folk songs celebrating the arrival of summer or the beauty of a young woman,
How did Ballads come to existing?	They were developed out of ancient oral tradition that existed among uneducated people who could not read or write, they used ballads to communicate.
Name 5 terms of structure and content of the ballad.	A ballad always tells a story. the story and the language are relatively simple. The subject matter is typically betrayal, lost love, revenge and death. Detailed description is avoided and obvious words are often left implicit. A ballad is usually made up of four-line stanzas.
Tell something about Sir patrick spens	This ballad dates from the late thirtheen or early fourteenth century and is based on a real historical event: the loss of a ship full of nobles returning from a royal wedding in Norway in 1281.
Geoffrey chaucer	1343-1400, he was a famous writer, the canterbury tales. he had many jobs: judge, soldier, tax inspector. and het travelled trhough France, Spain and Italy
When were the canterbury tales written	between 1386 and 1400
Blank verse	Iambic pentameter(unstressed-stressed) no rhyme
some characters of romeo and julliet	Romeo Montague, Juliet Capulet, Friar Lawrence and tybalt.
romeo Montague	Romeo is the only son of lord and lady montague. he is young, impulsive, and above all else passionate.
Juliet Capulet	Though she is not yet 14 years old, juliet's maturity far exceeds that of Romeo.
Friar Lawrence	though he is a kind and religious man who often gives good advice, Friar Lawrence is also responsible for a great deal of conflict in this play.
The nurse	Juliet's Nurse is a kind, funny woman loves juliet as if she were her own child.
tybalt	Tybalt is juliet's cousin and he is deeply loved by his family.

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