British Literature Midterm

Covers twenty-nine pilgrims journeying to visit the shrine of Sir Thomas Becket.

Written in the English of the common people

Canterbury Tales

Who wrote the Canterbury Tales and the Nun’s Priest Tale?

Geoffrey Chaucer

Important components of the Canterbury Tales:

• Broad range of _________

• Includes _____ as major characters

• Includes __________

• S______

• S______

characters, women, himself, setting, satire

Humor to make fun of social issues

Satire

Amor Vincit Omnia

Love conquers all

One of the only Tales that references a current event: the Peasants Revolt

The Nun’s Priest Tale

Two pivotal wars in the English Renaissance:

Hundred Year’s War (1337-1453)

War of the Roses (1455-1485)

Which time frame produced England’s greatest writer, and who was he?

English Renaissance, Shakespeare

Literary characteristics of the English Renaissance:

Variety

Experimentation

Ornateness

Genres of the English Renaissance

Development of new forms

Pastoral

Sonnet

Blank Verse

Lyric Poetry: themes of love and beauty

Prose

Drama

Translation of classics, philosophy, criticism, essay

prose

What are the three kinds of dramas?

Tragedy, comedy, history

What were the years of Old english?

449-1066

Who invented the printing press?

William Caxton

When did the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons invade Denmark and Germany?

449

Who was the only king who held the title “great” in British history? He wrote the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Alfred the Great

Who was the Father of English History? he wrote the Ecclesiastical History of the English People and was the “Doctor of the Church”

The Venerable Bede

What is the oldest surviving epic of any Germanic people, greatest poem of the Anglo-Saxon period

Beowulf

Qualities of an Epic:

L_______ _______ _______

N________ ______

L_____ _______

S_______ _______

B_______ _______ _______ ___ _______

Long narrative poem

National Hero

Lofty Language

Supernatural Elements

Battle between good and evil

Literary Components of Beowulf

Alliteration

Kennings

Litotes

Parallelisms

Three major people groups of Beowulf

The Danes, the Geats, the Swedes

Family tree of the Danes:

______: first ruler of the Danish people

______: not title character, son of Scyld

________: not super important, father of next character

________: Danish King who builds Heorot (Hall of the Hart)

Scyld, Beow, Healfdene, Hrothgar

Villains of Beowulf

Grendel, Grendel’s Mom, Dragon

Family tree of the Geats:

_______:King of the Geats

_______: Brother above and father of below

_______: title character who defeats Grendel

Hygelac, Ecgtheow, Beowulf

Importance of Beowulf in the influence of our history:

fighting/warfare

the superhero concept

Anglo-Saxon language and culture

Historical context of the Medieval Period

Black Death

Medieval architecture

lots of wars

feudalism

What were the three dominant language of the time?

Latin, French, English

Genres of the Medieval Period

Love lyrics, ballad, romance, beast fable, allegory, drama

Characteristics of the Medieval Period

Anonymous

Courtly

Ornate

Lighthearted

Roman Catholic Influence

Three kinds of plays:

M_______: a play based on biblical subjects

M_______: a play about the saints

M_______: allegorically represents the battle in which vices and virtues wage from the human soul.

Mystery, miracle, morality

Who is the father of the English language?

Geoffrey Chaucer

Who wrote Morte Darthur? Who published it posthumously? He also compiled the Arthur tales in English

Sir Thomas Malory, William Caxton

Arthur characters:

___________: King’s closest friend, has an affair with his wife.

___________: Living in a nunnery because of her affair

___________: legendary king, fatally injured in battle

___________: Kings companion during last days

Lancelot

Guinevere

Arthur

Bedivere

rebirth

renaissance

Years of Shakespeare

1564-1616

Where was Shakespeare born and where did he die?

Stratford upon Avon

Shakespeare’s lost years

1585-1592

Significant government official and writer/lawyer

Henry VIII’s right hand man

Found guilty of treason and executed

Wrote Utopia

Sir Thomas More

What does Utopia mean?

No place

utopia is presented as a _______ story

Utopia is contrasted to _______.

frame

England

Who wrote The Faerie Queen?

Staunch protestant

Also published the Shepherd’s Calendar

Worded with Sir Philip Sydney

Brought about two literary innovations: __________ sonnet and stanza

Edmund Spenser, Spenserian

Who does the Faerie Queen represent?

Queen Elizabeth I

Consistent themes of The Faerie Queen:

Good vs. Evil

Deception

Who wrote the Passionate Shepherd to His Love?

Developed Elizabethan drama through blank verse

Power driven characters

Christopher Marlow

An idealized view of rural life and shepherds

Pastoral

A short poem in first person, sometimes sung and characterized by emtion, melody, and imagination.

Lyric

Who wrote The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd?

Explorer for Queen Elizabeth

Imprisoned in the Tower of London three times and executed

Sir Walter Raleigh

who was England’s first poet laureate?

famous dramatist

comical writings satirized social vices

wrote Song to Celia

Ben Johnson

Who wrote Astrophil and Stella and the Defense of Poesy?

known as a gentleman

Sir Philip Sydney

Characteristics of the Puritan Age:

Two major groups of poets: _________ and _______ poets

_____ deals with government, philosophy, religion, history, biography

Not much ________ and _________ material is read today (except for Pilgrim’s Progress and Paradise Lost

Barely any _____ exists

Cavaliers, Metaphysical

Prose

religious, political

drama

Who wrote, “Shall I, Wasting in Despair”

George Wither

Cavalier Poets used Petrarchan conceit, which is ________ _________.

Elaborate comparison

Who wrote, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” and “Delight in Disorder”

Robert Herrick

Who wrote “The Constant Lover”

John Suckling

Who wrote “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” and “To Althea, from Prison”

Richard Lovelace

Who was the leader of the Metaphysical poets?

Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral

wrote secular and religious poetry

Wrote “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “Holy Sonnets”

John Donne

Wrote structured deep poetry

ironic, witty

themes: religion, death, love

Main poets, John Donne, George Herbert

Metaphysical Poets

what is the most famous medieval religious play?

Everyman

Who wrote Paradise Lost? What is the main focus of this writing?

John Milton; Fall of man

Who wrote “An Essay on Criticism” “the Rape of the Lock” and “Dunciad

Translated the Iliad and the Odyssey

Also known for using a lot of epigrams

Alexander Pope

Characteristics of the 18th century:

_____ and ____ rule

church/______

_________ (no absolutes)

__________ Method (doubt questioning-but what is morally right?)

Science, reason

religion

Relativism

Scientific

Influential thinkers of the 18th century:

Pope

Swift

Voltaire (french influence)

Satire!

Literary characteristics of the 18th:

Didactic

Argumentative

Satire

Novels and Essays

A philosophical and theological argument that attempts to justify or defend God’s goodness and power in the face of the existence of evil and suffering in the world

Used often by Pope

Theodicy

who wrote “Robinson Crusoe”?

Wrote easily 300 works

Daniel Defoe

Who was born in Ireland but moved to England

Founded a satire club with Pope

Probs went insane in later life

Wrote “A Modest Proposal” “Gulliver’s Travels” and “A Tale of the Tub”

Jonathan Swift

Who was the father of English Hymnody

Wrote “Jesus Shall Reign” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

Isaac Watts

Massively influential during his lifetime

He and John Newton wrote Olney Hymns

Staunch Abolitionist

Struggled with mental health and depression

Noted for “The Castaway” and “The Task”

Also translated the Iliad and the Odyssey

William Cowper

Known for “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”

Sir Thomas Gray

ESSAY: Compare and contrast Beowulf and Paradise Lost as famous examples of english ethics

Both writings are epics that include villains that reek havoc on their worlds. They also both contain supernatural elements and a battle between good and evil and heroes that go on journeys to face challenges

While Beowulf combines many different pagan and Christian beliefs, Paradise Lost focuses entirely around the Fall of Man as seen in the Bible. While Beowulf seems to have supernatural powers himself, Adam is just a man who deals with the consequences of his actions. The setting is also different with Beowulf in a pagan world and Paradise Lost in the Garden of Eden.