Studied by 24 peopleModern English time period
1450-present
Late middle English time period
1300-1450
Early middle English time period
1066-1300
Old English time period
450 AD-1066
What are the three periods of English?
Old, middle, modern
What were the 3 tribes in the 6th Century?
Angles, Saxon, Jutes
What genre is Everyman?
Morality play
Who has the highest power on earth, even over kings, emperors, barons, and dukes when it comes to religion?
Priests
Who has Everyman loved best before his penance?
Goods
Who finally decides to join Everyman?
Knowledge
Who is neglected by Everyman?
Good-deeds
Who offers his maid to join Everyman?
Kindred
Who does Everyman ask first to join him?
Fellowship
what is the moral of the Pardoners story?
Avarice (greed) is the root of all evil
What was the answer to the queens question in the Wife of Bathes tale?
Sovereignty and dominance over men
How many times was the Wife of Bathe married?
5 times
Characters in the Millers tale
Nicholas, John, Alisoun, Absolon
What was the name of the sword given to Beowulf?
Hrunting
Who told their story first/ drew the short straw?
the knight
How many pilgrims went in Canterbury Tales
29
Setting of Canterbury
Southwark to Canterbury
What genre is Canterbury Tales?
Estates Satire
What English is Canterbury Tales?
Middle English
Who wrote Canterbury Tales?
Geoffrey Chaucer
Who is Felix Brutus?
Founder of Britain
Who is Gringolet?
Gawains horse
Who is Sir Gawain
Arthurs nephew
Who does the Green Knight end up being?
the lord of a nearby castle
Explain what happens when Gawain receives his blow.
First blow he flinches, second blow the Green Knight fakes him out, and the third blow breaks skin
How does Gawain fail to keep this deal?
He keeps the green girdle
What deal does Gawain make with the Lord of the castle?
they will share all their gains for three days
How long did Gawain have until he had to take his blow from the Green Knight?
a year and a day
Who initially accepts the Green Knights challenge?
King Arthur
What was the game that the Green Knight proposed?
the beheading game
Why did the Green Knight come to Camelot?
To challenge the chivalry of Arthurs knights
How do we know that the Green Knight came in peace?
He has a holly branch in one hand which symbolizes peace
Setting of Sir Gawain
Christmas in Camelot
after Beowulf appoints Wiglaf king, what is Beowulf's last dying request? (i.e., what does he want to look at before he dies?) What does he ask be done with his body when it comes to burial
He wants to look at the treasure; he wants to be buried with his treasure
Who is the one warrior that remains loyal to Beowulf when the other thegns run away
Wiglaf
According to the summary of excerpted material, how long does Beowulf rule as king over the Geats?
50 years
What happens when Beowulf uses the first borrowed sword to strike the Troll-Wife (Grendel's Mother)? Where does he find a second weapon? According to the text, who made this weapon?When Beowulf retells his battle to Hrothgar, he lets us know what happened to the sword after it penetrated the female monster's skin. Although the hilt and handle and cross guard survive, what happens to the blade itself after fatally stabbing the monster
It breaks; He finds another weapon made by the Giants in her armory; it melts in her blood
How long does the text say it took Beowulf to reach the bottom of the lake?
nearly a day
Who loans Beowulf a sword initially to go fight Grendel's mother?
Unferth
What unusual supernatural features does the lake have? How do deer react when they are chased by hunters to the edge of the lake? How is that symbolic, given the name of King Hrothgar's hall
The surface is on fire; deer would rather die than enter the lake; Hrothgar’s hall is happy and lively whereas Grendel’s home is dark and scary
Where does Grendel’s mother live?
at the bottom of a lake
Grendel's mother kills whom in retaliation for her son's death?
Aeschere
Who comes to avenge Grendel's death?
Grendels mother
What decoration or trophy does Beowulf stick on a spike over the entry-way to Heorot
Grendels arm
How does Grendel die?
by drowning himself
What does Beowulf do to Grendel that mortally wounds the monster?
Rips off his arm
What is Unferth's reaction to Beowulf showing up to save the day? How does he challenge Beowulf?
Unferth is jealous; They have a swimming competition
Give one example of a beot that Beowulf makes during the course of the story
When Beowulf says that he will fight Grendel without weapons or armor
when Beowulf fights Grendel, what special weapon does he use to dispatch the monster?
his hands
What king does Beowulf serve? Why does Beowulf leave this king to help out Hrothgar? What qualification or achievements does Beowulf have that make him suitable for fighting Grendel?
Hygelac; Beowulf hears of Grendel’s attacks and wants to help; Beowulf is a strong, noble knight and has defeated many enemies
What is the one thing in the mead-hall Grendel is unable to touch or ruin?
Hrothgars throne
How long does Grendel haunt Heorot until Beowulf comes to help the Danes?
12 Years
How many warriors does Grendel eat on the first night he attacks Heorot?
30
According to the story, from what famous person does Grendel trace his monstrous lineage?
Cain
what does the bard sing about inside the hall early in the narrative? Why does this anger Grendel?
Ancient beginnings; Grendel does not like that they are happy
what typical activities do the people engage in at this place Hrothgar makes
Parties and dinners
What project does Hrothgar order undertaken to ensure his fame?
Heorot the mead hall
Setting, point of view, and imagery Beowulf
Geatland/Denmark; third person omniscient; describing the fights/the settings
Themes in Beowulf
Revenge, loyalty, pride, heroic, courage, and reputation
Source of Beowulf
Nowell Codex
What English is Beowulf
Old English
Date and place of composition Beowulf
8th and 10th centuries in England
Type of work, format, and structure Beowulf
old English heroic poem/ alliterative verse
Characters in Beowulf
Beowulf, Hrothgar, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, Wiglaf, Ecgtheow
defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings, where Harold was killed by an arrow in the eye
William the Conqueror
defined value placed on every man graded according to rank
Wergild
the series of dynastic civil wars whose violence and civil strife preceded the strong government of the Tudors
Wars of the Roses
Three Medieval Estates
clergy, nobility, commoners
type of humorous criticism that exposes or mocks the flaws in society and human nature
Social Satire
sequences of performances, sometimes referred to as ‘cycle plays’ because they make up a cycle of 48 surviving short playlets.
Mystery Play Cycle
a kind of drama with personified abstract qualities as the main characters and presenting a lesson about good conduct and character, popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries
Morality Play
a short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions and feelings
Lyric Poetry
medieval French literature, a short romance, usually written in octosyllabic verse, that dealt with subjects thought to be of Celtic origin
Lays or Lais
figure of speech in which two words are combined in order to form a poetic expression that refers to a person or a thing
Kenning
a 12th-century cleric and historian who wrote the History of the Kings of Britain
Geoffrey of Monmouth
used to denote a section of a long narrative poem
Fitts
a poem or song expressing sorrow or lamentation for one who is dead, or something resembling such a poem or song
Elegy
intended to teach something, particularly in having moral instruction as a motive
Didactic
a name given to a part of Great Britain, now northern and eastern England, in which the laws of the "Danes" held predominance over those of the Anglo-Saxons
Danelaw
highly conventionalized code that prescribed the behavior of women of the nobility and their lovers during the later Middle Ages
Courtly love
in ancient Republican Rome, an elite company of one of the army commanders
comitatus
the first English printer, who, as a translator and publisher, exerted an important influence on English literature
william caxton
story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning
allegory
early verse of the Germanic languages that uses alliteration as the main device to structure and unify lines of poetry.
alliterative verse
a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons.
anglo-saxon chronicle
king Harold II of England is defeated by the Norman forces of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings
battle of hastings
What is the first step in the Epic hero cycle?
Superpowers or abilities
What is the second step in the Epic hero cycle?
Charged with a quest
What is the third step in the Epic hero cycle?
The character is tested
What is the fourth step in the Epic hero cycle?
Aided by a companion
What is the fifth step in the Epic hero cycle?
Goes somewhere a normal human cannot
What is the sixth step in the Epic hero cycle?
Low point
What is the seventh step in the Epic hero cycle?
Resurrection
What is the eighth step in the Epic hero cycle?
Restitution
Note
Flashcard