Click here to study for the first semester final exam 2017!!!
Do not use what is below for 2017!
To complete the shortened version of the study guide, click here!
Anglo-Saxon Literature and Old English (500 - 1100 AD/CE)
1.) Please review the following overview of the Old English/Anglo-Saxon Literary period.
- Know the characteristics of Anglo-Saxon literature
2.) To read a copy of the introduction material for the Anglo-Saxons, please click here!
- Understand what animism is and how it related to Anglo-Saxon culture and literature
- Know who occupied England and in what order and how that contributed to the literature
- Understand the Roman impact on England
- Know the main characteristics of Anglo-Saxon literature
- Be able to synthesize the Anglo-Saxon history with works such as Beowulf for proper analysis on the final
- Know the plot and literary significance of the Pagan/Introductory Christian Epic Poem
- Understand figurative language and other literary terms (epithets, kennings, metaphor, simile, analogy, alliteration, end rhyme, slant rhyme, internal rhyme, repetition,
allusion, foreshadowing).
- Understand the Anglo-Saxon paganism and the transition to Christianity
- Understand how Christianity and Alfred the Great affected English history, patriotism, and literature
- Understand how Anglo-Saxons and Celts lived and how that affected the literature
- Know what a "bard" is and how they are important when discussing Anglo-Saxon literature
- Know who brought Latin to England
3.) To read a copy of "The English Language" from the text, please click here!
- Know how Old English was formed and what affect it had on the English inhabitants
- Understand the relationship of the Anglo-Saxons and the Celts as it relates to the formation of Old English
- Review how Old English is similar and different than modern English
4.) To read a copy of Beowulf, click here!
- Know the characters
- Know the plot
- Know kennings
- Know epithets
- Understand religious elements in story (Pagan vs. Christian)
- Understand symbols in Beowulf and good versus evil
- What made kings and leaders favored by their people during this time?
- What is a mead hall?
- Who is Grendel and from where is he descended? What is important or significant about that in relation to the story?
Medieval Literature and Middle Ages (1100 - 1500 AD/CE)
1.) To read a copy of the introductory text about the Middle Ages, please click here!
- What important event happened in October 1066? How did this change English language and history forever?
- Know who William the Conqueror is and how he is important to England.
- Understand Feudalism and how it impacted society and literature
- Understand English social hierarchy during the Middle Ages (including women's roles)
- Understand how the ideas of chivalry and courtly love impacted society and literature
- What happened to feudalism near the end of the Middle Ages
- Understand the characteristics of romance and be able to employ that knowledge when analyzing literature
- How does the martyrdom of Sir Thomas a Becket relate to The Canterbury Tales and society?
- Understand why the Magna Carta was created and what affect it had on England and even our own society today in modern America
- Understand the Crusades impact on changing periods from Medieval to Renaissance
- What ended feudalism and what impact did that have on society?
2.) To read a digital copy of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," please click here!
- How does the author portray the knight? What does that portrayal have to do with the chivalric code and the newfound focus on living an organized life in England?
- What elements of romance do you see in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"?
- Understand how the author organizes the plot to analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g. where
a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)
- What are the central themes to "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and how do those relate to the time period?
3a.) To review Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, click here!
- Review the Prologue, The Wife of Bath's Tale, and The Pardoner's Tale (we did not read together so please read and review).
- How does the pilgrimage of the time relate to The Canterbury Tales? What elements of the society can be seen in the stories?
- How do the characters relate to the times and what is their significance? How does Chaucer use them in his stories?
- What are some themes of The Canterbury Tales and how do they relate with the times in which they were written?
- Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story - "The Wife of Bath's Tale," the
choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution - "The Pardoner's Tale") contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
3b.) To read The Canterbury Tales full text of "Prologue," "The Wife of Bath's Tale and Prologue," and "The Pardoner's Tale and Prologue," click here.
- Know the plots and characters to each story. Yes, review all characters in the "Prologue."
- Understand the general themes of each story and how they convey elements of medieval literature and/or romance
- Understand figurative and connotative meanings of words and phrases as they relate to The Canterbury Tales
4.) To read Sir Thomas Mallory's Le Morte De Arthur, click here. (No longer on final 12/15/2014)
- What elements of romance and medieval literature and culture are evident in this tale?
- What characteristics does a Romance Hero have? See page 170.
The English Renaissance (1485 - 1660 AD/CE)
1.) To read a copy of the informational text regarding the Renaissance in England (1485-1860), click here!
- How do Shakespeare's lines on page 3 of the informational packet summarize the era (hint: patriotism)?
- Understand and be able to articulate what the renaissance was in England and how it began
- What affect did reading Greek and Latin classical literature have on those living in England?
- What catalyzed the renaissance?
- Be able to describe humanism and how it relates to the society and literature of the time
- Understand the affect of combining religious values and traditions with a curiosity about the world and humanism on people and literature during the renaissance
2.) To read a copy of William Shakespeare's Life and The Elizabethan Stage, click here!
- How was the Elizabethan stage different than our modern day performances?
- How did William Shakespeare become known? Who supported him?
- Was life easy for Shakespeare and those who worked at the Globe?
- Was Queen Elizabeth I like her sister Mary?
- Understand the significance of Queen Elizabeth's support of art, education, and religion on the people and the play writes like Shakespeare
3.) Macbeth
Know the following quotes (identify the speaker and explain the importance of each):
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” (I.1)
“Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way.” (I.5)
“Nothing in his life Became him like the leaving it; he died As one that had been studied in his death To throw away the dearest thing he owed, As ‘t were a careless trifle.” (I.4)
“You face, my thane, is a book where men May read strange matters. To beguile the time, Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue, look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under ‘t. (I.5)
“If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well… Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice To our own lips.” (I.7)
“Is this a dagger I which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee…” (II.1)
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand I will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.” (II.2)
“There’s daggers in men’s smiles.” (II.3)
“Blood will have blood.” (III.4)
“...none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (IV. 1)
“Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him.” (IV.1)
“Out, damned spot! out, I say!” (V.1)
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” (V.5)
“Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.” (V.8)
Elements of literature. Be able to identify the following in excepts from the pay:
Allusion
Atmosphere
Comic relief
Foreshadowing
Imagery
Irony
Metaphor
Paradox
Simile
Be able to explain what a tragedy is, what makes Macbeth a tragic hero, and what his fatal flaw is.
Setting -- know the major setting of this pay (time and place)
Know and be able to explain the importance of the following characters:
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Banquo
Duncan
Malcolm
Donalbain
The Witches
Hecate
Macduff
Fleance
What are the major themes of this play?
List the characters who die, the means of their deaths, and who kills each one:
Writing / MLA Formatting
Know MLA formatting
How to write a title
Parts of a formal essay
***NOT 2015 - notes for future for Mr. Zeeb.) Want to read Hamlet online? Click here!
- How does the author convey the theme of grief throughout Hamlet?
- How is humanism evident in Hamlet?
- Why might the death of a king in Hamlet be of interest to theatergoers around the year 1600 (hint: think of how old Queen Elizabeth is)
- Who killed who and why?
- Did Hamlet really love Ophelia?
- What was odd about Claudius and Gertrude's marriage?
- Did the people love Hamlet?
- Who were Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and what happened to them?