Review Questions

1.

1. What is the epic poem? What themes do epic poems cover?

2. Who composed the great epics?

3. Where do the events related in the poem "Beowulf" take place? When was it first written down?

4. Describe the character of Beowulf.

5. What does the fight of Beowulf against the monsters symbolize?

6. What is the chief merit of the poem "Beowulf"?

2.

1. What do know about the influence of the Catholic Church on culture during the Middle Ages?

2. Who were the writers and poets of the early Middle Ages, and what did they write?

3. What was the role of Alfred the Great in enlightening the people?

4. What did the literature of the early Middle Ages teach?

3.

1. What were the historical events and conditions which contributed to the formation of one single national language in England during the 14^th century?

2. What were Chaucer's three creative periods? Comment on them.

3. What idea strikes you most in the prologue to the "Canterbury Tales"?

4. Which of Chaucer's characters represent the old feudal society in the work, and which the new class, the bourgeoisie?

5. What class of society stood up against the feudal ideals of the Middle Ages? Illustrate your answer by examples from Chaucer's work.

6. Which personages does Chaucer sympathize with, and which does he satirize in his work?

7. Why is Chaucer called the first classic of English national literature and the father of English poetry?

4.

1. Why did the writing of poetry decline in the 15^th century?

2. What kind of poetry did the common people compose in Britain?

3. What is the difference between a song and a ballad?

4. What kind of songs and ballads were found in the 15^th century?

5. What do you know about the most popular ballads? Where does the chief interest lie in the adventures connected with Robin Hood?

6. In what respect are folk-songs and ballads important as a contribution to history?

7. What did Maxim Gorky about the Robin Hood ballads?

"Nature, that framed us of four elements

Warring within each breast for regiment,

Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds:

Our souls, whose faculties can comprehend

The wondrous architecture of the world

And measure every planet's wandering course,

Still climbing after knowledge infinite,

And always moving as the restless spheres,

Wills us to wear ourselves and never rest

Until we reach the sweetest fruit of all…"

CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE