BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY
BLOOMSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

British Writers I
Test on the Middle Ages
Spring 1995

I. Short answers (30 points/15 minutes)
I want precise answers. Answer as briefly as possible (but do not leave out vital information). Your answers need not be complete sentences. Number your answers, but do not write down name of the item you are identifying.

Who/what/where is:
[answer 10 out of the following 12; number your answers]

1. a Norman
2. "by nailes and by blood"
3. mystery play
4. Julian of Norwich
5. Radix malorum est cupiditas
6. use and delight
7. Pearl
8. Sutton Hoo
9. Flanders
10. 1400
11. chivalry
12. Scyld

II. Essay (70 points/30 minutes) ANSWER ONE.
In taking a good essay exam, you should learn something or have some insight that you didn't have before. THINK before you write: plan your essay, write coherent paragraphs (not lists), and make your answers as detailed as possible. The best answers are those that show me that you know and can use the terminology appropriate to the subject and that draw in as much material (from all the relevant texts) as possible. (In all cases, you may bring in examples from other texts incidentally if they help you to flesh out your ideas.)

On the other hand, I want concise answers, with no irrelevant information (waffle is worth zero/zilch/nil/zip). Do not write an introduction or conclusion; just answer the question. Write the best English prose you can.

BE SPECIFIC.
Answer either A or B or C [be sure to label your answers so I know which question you are tackling]:

A. Compare and contrast Margery Kempe and Noah as Christian heroes. (Are they heroic? In what ways?)

OR
B. People have long known that God can bring good out of evil, though it often seems the reverse. Do you think Chaucer expected his audience, on reading the Pardoner's Tale, to go away in a state of shock? amusement? cynicism? gloom? uneasiness? more than one of these? in some other state? Why? (In other words, what effect(s) do you think Chaucer was aiming for when he wrote the tale?) Support your argument with specific information from the work.

OR
C. The attributes of the hero are generally the same from culture to culture and age to age, so it is often more interesting to look at the variations than the similarities. How do late medieval heroes like Sir Gawain and Sir Lancelot differ from an Anglo-Saxon hero like Beowulf? Be specific.

* * * * * * * * *

For extra credit (1 point): What color are the Green Knight's eyes?


Return to British Literature list

Rev 2/95