Beowulf Pre-Test

1. What are the origins of Old English?

a. Germanic group of Indo-European, spoken in England before
about 1100CE
b. Germanic group of Indo-European, spoken in England between
1200-1300CE
c. Germanic group of Indo-European, spoken in England before
about 200BCE
d. Germanic group of Indo-European, spoken in England before
about 1600CE
2. What is an epic poem?
a. Short poem (about 14 lines) written in iambic pentameter
b. A text that is broken up into specific parts that different
characters speak
c. A spoken or written account of connected events; a story
d. A narrative that is usually about heroic deeds and events that are
significant to a culture
3. What are the characteristics of an epic poem?
a. The hero is outstanding
b. Supernatural forcesgods, angels, demonsinsert themselves in
the action.
c. It is a poem that tells a story
d. All of the above
4. What is alliteration?
a. the long and short patterns through stressed and unstressed
syllables
b. The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of
adjacent or closely connected words.
c. a figure of speech which makes an implicit, implied or hidden
comparison between two things that are unrelated
d. None of the above
5. What is kenning?
a. the long and short patterns through stressed and unstressed
syllables
b. a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with
another thing of a different kind
c. a figurative expression that replaces a name or a noun
d. None of the above
6. What is personification?
a. a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with
another thing of a different kind
b. a figure of speech where human qualities are given to animals,
objects or ideas

c. the long and short patterns through stressed and unstressed

syllables
d. None of the above

7. Who was the author of Beowulf?

a. William Shakespeare
b. Edgar Allen Poe
c. Ernest Hemmingway
d. The author is unknown
8. What is one of the themes in Beowulf?
a. Revenge
b. Loyalty
c. Knowing when to retire/quit
d. All of the above