Part 1: Anglo-Saxon / Old English Period (450-1066)

1. Which period is known as the Anglo-Saxon Period? (a) 450-1066 (b) 1066-1500 (c) 1500-1660 (d) 1660-1798 Answer: (a)
2. Which tribes invaded Britain in the 5th century and founded the English nation? (a) Romans and Greeks (b) Angles, Saxons, and Jutes (c) Normans and French (d) Celts and Vikings Answer: (b)
3. What is the earliest epic in English literature? (a) Beowulf (b) The Wanderer (c) The Canterbury Tales (d) Piers Plowman Answer: (a)
4. The author of 'Beowulf' is — (a) Caedmon (b) Cynewulf (c) Anonymous (d) King Alfred Answer: (c)
5. How many lines are there in the epic 'Beowulf'? (a) 3182 lines (b) 5000 lines (c) 1066 lines (d) 2400 lines Answer: (a)
6. Who is the hero of the epic poem 'Beowulf'? (a) Hrothgar (b) Grendel (c) Beowulf (d) Wiglaf Answer: (c)
7. Who was the monster killed by Beowulf? (a) Hrothgar (b) Grendel (c) Unferth (d) Wiglaf Answer: (b)
8. In Beowulf, Grendel's mother is killed by Beowulf using a — (a) Bow and arrow (b) Magic sword (c) Spear (d) Shield Answer: (b)
9. Who is considered the father of English prose? (a) Venerable Bede (b) King Alfred the Great (c) Caedmon (d) Cynewulf Answer: (b)
10. Who translated Bede's 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People' into Old English? (a) Cynewulf (b) King Alfred (c) Caedmon (d) Geoffrey Chaucer Answer: (b)
11. Who is called the "Father of English History"? (a) King Alfred (b) Venerable Bede (c) Caedmon (d) Cynewulf Answer: (b)
12. In which language did Venerable Bede write 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People'? (a) Old English (b) Latin (c) French (d) Greek Answer: (b)
13. Who is known as the earliest English Christian poet? (a) Cynewulf (b) Caedmon (c) Bede (d) Alfred Answer: (b)
14. Which poem is often called "Caedmon's Hymn"? (a) The Wanderer (b) Hymn of Creation (c) The Seafarer (d) The Dream of the Rood Answer: (b)
15. Who is the signed author of poems like 'The Christ' and 'Elene'? (a) Caedmon (b) Cynewulf (c) Bede (d) Wulfstan Answer: (b)
16. What is the dominant theme of Old English poetry? (a) Romantic love (b) Heroic deeds and Christian religious elements (c) Satire and comedy (d) Parliamentary politics Answer: (b)
17. 'The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' was started by — (a) Venerable Bede (b) King Alfred (c) William the Conqueror (d) Cynewulf Answer: (b)
18. 'The Dream of the Rood' is a famous Anglo-Saxon — (a) Epic (b) Religious poem (c) Prose work (d) Chronicle Answer: (b)
19. In 'The Dream of the Rood', what does the word "Rood" mean? (a) Road (b) Cross/Crucifix (c) King (d) Dreamer Answer: (b)
20. Which poem reflects the loneliness of a scholar or traveler in the Anglo-Saxon period? (a) Beowulf (b) The Wanderer (c) Judith (d) Genesis Answer: (b)
21. What poetic device is most characteristic of Anglo-Saxon poetry? (a) Rhyme (b) Alliteration (c) Sonnet structure (d) Blank verse Answer: (b)
22. A metaphorical compound word used in Old English poetry (e.g., "whale-road" for sea) is called — (a) Simile (b) Kenning (c) Conceit (d) Hyperbole Answer: (b)
23. The dialect that became the standard for Old English literature was — (a) Northumbrian (b) West Saxon (c) Mercian (d) Kentish Answer: (b)
24. The Battle of Maldon is a poem celebrating the battle between English and — (a) Romans (b) Vikings (c) Normans (d) Celts Answer: (b)
25. The Anglo-Saxon period ended with the — (a) Black Death (b) Norman Conquest (c) Peasant's Revolt (d) Introduction of Printing Press Answer: (b)
26. In what year did the Norman Conquest take place? (a) 450 (b) 1066 (c) 1340 (d) 1400 Answer: (b)
27. Who was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England? (a) Alfred the Great (b) Harold Godwinson (c) Edward the Confessor (d) William the Conqueror Answer: (b)
28. Who defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings? (a) King Alfred (b) William, Duke of Normandy (c) Henry II (d) Richard I Answer: (b)
29. 'The Husband's Message' and 'The Wife's Lament' are examples of Old English — (a) Epics (b) Elegies (c) Chronology (d) Sermons Answer: (b)
30. Old English vocabulary was heavily influenced by which language groups before the Normans arrived? (a) Germanic and Scandinavian (Norse) (b) French and Italian (c) Spanish and Arabic (d) Hindi and Persian Answer: (a)
31. How many lines does 'The Battle of Brunanburh' contain? (a) 73 lines (b) 325 lines (c) 100 lines (d) 50 lines Answer: (a)
32. What is the subject matter of 'Waldere'? (a) Fragments of a heroic epic (b) A love story (c) A church prayer (d) A medical recipe Answer: (a)
33. 'The Wanderer' and 'The Seafarer' are found in which famous manuscript? (a) The Nowell Codex (b) The Exeter Book (c) The Vercelli Book (d) The Junius Manuscript Answer: (b)
34. Which manuscript contains 'The Dream of the Rood'? (a) The Exeter Book (b) The Vercelli Book (c) The Junius Manuscript (d) The Nowell Codex Answer: (b)
35. The poem 'Judith' is based on — (a) Pagan myths (b) The Apocrypha of the Bible (c) Greek drama (d) Celtic folk tales Answer: (b)
36. Who wrote 'Sermo Lupi ad Anglos' (The Sermon of the Wolf to the English)? (a) Wulfstan (b) Aelfric (c) Bede (d) Alfred Answer: (a)
37. Aelfric of Eynsham is famous for his Old English — (a) Epics (b) Homilies and Grammar (c) Romantic plays (d) Satirical songs Answer: (b)
38. The original inhabitants of Britain before the Anglo-Saxon invasion were the — (a) Normans (b) Celts/Britons (c) Danes (d) Franks Answer: (b)
39. 'Widsith' is an Old English poem about a — (a) Great warrior (b) Wandering singer/minstrel (c) Lonely sailor (d) Pious monk Answer: (b)
40. What happened to the original copy of the 'Jules Rimet' style manuscript of Anglo-Saxon prose? (a) It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London (b) Many were preserved in the Cotton Library (c) It was taken by the Romans (d) None survived Answer: (b)
41. Old English is also known structurally as a/an — (a) Synthetic/Inflected language (b) Analytic language (c) Modern language (d) Tonal language Answer: (a)
42. Beowulf dies from wounds inflicted by a — (a) Monster Grendel (b) Fire-breathing Dragon (c) Sea monster (d) Rebel soldier Answer: (b)
43. Who was Beowulf's loyal kinsman who helped him slay the dragon? (a) Hrothgar (b) Wiglaf (c) Unferth (d) Hygelac Answer: (b)
44. The hall where Hrothgar's men gathered in Beowulf is called — (a) Camelot (b) Heorot (c) Avalon (d) Elsinore Answer: (b)
45. The term "Anglo-Saxon" refers to the combination of which main Germanic tribes? (a) Angles and Saxons (b) Jutes and Frisians (c) Normans and Celts (d) Franks and Goths Answer: (a)
46. Which Pope sent St. Augustine to England in 597 AD to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons? (a) Pope Urban II (b) Pope Gregory the Great (c) Pope Leo X (d) Pope Innocent III Answer: (b)
47. The poem 'Deor' is notable for its use of a — (a) Happy ending (b) Refrain/Stanzaic form (c) Sonnet structure (d) Unrhymed prose Answer: (b)
48. What is the refrain in the poem 'Deor'? (a) "All is lost" (b) "That passed over, so may this" (c) "God help us" (d) "The sea is cold" Answer: (b)
49. 'The Ruin' is an Old English poem that describes the decay of a city built by the — (a) Anglo-Saxons (b) Romans (c) Normans (d) Vikings Answer: (b)
50. In Old English poetry, the singer or storyteller was called a — (a) Bard (b) Scop (c) Troubadour (d) Poet Laureate Answer: (b)

Part 2: Middle English Period (1066-1500)

1. The Middle English Period begins with which historical event? (a) The Battle of Waterloo (b) The Norman Conquest (c) The Signing of Magna Carta (d) The Black Death Answer: (b)
2. Who is known as the "Father of English Poetry"? (a) William Langland (b) Geoffrey Chaucer (c) John Gower (d) John Barbour Answer: (b)
3. Chaucer lived during the reigns of — (a) Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV (b) Henry VII and Henry VIII (c) Queen Elizabeth I (d) William I Answer: (a)
4. Which of the following is Chaucer's masterpiece? (a) Troilus and Criseyde (b) The Canterbury Tales (c) Piers Plowman (d) Confessio Amantis Answer: (b)
5. How many pilgrims are there in 'The Canterbury Tales' (including Chaucer)? (a) 29 (b) 30 (c) 31 (d) 24 Answer: (b)
6. Where are the pilgrims in 'The Canterbury Tales' going to visit? (a) The shrine of Saint Thomas Becket (b) The St. Peter's Basilica (c) Westminster Abbey (d) Tower of London Answer: (a)
7. Where do the pilgrims meet in 'The Canterbury Tales'? (a) The Tabard Inn in Southwark (b) The Globe Theater (c) The Mermaid Tavern (d) White Horse Inn Answer: (a)
8. Who is the host of the Tabard Inn? (a) Harry Bailly (b) Prioress (c) The Knight (d) The Monk Answer: (a)
9. How many stories did each pilgrim intend to tell according to the host's plan? (a) Two (one going, one returning) (b) Four (two going, two returning) (c) One (d) Three Answer: (b)
10. Who tells the first tale in 'The Canterbury Tales'? (a) The Miller (b) The Knight (c) The Pardoner (d) The Wife of Bath Answer: (b)
11. Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' is written in — (a) Heroic Couplet (b) Blank Verse (c) Free Verse (d) Spensarian Stanza Answer: (a)
12. Who is the author of 'Piers Plowman'? (a) Geoffrey Chaucer (b) William Langland (c) John Gower (d) Thomas Malory Answer: (b)
13. What literary form is William Langland's 'Piers Plowman'? (a) An Allegorical Satire (b) A Sonnet Sequence (c) A Mock Epic (d) A Ballad Answer: (a)
14. Who wrote 'Confessio Amantis'? (a) John Wycliffe (b) John Gower (c) William Langland (d) John Lydgate Answer: (b)
15. Who is called the "Morning Star of the Reformation"? (a) John Wycliffe (b) Martin Luther (c) John Huss (d) William Tyndale Answer: (a)
16. Who first translated the Bible into Middle English? (a) William Tyndale (b) John Wycliffe (c) Coverdale (d) King James Answer: (b)
17. Wycliffe’s followers were known as — (a) Puritans (b) Lollards (c) Cavaliers (d) Roundheads Answer: (b)
18. Who introduced the first printing press in England in 1476? (a) William Caxton (b) John Gutenberg (c) Wynkyn de Worde (d) Thomas More Answer: (a)
19. What was the first book printed in English by William Caxton? (a) The Canterbury Tales (b) Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (c) Le Morte d'Arthur (d) Utopia Answer: (b)
20. Who wrote 'Le Morte d'Arthur'? (a) Geoffrey Chaucer (b) Sir Thomas Malory (c) King Arthur (d) Thomas Hoccleve Answer: (b)
21. 'Le Morte d'Arthur' is a famous prose work about — (a) King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (b) The French Revolution (c) The Trojan War (d) The life of Alexander the Great Answer: (a)
22. The "War of the Roses" took place during which century? (a) 14th century (b) 15th century (c) 16th century (d) 13th century Answer: (b)
23. The 15th century in English literature is mostly called — (a) The Golden Age (b) The Barren Age / Age of Imitation (c) The Romantic Age (d) The Age of Reason Answer: (b)
24. Who are the "Scottish Chaucerians"? (a) Poets who imitated Chaucer's style in Scotland (b) Contemporary enemies of Chaucer (c) Chaucer's students in London (d) Translators of French romance Answer: (a)
25. Which of the following is a Scottish Chaucerian? (a) Robert Henryson / King James I of Scotland (b) John Lydgate (c) Thomas Hoccleve (d) John Skelton Answer: (a)
26. In which month did the pilgrims begin their journey in 'The Canterbury Tales'? (a) March (b) April (c) May (d) October Answer: (b)
27. 'The Owl and the Nightingale' is a famous Middle English — (a) Debate poem (b) Epic poem (c) Tragedy (d) Prose sermon Answer: (a)
28. What was the official language of the court and aristocracy in England immediately after 1066? (a) Old English (b) Norman French (c) Latin (d) Celtic Answer: (b)
29. The language of scholars and the Church during the Middle English period was — (a) English (b) Latin (c) French (d) Anglo-Saxon Answer: (b)
30. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a famous Middle English — (a) Metrical Romance (b) Allegorical Drama (c) Morality Play (d) Pastoral Elegy Answer: (a)
31. Which character in 'The Canterbury Tales' has been married five times? (a) The Prioress (b) The Wife of Bath (c) The Second Nun (d) Grisilde Answer: (b)
32. Chaucer's 'The House of Fame' is influenced by which Italian writer? (a) Dante (b) Petrarch (c) Boccaccio (d) Tasso Answer: (a)
33. Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde' is largely adapted from Boccaccio's — (a) Decameron (b) Il Filostrato (c) Vita Nuova (d) Divine Comedy Answer: (b)
34. What is the historical background of the "Peasants' Revolt" of 1381? (a) Economic distress and Poll Tax (b) Religious changes (c) The execution of the King (d) The invasion of France Answer: (a)
35. Who was the leader of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381? (a) Wat Tyler (b) John Wycliffe (c) William Wallace (d) Oliver Cromwell Answer: (a)
36. 'Everyman' is a famous Middle English — (a) Miracle Play (b) Morality Play (c) Mystery Play (d) Interlude Answer: (b)
37. Drama in the Middle Ages began in England inside the — (a) Royal Court (b) Public Theaters (c) Church/Monastery (d) University Campus Answer: (c)
38. "Mystery Plays" of the medieval period dealt primarily with — (a) Detective stories (b) Biblical stories and themes (c) The lives of Saints (d) Greek mythology Answer: (b)
39. "Miracle Plays" based their plots on — (a) Daily life of peasants (b) The lives and miracles of Saints (c) Allegorical vices and virtues (d) Roman law Answer: (b)
40. The Black Death (1348-1349) refers to a devastating outbreak of — (a) Famine (b) Bubonic Plague (c) Civil War (d) Cholera Answer: (b)
41. The dialect of Middle English that became the basis for Modern Standard English is — (a) Northern dialect (b) East Midland dialect (c) West Midland dialect (d) Southern dialect Answer: (b)
42. 'Pearl', 'Purity', and 'Patience' are poems attributed to the anonymous author of — (a) Piers Plowman (b) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (c) Confessio Amantis (d) The Brut Answer: (b)
43. Who wrote the chronicle 'The Brut' in Middle English verse? (a) Layamon (b) Orm (c) Wace (d) Geoffrey of Monmouth Answer: (a)
44. What is the poetic style used in 'Rhyme Royal' introduced by Chaucer? (a) 7-line stanza rhyming ababbcc (b) 8-line stanza rhyming abababcc (c) 9-line stanza rhyming ababbcbcc (d) 4-line ballad stanza Answer: (a)
45. Chaucer's 'The Book of the Duchess' is a/an — (a) Satire on court life (b) Elegy on the death of Blanche of Lancaster (c) Romance of chivalry (d) Translation of the Bible Answer: (b)
46. Which work is regarded as the first dream allegory in English literature? (a) The Canterbury Tales (b) The Vision of Piers Plowman (c) The Romaunt of the Rose (d) Pearl Answer: (c)
47. The Middle English Period ended around 1500, paving the way for the — (a) Renaissance / Elizabethan Period (b) Neoclassical Period (c) Victorian Period (d) Romantic Period Answer: (a)
48. Who wrote the satirical work 'The Bowge of Courte' in the late Middle English period? (a) John Skelton (b) Stephen Hawes (c) Alexander Barclay (d) John Lydgate Answer: (a)
49. In 'Everyman', who is the only companion that accompanies the protagonist to his grave? (a) Fellowship (b) Goods (c) Good Deeds (d) Knowledge Answer: (c)
50. The change in the pronunciation of English long vowels that took place during the late Middle English period is known as the — (a) Great Vowel Shift (b) Germanic Sound Shift (c) Norman Consonant Shift (d) Dialectal Modification Answer: (a)