History of English Literature I, Semester 1

SUBJECTS FOR THE EXAM PAPER

I. Explain the following literary terms and make reference to authors and literary
works:

- literary terms (literature, anonymous, oral and written literature, belles lettres,
classic literature, literary canon, plot, theme)
- literary genres (heroic epic, primary and secondary epic, ballad, romance,
framework story, sonnet, utopia, dystopia, tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy,
mystery play, miracle, morality)
- figures of speech (metaphor, simile, metonymy, personification, kenning)
- narrative points of view (first-person narration, third-person narration,
omniscient narration, stream of consciousness)
- terms related to drama (set, props, irony, monologue, soliloquy, stage
instructions)

(2 points)

II. Identify figures of speech/narrative point of view and interpret the given literary text
(poem/prose/drama fragment) OR: Interpret the given excerpt from a studied literary
work (Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare’s sonnets, Romeo and Juliet)
(3 points)
III. Subjects to expound

1. The Rise of the English Nation.

2. Anglo-Saxon Literature.
3. Beowulf as a representative literary achievement of the Anglo-Saxon times.
4. Anglo-Norman literature.
5. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
6. The English Renaissance.
7. Thomas More’s Utopia as the representative of Renaissance prose.
8. Shakespeare’s sonnets.
9. Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet – tragedy of fate or tragedy of character?

(4 points)