1. What is the period of the Anglo-Saxon period in English literature?

A. 43 BC – 1066 AD
B. 450 AD – 1066 AD
C. 1066 AD – 1500 AD
D. 500 AD – 1200 AD
Answer: B. 450 AD – 1066 AD

2. Which of the following is not an Anglo-Saxon poem?

A. The Wanderer
B. The Seafarer
C. The Battle of Maldon
D. The Canterbury Tales
Answer: D. The Canterbury Tales

3. The Exeter Book is a collection of:

A. Legal codes
B. Religious sermons
C. Elegies and riddles
D. Historical chronicles
Answer: C. Elegies and riddles

4. Who is the author of Beowulf?

A. Caedmon
B. Anonymous
C. Bede
D. Alfred the Great
Answer: B. Anonymous

5. What does the term ‘comitatus’ refer to in Anglo-Saxon culture?

A. A type of verse
B. A military tactic
C. A warrior’s loyalty to his lord
D. A pagan deity
Answer: C. A warrior’s loyalty to his lord

6. Which of the following is considered a Christian influence in Beowulf?

A. Belief in fate
B. Descriptions of dragons
C. References to God and salvation
D. Use of kennings
Answer: C. References to God and salvation

7. Anglo-Saxon poetry primarily used which literary device?

A. Rhyme
B. Alliteration
C. Assonance
D. Onomatopoeia
Answer: B. Alliteration

8. Which of the following is an example of a kenning?

A. Sunlight
B. Ring-giver
C. Warrior
D. Ocean
Answer: B. Ring-giver

9. Which manuscript contains The Dream of the Rood?

A. The Nowell Codex
B. The Exeter Book
C. The Vercelli Book
D. The Junius Manuscript
Answer: C. The Vercelli Book

10. Who was Caedmon?

A. A king of Wessex
B. An illiterate herdsman turned poet
C. The first English historian
D. A warrior hero in Beowulf
Answer: B. An illiterate herdsman turned poet

11. Which Anglo-Saxon poem reflects Christian vision through a dream?

A. The Seafarer
B. The Dream of the Rood
C. The Wife’s Lament
D. The Wanderer
Answer: B. The Dream of the Rood

12. The Battle of Brunanburh is an example of:

A. An epic
B. A lament
C. A riddle
D. A war poem
Answer: D. A war poem

13. What is the central theme of The Wanderer?

A. Rebirth
B. Love
C. Exile and loneliness
D. Revenge
Answer: C. Exile and loneliness

14. The term “wyrd” in Anglo-Saxon belief refers to:

A. God
B. Magic
C. Fate
D. Battle
Answer: C. Fate

15. Who wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English People?

A. Alfred the Great
B. Geoffrey Chaucer
C. Bede
D. Cynewulf
Answer: C. Bede

16. Which king encouraged the translation of Latin works into Old English?

A. William the Conqueror
B. King Arthur
C. Alfred the Great
D. King Harold
Answer: C. Alfred the Great

17. Which work contains one of the earliest references to Christ in English poetry?

A. The Seafarer
B. The Dream of the Rood
C. Beowulf
D. The Battle of Maldon
Answer: B. The Dream of the Rood

18. What is the mood of most Anglo-Saxon elegiac poetry?

A. Humorous
B. Celebratory
C. Melancholic
D. Romantic
Answer: C. Melancholic

19. Which poetic form did Anglo-Saxons not use?

A. Epic
B. Elegy
C. Sonnet
D. Riddle
Answer: C. Sonnet

20. What role did monks play in Anglo-Saxon literature?

A. Composed oral ballads
B. Preserved and copied manuscripts
C. Built castles
D. Led invasions
Answer: B. Preserved and copied manuscripts

21. Which of the following terms is associated with the Christian influence in Old English poetry?

A. Paganism
B. Wyrd
C. Salvation
D. Valkyrie
Answer: C. Salvation

22. The Seafarer can be interpreted both as a literal journey and as a:

A. Comic play
B. Spiritual quest
C. Myth
D. History lesson
Answer: B. Spiritual quest

23. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was commissioned by:

A. Bede
B. Alfred the Great
C. Caedmon
D. Cynewulf
Answer: B. Alfred the Great

24. Which of these genres was most common in Anglo-Saxon poetry?

A. Lyric
B. Satire
C. Elegy
D. Tragedy
Answer: C. Elegy

25. How many strong stresses are usually in a line of Anglo-Saxon poetry?

A. Two
B. Four
C. Six
D. Eight
Answer: B. Four

26. Which poem describes the crucifixion from the cross’s point of view?

A. The Seafarer
B. The Dream of the Rood
C. The Wanderer
D. The Phoenix
Answer: B. The Dream of the Rood

27. Anglo-Saxon riddles are primarily found in:

A. The Junius Manuscript
B. The Nowell Codex
C. The Exeter Book
D. The Domesday Book
Answer: C. The Exeter Book

28. Cynewulf is known for:

A. Writing Beowulf
B. Translating the Bible
C. Signing his poems with runes
D. Fighting the Vikings
Answer: C. Signing his poems with runes

29. What is the dominant religion reflected in early Anglo-Saxon literature?

A. Hinduism
B. Islam
C. Paganism
D. Christianity
Answer: D. Christianity (with remnants of Paganism)

30. The dragon in Beowulf symbolizes:

A. Wisdom
B. Greed and destruction
C. Courage
D. Death and rebirth
Answer: B. Greed and destruction

31. What is the structure of Anglo-Saxon poetic lines?

A. Iambic pentameter
B. Rhyming couplets
C. Two half-lines with a caesura
D. Free verse
Answer: C. Two half-lines with a caesura

32. The language of Beowulf is closest to:

A. Latin
B. Modern English
C. German
D. Greek
Answer: C. German

33. The tone of The Wife’s Lament is best described as:

A. Joyful
B. Wistful
C. Mournful
D. Triumphant
Answer: C. Mournful

34. What was the social function of Anglo-Saxon poetry?

A. Entertainment only
B. Moral instruction and cultural memory
C. Political rebellion
D. Romantic expression
Answer: B. Moral instruction and cultural memory

35. The heroic code in Beowulf emphasizes:

A. Celibacy and obedience
B. Peace and harmony
C. Loyalty, bravery, and honor
D. Trade and wealth
Answer: C. Loyalty, bravery, and honor

36. Which poem is an allegory of Christ’s victory on the cross?

A. The Battle of Brunanburh
B. The Dream of the Rood
C. The Seafarer
D. The Wanderer
Answer: B. The Dream of the Rood

37. The Domesday Book was commissioned by:

A. Alfred the Great
B. Edward the Confessor
C. William the Conqueror
D. Henry I
Answer: C. William the Conqueror

38. The term “thane” in Beowulf refers to:

A. A monster
B. A seer
C. A king’s warrior or servant
D. A Christian monk
Answer: C. A king’s warrior or servant

39. What kind of journey does The Seafarer primarily depict?

A. Romantic journey
B. Political exile
C. Religious/spiritual quest
D. Search for gold
Answer: C. Religious/spiritual quest

40. The phrase “gold-lord” in Beowulf is a:

A. Simile
B. Riddle
C. Kenning
D. Hyperbole
Answer: C. Kenning