1. English Literature Lecture 4: Exercises

2. Exercises
I. Fill in each blank
1.The 16th century in England was a period of the breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of ______.
2.Thomas More wrote his famous prose work "_______" .
3.In Elizabethan Period, ___wrote more than fifty excellent essays, which made him one of the best essayists in English literature.

3. 4._________is often referred to as "the poets' poet".
5.Spenser is generally regarded as the greatest non-dramatic poet of the Elizabethan Age. His fame is chiefly based on his masterpiece "_______" 6."So long lives this, and this gives life to thee." Is the last line of a sonnet written by.__________________.

4. 7.In the Elizabethan Period, the greatest playwright of England is _______.
8. Francis Bacon wrote many excellent essays, such as "_____, ____", etc.
9. William Shakespeare's four great tragedies generally refer to "______","______","______", and "______".

5. 13."Of Youth and Age" is one of the essays written by ________.
10.The most gifted of the university wits is _________. He produced in all six plays and several poems.
11."Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" is one of _______'s best known sonnets.
12."The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" is one of _______'s best plays.
13."Of Youth and Age" is one of the essays written by ________.

6. II. Choose one or more than one suitable answers for each statement.
1.The first person to introduce the sonnet into English literature is _____.
a. Thomas Wyatt
b. William Shakespeare
c. Philip Sidney
d. Thomas Campion

7. 2.The epoch of Renaissance witnessed a particular development of English drama. It was ______who made blank verse the principal vehicle of expression in drama.
a. Christopher Marlowe
b. Thomas Loge
c. Edmund Spenser
d. Thomas More

8. 3. At the beginning of the 16th century the outstanding humanist in England _______wrote his Utopia in which he gave a profound and truthful picture of the people's suffering and put forward his ideal of a future happy society.
a. Thomas More
b. Thomas Marlowe
c. Francis Bacon
d. William Shakespeare

9. 4.During the reign of ___absolute monarchy in England reached its summit.
a. Henry VIII b. Queen Elizabeth
c. William d. Queen Victoria
5.English Renaissance Period was an age of ________.
a. prose and novel
b. poetry and drama
c. essays and journals
d. ballads and songs

10. 6.The greatest and most distinctive achievement of Elizabethan literature is drama. Thus appeared a group of excellent dramatists. Mainly they are _________.
a. John Lyly
b. Thomas Kyd
c. George Peele
d. Christopher Marlowe
e. William Shakespeare

11. 7.Choose the “University Wits” from the following playwrights.
a. John Lyly
b. Robert Greene
c. William Shakespeare
d. Christopher Marlowe
e. Thomas Kyd

12. 8.Choose the works written by Fancis Bacon.
a. The Advancement of Learning
b. The New Instrument
c. Essays
d. The new Atlantics
e. Venus and Adonis

13. 9. Marlowe's best plays include _____.
a. Tamburlaine the Great
b. The Jew of Malta
c. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
d. Cymbeline

14. 10.One of Ben Jonson's best-known comedies is "________”.
a. The Merchant of Venice
b. Utopia
c. The Winter's Tale
d. Volpone

15. 11. Shakespeare was the son of a ___________.
a. clerk b. landlord
c. trader d. lawyer
12. Most of Shakespeare's best plays were written in the _______ period of his dramatic career.
a. first b. second
c. third d. fourth

16. 13.The well-known soliloquy by Hamlet "To be, or not to be …" shows his _________.
a. hatred for his uncle
b. love for life
c. resolution of revenge
d. inner conflict

17. 14. "Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade" (Sonnet 18)
14."Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade" (Sonnet 18). This means that you _________.
a. are in the shadow of death
b. will die peacefully
c. are not afraid of death
d. will live forever

18. 15."Grieve not that I am fall'n to this for you;…I'll pay it presently with all my heart." (in Merchant of Venice). This shows ________.
a. Portia's love to Bassanio
b. Antonio's friendship with Bassanio
c. Shylock's cruelty to Antonio
d. Gratiano's friendship with Bassanio

19. 16.Which is the first book to contain a long discussion on the social conditions of England and shows us a realistic picture of early 16th century England?
a. The Canterbury Tales
b. The Fairy Queen
c. Utopia
d. Doctor Faustus

20. III. Paraphrase the following .
1.To die, to sleep; /To sleep! Perchance to dream. (Hamlet)
2.How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none? (by Duke of Venice)
3.My deeds upon my head! I crave the law,/ The penalty and forfeit of my bond.(by Shylock)
4.For thy sweet love rememb'red such wealth brings/That then I scorn to change my state with kings. (Sonnet 29)

21. IV.Find the relevant match from column B for each item in column A
Part I A B
1. ( ) Christopher Marlowe a. Utopia
2. ( ) Shakespeare b. The Jew of Malta
3. ( ) Edmund Spenser c. The Faerie Queene
4. ( ) Thomas More d. The Merchant of Venice
5. ( ) Francis Bacon e. The New Instrument
6. ( ) Ben Jonson f. The Canterbury Tales
7. ( ) Geoffrey Chaucer g. Volpone

22. Part II
A B
8. ( ) The Merchant of Venice h. Desdemona
9. ( ) As You Like It i. Cordelia
10. ( ) Hamlet j. Juliet
11. ( ) King Lear k. Ophelia
12. ( ) Othello l. Falstaff
13. ( ) Romeo and Juliet m. Rosalind
14. ( ) Henry IV n. Portia

23. V. Questions (Choose one of them)
1.Tell what you know about the following.
1) Shylock
2) Portia
2. Give a summary about the English literature in the Renaissance period.
3. What are the characteristics of Spenser's poetry? What is Spenserian Stanza?

24. 4. What is the writing style of Bacon's essays?
5. What did Shakespeare tell us in his comedies?
6. What were Shakespeare's main tragedies? What did he write about in his tragedies?
7. Make comments on the heroines in Shakespeare's comedies.