21st cent. reviewer Flashcards
What is an Epic Poem?
A long narrative poem usually about a hero and his deeds.
A well-known example is Beowulf.
What is a Sonnet?
A poem that has fourteen lines and follows a rhyme scheme.
A well-known example is Sonnet 18 of William Shakespeare, which starts with the line, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’
What is Drama?
A piece of writing that tells a story through dialogue and is performed on stage.
A well-known example is The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.
What is a Novel?
A long prose narrative usually about fictional characters and events, told in a particular sequence.
What is English Literature (600-1100)?
One of the richest, most developed, and most important bodies of literature in the world, encompassing both written and spoken words by writers from the United Kingdom.
What is Old English?
The earliest form of the English language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons during the fifth century.
A significant work in Old English is Beowulf, known for its use of kennings.
What is Middle English Literature (1100 - 1500)?
A blend of Old English and Norman French.
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a fine example.
What is Elizabethan Literature (1558 - 1603)?
The golden age of English literature and drama, characterized by works of William Shakespeare.
What is the Romantic Period (1800 - 1837)?
The golden age of lyric poetry, focusing on personal feelings and emotions.
What is the Twentieth Century Literature (1900 - 2000)?
Characterized by Modernist poems from writers like William Butler Yeats and T.S. Eliot.
Who is Marcus Tullius Cicero?
The greatest Roman orator, known for expressing complex thoughts clearly in his speeches.
One of his well-known speeches is Pro Cluentio.
Who is Virgil?
The greatest Roman poet, known for the epic poem Aeneid.
Who is Homer?
Known for The Iliad and The Odyssey, which are about the heroic achievements of Achilles and Odysseus.
Who is Sophocles?
A tragic playwright known for Oedipus the King, marking the peak of Greek drama.
Who is Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)?
He perfected the Italian sonnet and influenced European poetry.
His sonnets were published in the Canzoniere.
Who is Giovanni Boccaccio?
Known for Decameron, a classic Italian masterpiece written in the vernacular.
Who are Miguel de Cervantes and Lope de Vega?
Two well-known Spanish writers of Siglo De Oro.
Cervantes is known for Don Quixote, while Lope de Vega wrote many plays.
What is European Literature?
Refers to literatures in the Indo-European languages and is considered the largest body of literature in the world.
