Old English Literature Quiz

English Literature began in the 7th or 8th century AD.
The Anglo-Saxons, Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, invaded Britain in 428 AD.
The Anglo-Saxons were tall, fair-haired people who wore breastplate called "bymies" and fought with swords, spears, bows, and arrows.
The Venerable Bede (673-735), a monk, wrote the "Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation."
Alfred the Great (848-899) encouraged scholarly translation from Latin into Old English and is credited with starting the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'.
'Beowulf' is considered the earliest English poetry, blending Christianity and paganism.
'Beowulf' describes the heroic past of the Anglo-Saxon people and their customs and manners.
Old English poems, including 'The Battle of Brunanburg', 'The Battle of Maldon', 'The Wanderer', and 'The Sea-Farer' explore heroic and lyrical themes.
Caedmon (7th century), an unlearned cowherd, is the first known English poet, credited with acquiring the gift of poetic song.
Sir Thomas Malory’s 'Le Morte d’Arthur' is a collection of stories surrounding King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Middle English Drama began with the dramatization of biblical passages of the resurrection and nativity of Christ.
Miracle and mystery plays developed as celebrations of religious feasts and fasts.
Miracle plays were based closely on the narratives of the Bible.
Morality plays, such as 'Everyman', focused on morality lessons, personifying abstract concepts such as Death, Health, and Sins.
English and Scottish ballads, like 'Sir Patrick Spens', were sung at social gatherings, preserving local events, beliefs, and characters.

The Renaissance swept Western Europe in the 15th century, signifying a "rebirth" of ancient Greek learning.
Gutenberg's invention of printing with movable types fueled a spirit of inquiry and hastened the decline of feudal institutions.
In England, the Renaissance coincided with the reign of the Tudors, including Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Elizabeth I.
England became a world power during Elizabeth I’s reign.
The year 1485 is a significant turning point for England, marking the shift from medievalism to the Renaissance.

Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74) wrote significant plays ("She Stoops to Conquer"), poems ('The Deserted Village'), and novels ('The Vicar of Wakefield').

Romanticism emphasized the importance of the individual, imagination, and intuition.
Romanticists believed in equal opportunity and treatment for all humans, advocating for life, liberty, and equal opportunity.
Romanticism promoted a shift from reason to the senses, feelings, and imagination.
It celebrated the rural and natural over the urban and sophisticated, subjective poetry over public and impersonal poetry.
Romanticism embraced the mysterious and infinite over the scientific and mundane.
Writers found inspiration in old legends, folk ballads, antiquities, ruins, and rustic characters.
Romanticism encouraged writers to draw upon their senses and imagination, making nature scenes come alive in writing.
Romanticism included elements of the eerie and supernatural such as ghosts, haunted castles, fairies, and mad folk.

Robert Burns (1759-1796) wrote nature lyrics, sentimental songs, and humorous works.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) wrote 'Vindication of the Rights of Women', one of the first feminist books in literature.
The Gothic school of writers focused on terror and imagination, with notable works including 'The Castle of Otranto', 'The Mysteries of Udulpho', and 'The Monk'.

**Anne Bradstreet **(1612-1672), a well-educated, well-traveled Puritan who wrote verse and prose about her inner life, her family, and her faith.
**Edward Taylor **(1642-1729) kept a journal to keep track of his religious life.

**Benjamin Franklin **(1706-1790) played pivotal roles as a writer, printer, publisher, scientist, philanthropist, and diplomat. He famously wrote the "Autobiography," a self-improvement manual that covered topics such as temperance, resolution, and moderation.
**Thomas Paine **(1737-1809) authored influential political pamphlets, like "Common Sense," which sold over 100,000 copies in its first three months of publication.
**Philip Freneau **(1752-1832) was a poet of the American Revolution who incorporated European Romanticism into his work.
**Washington Irving **(1789-1859) became a cultural and diplomatic ambassador to Europe, much like Benjamin Franklin.
William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) championed the use of colloquial speech in American poetry, incorporating natural rhythms from American English.
Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962), known as e.e. Cummings, wrote innovative verse with humor, grace, and experimentation with punctuation and visual format.
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an influential poet of the Harlem Renaissance, known for his celebration of African-American culture and identity.

**F. Scott Fitzgerald **(1896-1940) is known for 'The Great Gatsby', a novel about the American dream and the self-made man.
**Ernest Hemingway **(1899-1961) is a beloved American novelist whose iconic works examined themes of war, loss, and masculinity.
**John Steinbeck **(1902-1968) blended realism and romanticism, celebrating the virtues of farmers close to the land.
**Sylvia Plath **(1932-1963) wrote deeply personal and confessional poetry that explored themes of identity, loss, and mental illness.
**Richard Wright **(1908-1960) wrote about racial prejudice, social inequality, and the experiences of African-Americans in the United States.

**Eugene O'Neill **(1888-1953) was the first American playwright to win the Nobel Prize for literature.
**Thornton Wilder **(1897-1975) wrote plays like 'Our Town' and 'The Skin of Our Teeth', as well as the novel 'The Bridge of San Luis Rey'.
**Arthur Miller **(1915) is a prominent American playwright, novelist, essayist, and biographer.
**Tennessee Williams **(1911-1983) focused on disturbed emotions and sexuality within families, particularly those in the South.

Writers of this era focused on themes of alienation, conformity, and consumerism in American society.

**J.D. Salinger **(1919-2010) is known for his novel "The Catcher in the Rye," which is a coming-of-age story with themes of alienation and adolescence.
**Jack Kerouac **(1922-1969) was a leading figure in the Beat Generation, known for his novel "On the Road."
**Allen Ginsberg **(1926-1997) was a Beat poet who influenced American literature and counterculture movements.