British Literature & Composition

1. British Literature & Composition Spring 2012 Exam Study Guide

2. Beowulf and the Monsters • Grendel • Grendel has been terrorizing the hall of Herot for 12 years. King Hrothgar calls on Beowulf to help. • Beowulf waits for Grendel to come to the hall one evening for his nightly feeding, then Beowulf and Grendel fight. • Beowulf defeats Grendel by tearing off his arm. • The wounded Grendel returns to his marsh. • Grendel’s arm is hung up in the hall as a trophy.

3. Beowulf and the Monsters • Grendel’s mother • She goes to the hall and takes back her son’s arm. • Then she kills one of the king’s closest friends to avenge her son’s death. • Beowulf goes to the marsh and fights her. He delivers a blow to her neck which kills her. • Beowulf then cuts off Grendel’s head.

4. Beowulf and the Monsters • The dragon • Beowulf returns to his home, and eventually becomes king. He rules in peace and prosperity for 50 years. • Then a dragon begins terrorizing the countryside, so Beowulf, now an old man, faces the dragon. • Beowulf is unable to defeat the dragon alone, so Wiglaf joins Beowulf in the fight. Together, they defeat the dragon, but Beowulf is seriously wounded. • The dying Beowulf leaves the kingdom to Wiglaf as a reward for his loyalty.

5. “The Pardoner’s Tale” • After the three rioters discover the gold, they come up with a plan to carry the gold away. • Two of them will guard the gold, while the other goes to get provisions (bread and wine). • While the third is getting provisions, the other two come up with a plan to murder him and split the gold between the two of them. • Meanwhile, the third one comes up with a plan to murder the other two by poisoning their drinks. • When the third one rejoins the other two, they kill him and then drink the wine to celebrate, so they die as well. • The moral of the story: the love of money is the root of all evil.

6. Sonnets • Italian or Petrarchan • 14 lines; two-part structure • Octave (first eight lines) abbaabba • Sestet (last six lines) cdcdcdor cdecde • English or Shakespearean • 14 lines • Three quatrains (four-line units) ababcdcdefef • Final couplet (2 rhyming lines) gg • Spenserian • Similar to English with three quatrains and one couplet • Interlocking rhyme scheme ababbcbccdcdee

7. The Tragedy of Macbeth

8. The Tragedy of Macbeth • At the beginning of the play, the three witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis (which he already is), then Thane of Cawdor and King hereafter. • Shortly after this, Macbeth is given the title of Thane of Cawdor, which inspires to make the third prophecy come true by killing King Duncan so he could become king.

9. The Tragedy of Macbeth • In Act Four, three apparitions appear to Macbeth • First – An armed head tells Macbeth to beware Macduff • This is fulfilled when Macduff kills Macbeth • Second – A bloody child tells Macbeth that “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” • This causes Macbeth to dismiss the first apparition, until Macbeth learns that Macduff was not “born of woman”, but was ripped from his mother’s womb (C-section) • Third – a child crowned with a tree in his hand tells Macbeth he shall “never be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” • This is fulfilled when Macduff’s army camouflage themselves with tree branches, so it looks like the forest is moving.