GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Cultural and Historical Contexts
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #531 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages...
Who is the author of this work?
Boethius
Bede
Unknown/anonymous
Langland
Chaucer
Chaucer
These are the famous opening lines of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1475). The Middle English work takes the form of more than 20 narratives (most written in verse) told by the main characters as they complete a pilgrimage to the Canterbury Cathedral. Some of these main characters include the Wife of Bath, the Miller, the Knight, the Pardoner, and the Reeve.
Passage adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1475)
Example Question #1 : Contexts Of British Poetry To 1660
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages…
What important event was occurring at the time of this work’s publication?
the invention of the printing press
Henry I becomes King of England
the Hundred Years’ War
the peak of the Black Death
the Italian Renaissance
the Hundred Years’ War
The poem was written during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between the kingdoms of England (specifically, the House of Plantagenet) and France (specifically, the House of Valois). The Black Death peaked earlier in the century (1340s and 1350s), Henry I was crowned at the very beginning of the century (1300), and the Italian Renaissance and the invention of the printing press began later (1500s and 1440, respectively).
Passage adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1475)
Example Question #532 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages…
When was this poem written?
1200s
1400s
1100s
1500s
1300s
1300s
Chaucer lived from approximately 1340 to 1400, and The Canterbury Tales (1475) is thought to have been written in the late 1300s.
Passage adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1475)
Example Question #1 : Contexts Of British Poetry To 1660
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages…
Which of the following is not a feature of the language of this poem?
fixed word order
few inflectional endings
gendered nouns
the incorporation of Norman-French words
the “great vowel shift”
gendered nouns
This poem is written in Middle English, which featured major changes in pronunciation, new vocabulary resulting from increased interaction with the French, the adoption of a fixed word order, and a marked decrease in inflectional endings. Middle English does not feature gendered grammar, however.
Passage adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1475)
Example Question #4 : Contexts Of British Poetry To 1660
In a somer seson,
Whan softe was the sonne,
I shoop me into shroudes
As I a sheep weere,
In habite as an heremite
Unholy of werkes,
Wente wide in this world
Wondres to here;
Ac on a May morwenynge
On Malverne hilles
Me bifel a ferly,
Of fairye me thoghte.
Who is the author of this poem?
William Langland
John Donne
the Pearl Poet
Piers Plowman
Geoffrey Chaucer
William Langland
These are the first lines of William Langland’s Middle English classic Piers Plowman.
Passage adapted from William Langland's Piers Plowman (1370-90?)
Example Question #191 : Contexts Of Poetry
In a somer seson,
Whan softe was the sonne,
I shoop me into shroudes
As I a sheep weere,
In habite as an heremite
Unholy of werkes,
Wente wide in this world
Wondres to here;
Ac on a May morwenynge
On Malverne hilles
Me bifel a ferly,
Of fairye me thoghte.
Which of the following is not a feature of this poem?
alliteration
passus
allegory
rhymed verse
Middle English
rhymed verse
Piers Plowman is written in unrhymed alliterative verse, and the whole work functions as an elaborate allegory about medieval Christianity and virtuous living. Much like other poems are separated into stanzas, the verse of Piers Plowman is separated into sections called "passus."
Passage adapted from William Langland's Piers Plowman (1370-90?)
Example Question #192 : Contexts Of Poetry
In a somer seson,
Whan softe was the sonne,
I shoop me into shroudes
As I a sheep weere,
In habite as an heremite
Unholy of werkes,
Wente wide in this world
Wondres to here;
Ac on a May morwenynge
On Malverne hilles
Me bifel a ferly,
Of fairye me thoghte.
When was this poem written?
late 1200s
early 1300s
late 1300s
early 1400s
late 1400s
late 1300s
This poem is believed to have been written between 1370 and 1390, and William Langland is believed to have lived from around the early 1330s to the late 1380s. Obviously, the 1300s were a very long time ago, and it is hard to say exactly when works were published and circulated.
Passage adapted from William Langland's Piers Plowman (1370-90?)
Example Question #193 : Contexts Of Poetry
In a somer seson,
Whan softe was the sonne,
I shoop me into shroudes
As I a sheep weere,
In habite as an heremite
Unholy of werkes,
Wente wide in this world
Wondres to here;
Ac on a May morwenynge
On Malverne hilles
Me bifel a ferly,
Of fairye me thoghte.
Which of the following is not a character in this poem?
Will the Dreamer
Dobet
Dowel
Dobest
Gawain
Gawain
Gawain is a character in another famous Middle English work: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. All the rest are figures in Langland’s Piers Plowman.
Passage adapted from William Langland's Piers Plowman (1370-90?)
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
