1.

Which of the following statements accurately reflects the status of England, its people, and its language in the early sixteenth century? English travelers were not obliged to learn French, Italian, or Spanish during their explorations of the Continent.

a)

b) English was fast supplanting Latin as the second language of most European intellectuals. c) English travelers often returned from the Continent with foreign fashions, much to the delight of moralists. d) Intending his Utopia for an international intellectual community, Thomas More wrote in Latin, since English had no prestige outside of England.

e) all of the above

2.

Which of the following sixteenth-century works of English literature was translated into the English language after its first publication in Latin?

a) Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus b) William Shakespeare's King Lear c) Thomas More's The History of King Richard III d) William Shakespeare's Sonnets e) Thomas More's Utopia

3.

Which royal dynasty was established in the resolution of the so-called War of the Roses and continued through the reign of Elizabeth I?

a) Tudor b) Windsor c) York d) Lancaster e) Valois

4.

Which of the following shifts began in the reign of Henry VII and continued under his Tudor successors?

a) the growing authority of the Pope over domestic English affairs b) the expansion of England's colonial possessions c) the rise in the power and confidence of the aristocracy d) the countering of feudal power structures by a stronger central authority e) the emancipation of serfs

5.

From which of the following Italian texts might Tudor courtiers have learned the art of intrigue and the keys to gaining and keeping power?

a) Castiglione's "The Courtier" b) Dante's "Divine Comedy" c) Boccaccio's "Decameron" d) Machiavelli's "The Prince" e) Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso"

6.

Who authored Il Cortigiano (The Courtier), a book that was highly influential in the English court, providing subtle

guidance on self-display?

a) Cavalcanti b) Castiglione c) Pirandello d) Boccaccio e) Machiavelli

7.

Between 1520 and 1550, the population of London:

a) remained constant. b) fell from 375,00 to barely 100,000. c) doubled from 60,000 to 120,000. d) doubled from 600,000 to 1,200,000. e) is impossible to estimate.

8.

Who introduced the art of printing into England?

a) Elizabeth Eisenstein b) Johannes Gutenberg c) Henry VIII d) William Tyndale e) William Caxton

9.

To what does the phrase "the stigma of print" refer?

a) lead poisoning contracted from handling printer's ink b) the brutal punishment for printing without a license c) the pre-Reformation ban on printing the Bible in English d) the perception among court poets that printed verses were less exclusive e) all of the above

10.

Which of the following sixteenth-century poets was not a courtier?

a) George Puttenham b) Philip Sidney c) Walter Ralegh d) Thomas Wyatt e) all of the above

11.

Which of the following statements is not an accurate reflection of education during the English Renaissance?

a) It was aimed primarily at sons of the nobility and gentry.

b) Its curriculum emphasized ancient Greek, the language of diplomacy, professions, and higher learning. c) It was conducted by tutors in wealthy families or in grammar schools. d) It was ordered according to the medieval trivium and quadrivium. e) Its focus had shifted from training for the Church to the general acquisition of "literature."

12.

What impulse probably accounts for the rise of distinguished translations of works, such as Homer's lliad and Odyssey, into English during the sixteenth century?

a) human reverence for the classics b) the belief that the English were direct descendants of the ancient Greeks c) pride for the vernacular language d) a and c only e) a, b, and c

13.

What was the only acknowledged religion in England during the early sixteenth century?

a) Atheism b) Protestantism c) Catholicism d) Ancestor-worship e) Judaism

14.

Who began to ignite the embers of dissent against the Catholic church in November 1517 in a movement that came to be known as the Reformation?

a) Anne Boleyn b) Martin Luther c) Pope Leo X d) Ulrich Zwingli e) John Calvin

15.

Which historical figure initiated a series of religious persecutions condemning Protestants as heretics and burning them at the stake in the 1550s?

a) Archbishop Cranmer b) Catherine of Aragon c) Elizabeth I d) Mary, Queen of Scots e) Mary Tudor

16.

Which of the following refers to the small area of Ireland, extending north from Dublin, over which the English government could claim effective control?

a) Ulster

b) the Protectorate c) the Pale d) West Britain e) the Palatinate

17.

Which designates the theory that the reigning monarch possesses absolute authority as God's deputy?

a) manifest destiny b) extreme unction c) royal absolutism d) constitutional monarchism e) charivari

18.

Expressed in Elizabethan poetry as well as court rituals and events, a cult of _______ formed around Elizabeth and dictated the nature of relations between herself and her court.

a) ignominy b) unwarranted abuse c) odium d) absurdity e) love

19.

Which of the following describes the chief system by which writers received financial rewards for their literary production?

a) charity b) patronage c) censorship d) subscription e) mass marketing

20.

In the Defense of Poesy, what did Sidney attribute to poetry?

a) a magical power whereby poetry plays tricks on the reader b) a divine power whereby poetry transmits a message from God to the reader c) a moral power whereby poetry encourages the reader to emulate virtuous models d) a defensive power whereby poetry and its figurative expressions allow the poet to avoid censorship e) a realistic power that cannot be made to seem like mere illusion and trickery

21.

Which of the following might be addressed/represented by pastoral poetry?

a) an exaltation of the city life over the boring country life b) shepherd and shepherdesses who fall in love and engage in singing contests

c) heroic stories in epic form d) a celebration of the humility, contentment, and simplicity of living in the country e) b and d only

22.

The churchyard of St. Paul's Cathedral was well-known for its:

a) ruinous condition. b) performing bears. c) graffiti. d) wine bars. e) bookshops.

23.

Who owned the rights to a theatrical script?

a) the playwright(s) b) the patron of the acting company, eg, the Lord Chamberlain c) the bishop of London d) the printer e) the acting company

24.

Short plays called _______-staged dialogues on religious, moral, and political themes-were performed by playing companies before the construction of public theaters.

a) interludes b) spectacles c) meditations d) mysteries e) vaudeville

25.

To what subgenre did the Senecan influence give rise, as evidenced in the first English tragedy Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex?

a) villain tragedy b) poetic tragedy c) heroic tragedy d) revenge tragedy e) pastoral tragedy

26.

What is blank verse?

a) iambic pentameter in rhyming couplets b) the verse form of the Shakespearean sonnet c) free verse, without rhyme or regular meter

d) alliterative iambic tetrameter e) unrhymed iambic pentameter

27.

Which of the following is true about public theaters in Elizabethan England?

a) They relied on admission charges, an innovation of the period. b) The early versions were oval in shape. c) They were located outside the city limits of London. d) The seating structure was tiered, with placement correlating to ticket cost. e) all of the above

28.

Which was not an objection raised against the public theaters in the Elizabethan period?

a) They caused excessive noise and traffic. b) They charged too much. c) They excited illicit sexual desires. d) They drew young people away from work. e) They were nests of sedition.

29.

Who succeeded Elizabeth I on the throne of England?

a) Elizabeth II b) Henry IX c) James I d) Charles I e) Mary, Queen of Scots