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ENGLISH 150 MIDTERM 1 WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTION
Question: What are the four culture/language groups in
the Mediterranean Basin during the Ancient World (800
BC-400 AD)?
Correct answer: Egyptian/Assyrian/Babylonian
(polytheistic), Hebrew (monotheistic), Greek (polytheistic), Latin (polytheistic)
Question: What are the three culture/language groups in
the Middle Ages (500-1500 AD)?
Correct answer: Germanic, Christianity, Islam
Question: What are the key characteristics of the
Renaissance (1450ish-1650 AD)?
Correct answer: "Rebirth"; focus on humanism, or
emphasis on humans in earthly life (vs afterlife); neoclassic
Question: What are the movements/elements of tragedies?
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Correct answer: unity to disunity, "highest of highs to
lowest of lows" (death/exile), higher classes, catharsis, tragic flaw, dramatic irony (audience knows something
the characters don't), chorus provides commentary, ex:
Medea
Question: What is the ultimate point/purpose of tragedy
according to Aristotle?
Correct answer: catharsis
Question: What is catharsis?
Correct answer: purge of strong emotions (such as pity
and fear) experienced by the audience during a tragedy
Question: What is a tragic flaw?
Correct answer: leads to tragedy/hero's downfall
(Macbeth's was ambition)
Question: What is blocking?
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Correct answer: the chosen position and movement of
actors in a play (Taming of the Shrew, final speech, Kate puts out hand, can either stand or kneel, alters interpretation of the text)
Question: What is a soliloquy?
Correct answer: a character speaks seemingly to
themselves and only the audience hears them
Question: What is a theme?
Correct answer: the point, deeper meaning, repetition, or
broader implications of a piece of literature, ex.Medea/Taming of the Shrew-place of women in society
Question: What are the movements/elements of a
comedy?
Correct answer: disunity to unity (marriage/party), lower
classes (w/ stock characters), low-stakes, comic problem, wit/banter/double entendre, improbable, lucky solutions
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Question: What is a comic problem?
Correct answer: a driving force in comedies, low-stakes,
comic
Question: What is a stock character?
Correct answer: stereotypical character (Gremio from
Taming of the Shrew is a pantaloon, or foolish old man)
Question: Who is Euripides?
Correct answer: wrote Medea in a competition, Ancient
Greek, usually wrote tragedies
Question: Who is Medea?
Correct answer: "witch", put under love spell, heart
violent, raging, clever, evil arts, don't make her an enemy, temper, stubborn, devoted, hopeless, proud, wronged, sacrifices, fire, kills kids, princess, king to watch Jason suffer