EN254:
CHIVALRIC ROMANCE
Fall 2009
Final
Exam
The final exam will be held on Saturday, December 19 at 3:00
PM in CNS 209.
The exam will cover all of the material assigned during the semester. The emphasis, naturally, will be on material discussed in class.
The exam will be in four parts.
The first part will be a brief section multiple choice questions. There will probably be ten questions at 1 point each.
The second section will consist of a series of passages quoted from the texts studied during the semester. You will be asked to select ten of these passages and identify them, providing the work it comes from, the speaker, the setting and context of the passage. The ten responses will count for 5 points each.
In the third section, you will be asked to select another of the quoted passages-- one that you did not identify in section 2. You will not only identify this passage, but write an essay in which you explain its significance, with reference to its connection to themes in the work as a whole or in other related works. This essay will count for 20 points.
The fourth section will be another 20-point essay. You will have a choice of topics; all of the topics will ask you to compare and contrast texts read during the semester.
So... What sorts of passages will appear on the exam? Here are some examples. (These will not appear on the exam):
(1)
"Kis me," quod she. "We be no lenger wrothe,
For by my trouthe, I wol be to yow bothe,
This is to seyn, ye, bothe fair and good.
I prey to God that I mot sterven wood,
But I to yow be also good and trewe
As evere was wyf, sin that the world was newe."
(2)
"Now may the giver of all good words these glad hours repay!
But our guest is not Gawain-- forgot is that thought...
So good a knight as Gawain is given out to be,
And the model of fair demeanor and manners pure,
Had he lain so long at a lady's side,
Would have claimed a kiss, by his courtesy,
Through some touch or trick of phrase at some tale's end."
(3)
"My dearest lady, I surrender myself to you! Do not regard me as your king, but as your vassal and lover. I swear to you in all honesty that I shall do your bidding. Do not let me die because of you. You can be the mistress and I the servant; you the haughty one and I the suppliant." So long did the king speak with her and so ardently did he beg for mercy that she promised him her love and gave him her body. By an exchange of rings they took possession of each other and pledged their faith. They kept this faith well and loved each other dearly. It was later to be the cause of their death.