SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
While studying literature calls for reading,
understanding, and reflection. It also requires memorizing a few facts to ace
exams, viva, and interviews.
1. Piers finally appears as Jesus in Langland's Piers
the Plowman. (PAPER 2, Q1,2004)
2. It was decided that each Canterbury
Pilgrim will tell in all 4 stories. (PAPER 2, Q2,2004)
3. Shakespeare wrote the
long narrative poem ' Venus and Adonis'. ( PAPER
2, Q3,2004)
4. The total number of poems in Shakespeare's
Sonnet is 154. (P2,Q4,2004)
5. Christopher Marlowe (26 Feb
1564-30 May 1593)is also known as Kit Marlowe. He is the predecessor of
Shakespeare and one of the most famous Elizabethan playwrights.
6. Michael Drayton( 1563- 23 Dec
1631 ) was an English poet of the Elizabethan era. He was the first to bring
the term Ode for a lyrical poem.
7. Philip Sydney (1554-1586)
belonged to the Elizabethan era. He is best remembered for his work The
Defence of Poesy( also known as the Apology for Poetry).
8. Michael Drayton used the
poetic name Rowland in his work Idea: The Shepherd's Garland published
in 1593.
9. A Machiavellian hero/heroine is
one who does what it takes to achieve his/her goal. The character generally
lacks moral fiber.( PAPER2, Q5,2004)
10. Tamburlaine the Great is a
play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is partially based on the Central
Asian Emperor, Timur the Lane(1405). (PAPER 2, Q5, 2004)
11. 'The Spanish Tragedy' was
written by Thomas Kyd.
12. 'The Jew of Malta' by the
Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe opens with Machiavel, a ghost based
on Niccolo Machiavelli. The main character of the play is Barabas, a Jewish
Maltese merchant. The full title of the play is 'The Famous Tragedy of
the Rich Jew of Malta.
13. 'The Tragical History of the Life
and Death of Dr. Faustus' by Elizabethan dramatist
Christopher Marlowe is based on German tales and the character Faust.
14. Edward Alleyn, the star actor of The
Admiral's Men played the title character in the three plays by Christopher
Marlowe: The Jew of Malta, Dr. Faustus, and Tamburlaine. After
being a major figure in Elizabethan theatre, he founded the
College of God's Gift in Dulwich.
15. Tamburlaine is the first
play written in blank verse.
16. The full title of Edward the Second is
'The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, the King
of England with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer'. Christopher
Marlowe found the material of the play in Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles
(1587).
17. The play, Edward the Second (
has homosexual overtones. It focuses on the relationship between King Edward
the Second of England and Piers Gaveston. A libel was published by Thomas Beard
in 'The Theatre of God's Judgement' published in 1597.
18. Samuel Butler (1613-1680) is
best known for his satirical work Hudibras. His poem was directed
against religious sectarianism. He was influenced by John Skelton and Paul
Scarron's work ' Virgil Travestie.' He borrows from Don
Quixote too where characterization is concerned. (PAPER2, Q6,2004)
19. Religio Laici or A Layman's
Faith (1682) is a poem written by John Dryden. It is written
in heroic couplet. It was an answer to Father Richard Simon's defense of Roman
Catholic tradition. However, five years later Dryden wrote Hind
and the Panther( 1687), an allegorical poem in three parts to explain his
conversion to the Roman Catholic faith.
20. Sarah Fielding (1710-1768) was
the sister of English novelist Henry Fielding. She wrote under the pen name '
the author of David Simple.' The full title is,' The Adventures of David
Simple in Search of a Faithful Friend.'
21.' The Governess or The Little Female
Academy ' by Sarah Fielding was the first English novel to be
written specifically for children.
22. The Blue Stocking Society was
a women's movement in the mid-18th century. Its primary focus was the social
and educational upliftment of women. It was established by Elizabeth
Montagu and several others in the early 1750s.
23. Published after the English Civil War, Hudibras is
a satire on the Puritanical sect. It is a narrative poem written in a
mock-heroic style. (PAPER 2, Q6, 2004)
24. A narrative poem tells a
story in the form of poetry. This form of poetry generally includes epic,
ballads, idylls, lyric( a musical composition expressing personal feelings in
the first person).
25. Mock-heroic style in
poetry aims to mock or pull down the traditional characteristics of a hero by
placing a fool or exaggerating it to the extent of absurdity.