Test
no. 3 (Final Exam: Unit three test)/Monday, December 11, 2006
10:30-12:30 (PLEASE REMEMBER: THE TEST BEGINS AT 10:30, NOT 11:00)
The final test on December 11 will be based on the
material covered in Unit three from Oct. 25 through December 6, and it
will emphasize material that has been more thoroughly covered in
class. This includes (in order of importance):
- the assigned readings (assigned sections from Virgil's Aeneid
with an emphasis on books 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6; the selection from Ovid' s
Metamorphoses in the Procopy packet; assigned sections from Augustine's
Confessions; Beowulf; and assigned sections from Dante's Inferno) and
the course notes on the website (commentaries, study questions etc.) on
those readings
- other course notes on the website: in
addition to the commentaries and study questions on those
assigned readings, I would also stress the following material on
history and art, as covered
in class: Oct. 25
(Hellenistic
culture and key points in the early history of Rome, including the
order of events and the most important dates); Nov. 15 (the basic time frame for
the Colosseum and the reigns/monuments of Trajan and Hadrian ); Nov. 20 (the
tetrarchy and the emperors Diocletian and Constantine; the Arch of
Constantine; the nature of late
antique and early Christian art, and the reasons for these artistic
changes; the Christian house at Dura Europos, the art of the Roman
catacombs and early Christian symbolism)
- "background" material on the assigned readings presented in
class
Please arrive on time. You will not need paper or bluebooks; as in the
past, you will be able to write your answers on the test sheets. You
will have two hours
to complete the test (instead of the usual one hour and fifteen
minutes), but the number of questions will be only modestly greater
than on test no. 2 (remember I have
to grade these tests in a very short period of time!). When you
finish the test, I urge you to read it
over
carefully and check your work. Once you are done, you may hand it in
and leave
the classroom. Please do not talk, take out books, or disturb other
students who are still taking the test. I urge you to make every effort
to anticipate the call of nature so that you do not to have to leave
the room during the test, because doing so obviously compromises your
test.
The test will have five parts: 20 short IDS; 3 sets of five items to
place in chronological order; 12 short answers about 3 quotations; 5
longer IDs (choice of 7); 2 essays on quotations (choice of 3).
Part 1. 20 short identifications (1
point each): You will have to
fill in the
blank
with the appropriate name or term taken from a list of correct answers
that I will provide. The list will have at least twice as many
names as there are questions on the test (1 point each).
All of the IDs will be taken from the following list:
HELLENISTIC and ROMAN HISTORY
Hellenistic, Alexander, Alexandria, Alba Longa, Romulus, Rome, Brutus,
Actium, Marc Antony, Augustus
VIRGIL'S AENEID
Gods: Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Venus, Mercury, Diana, Vulcan, Mars
Aeneas' family: Aeneas, Ascanius, Creusa, Anchises
Dido's story: Sychaeus, Pygmalion, Penthesilea, Cupid, Anna, Iarbas
Fall of Troy: Laocoon, Sinon, Hektor, Panthus, Polites, Pyrrhus, Priam
Aeneas' journey: Polydorus, Helenus, Andromache, Polyphemus,
Achaemenides
Book six/the Underworld: Daedalus, Minos, Sibyl, Misenus, Charon,
Palinurus,
Deiphobus, Elysian Fields, Marcellus
Wars in Italy: Lavinia, Evander, Pallas, Hercules, Turnus
OVID'S METAMORPHOSES
Hecuba, Astyanax, Polyxena, Polymestor, Galatea, Scylla, Glaucus,
Circe, Macareus
ROMAN IMPERIAL ART/EARLY CHRISTIAN ART
Trajan, Hadrian, Diocletian, tetrarchy, Constantine, Constantinople,
Arch of Constantine, Dura Europs, Catacombs, Jonah, Endymion
AUGUSTINE'S CONFESSIONS
Faustus, Manichaean, Monica, Ambrose, Milan, Alypius, Simplicianus,
Victorinus
BEOWULF
Hrothgar, Heorot, Grendel, Cain, Beowulf, Unferth, Finn, Hrunting,
Freawaru, Ingeld, Hygelac, Wiglaf
DANTE'S INFERNO
Limbo, Francesca, Paolo, Lancelot, Gallehault, Filippo Argenti, Medusa,
Ulysses
I have organized these names in categories to help you prepare for the
test, but remember
that some names and terms (e.g., Carthage, Polydorus, Polyphemus,
Minos...) do appear in more than one work or context.
Sample questions:
______________________ This is the great banqueting hall built by the
Danish king
(answer: Heorot)
______________________ My lies persuaded the Trojans to bring the
Trojan horse into the city (answer: Sinon)
______________________ A one-eyed giant was madly in love with me
(answer:
Galatea)
Be sure to read
the statements carefully: on a quick reading, you might
incorrectly give the name of the Danish king (Hrothgar) on the first of
these, or the name of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, on the last.
Notice, too, that these are not simply statements identifying a
character (e.g., "I was a Greek spy left behind to persuade the Trojans
to bring the Trojan horse into the city"); they often refer to specific
events involving the person, place or thing.
Part 2: "Remember when" (1
point per answer/5 points per set plus 1 point bonus for each correct
set)
You will have three sets of five statements to put in order. Each
set will be limited to one of the following topics:
-an overview of historical events and assigned works (if I include any
dates in this list, I will use the traditional designations
"B.C."/Before Christ and "A.D"/Anno Domini, referring to the period
from the birth of Christ onwards)
-Virgil's Aeneid (either his story of Troy and the journeys, or the
sequence of events in the poem itself)
-Beowulf
-Augustine
-Dante
Sample:
Number the following statements in chronological order, beginning (1)
with the first.
______Palinurus dies (2)
______Turnus is killed (5)
______Aeneas enters the underworld (3)
______Aeneas arrives in Carthage (1)
______Aeneas learns of Marcellus' death (4)
Part 3: You will have three
quotations, each followed by four short answer questions (1
point each plus 1 point bonus for each correct set)
Sample:
"'When we had read how the desired smile
was kissed by one who was so true a lover,
this one, who never shall be parted from me,
while all his body trembled, kissed my mouth.'"
Who is speaking? answer: Francesca
Name one of the lovers in the story the speaker describes: answer:
Lancelot or
Queen Guinevere
Name two other souls punished in the same circle as the speaker:
various
possible answers, including, Paolo, Dido, Achilles, Paris and Semiramis
Part 4: 5 out of 7 longer IDs
(5 points each,
graded on a scale from 0-5 depending on how complete and accurate your
answer is/additional
answers will not be
graded)
As on the last test, you will be asked to "identify or define" terms,
and "explain
their importance in the context of this course (especially unit
three)". You will have a choice of terms. Some terms will be taken from
the word bank provided for the shorter IDs, but there will be other
phrases referring to episodes, themes and issues in the assigned
readings (e.g., "theft of pears", "embedded narrative" "Priam's
death"). These will be designed to offer you an opportunity to
address major issues in those works
The
strongest answers may typically have
three to six informative sentences,
depending
on the importance of the particular term or person. Normally, the
best
answers should include the basic identification or definition; a fuller
description - in one to three sentences, including, for example, the
most important characteristics of an event or concept, or the most
important actions of a character; and a statement - often a single
sentence - of the primary importance of the term or person in the
context of our readings and discussions. For some terms, the importance
could best be explained by relating them to the major themes I stressed
in Virgil's Aeneid, Augustine's Confessions or Dante's Inferno.
For some terms, answers will be strengthened by your ability to
cite their importance in more than one work or their role in linking
works together: Achaemenides and the Cyclops were
mentioned in both the Aeneid and Ovid's Metamorphoses; Carthage is
important in Roman history, in the Aeneid and in the Confessions.
I encourage you to review the sample answers
that I provided before test no. 2 - and afterwards - as models
of how to approach these questions. Here are a couple of
"samples" of strong answers from tests in previous semesters on this
unit. I have "retouched" the answers somewhat and added some
comments:
Diana:
“Diana was the goddess to whom Dido is compared in the Aeneid. She is
the goddess of the moon and of the hunt who was renowned for her
beauty. The comparison of Dido to the goddess implied great power and
beauty. This comparison to the huntress was later reversed,
demonstrating Dido's powerlessness in the face of cruel love: Dido was
compared to a hunted hind, and Aeneas to Diana's brother, Apollo, the
divine hunter.”
This is a strong, concise answer with specific information about Diana,
and specific references to her role in the Aeneid. It includes 1) the
basic identification “goddess of the moon and of the hunt...renowned
for her beauty” 2) reference to her principal appearance in the Aeneid
“the comparison of Dido to the goddess” 3) an explanation of how
that comparison was used in the broader context of the Aeneid and the
story of Dido.
Misenus:
“Misenus was a trumpeter and member of Aeneas’ crew. When Aeneas went
to Sybil, she
told him that to go into the underworld he had to bury a member of
his crew. When he got back, he found that Misenus had challenged one of
the sea gods (just as the singer in the Iliad had challenged the
Muses), and the god killed him. Aeneas buried him, and he became
another example of the sacrifices necessary for Aeneas' success”
Notice the answer includes 1) the basic identification: “trumpeter and
member of
Aeneas’ crew” 2) a brief description of his place in the Aeneid (Aeneas
had to bury him to enter the Underworld) 3) a hint of his relationship
to an important theme, Virgil’s use of Homer, through the comparison of
the “singer in the Iliad”, and an explicit reference to the important
theme of
sacrifice and the cost of Aeneas’ mission.
Part 5: 2 essays (15 points
each/graded on a scale from 0-15, A: 12/15, B: 8/11, C: 4/7, D: 2/3)Additional
answers will not be
graded.
You will be asked to choose two quotations
from a list of three. For each quotation you
will be asked the following question: "Identify the source and context
of
the following quotation." Then you will be asked: "How does
it contribute to an understanding
of the work from which it is taken?"
You should identify the source and context of the quotation briefly,
but as precisely as possible (work, speaker - if appropriate, immediate
context). Do not provide a thorough summary of the plot.
Then, you should answer the followup question, explaining how it
contributes to an understanding of the work. In effect,
explain why it is an important quotation that sheds light on important
issues in that work. I am not looking
for plot summaries,
but I am looking for relevant and
specific references to the assigned texts. Your answer will be
strengthened by specific references to the assigned readings.
The strongest answers would include about two sentences identifying the
source of the quotation and placing it in context, and two concise
paragraphs addressing the question.
THIS IS A SAMPLE OF A STRONG ESSAY
ANSWER FROM A PREVIOUS YEAR. I HAVE CORRECTED SOME
"ERRORS". ITALICIZED COMMENTS
IN PARENTHESES ARE MY OWN. NATURALLY, THE PRESENTATION OF THE
AENEID WAS NOT EXACTLY THE SAME IN THESE EARLIER SEMESTERS.
Identify the context of the following quotation and explain
its importance for an understanding of the Aeneid:
"For other peoples will, I do not doubt,
still cast their bronze to breathe with softer features,
or draw out of the marble living lines,
plead causes better, trace the ways of heaven
with wands and tell the rising constellations;
but yours will be the rulership of nations,
remember, Roman, these will be your arts:
to teach the ways of peace to those you conquer,
to spare defeated peoples, tame the proud."
"This quotation is from book 6 of the Aeneid, where Aeneas and
the Sibyl enter the underworld so that Aeneas may see the shade
of his father Anchises. Anchises says these words to Aeneas when
Aeneas arrives in the groves of blessedness. (excellent description of
context: section of the poem, specific setting, names of characters and
places)
One main reason (good organization) that this
quotation has meaning can be seen by looking at its reference to the
Greeks.
In the first 5 lines (good reference
back to the quotation), Anchises
refers
to the Greek arts of sculpture, rhetoric, and astronomy. Anchises
lauds these achievements, yet he also explains, in the next 4 lines,
that
the Roman art will be that of rulership. In brief, although the
Romans
may not surpass the Greeks, that is not the purpose of the Roman nation
(one might add a reference to the
Roman conquest of the Greeks).
No, the Romans have a different purpose; that of the organization of an
empire.
Another reason (good organization of a short
essay) that the quote is significant is that it allows Virgil to
comment
on the Aeneid itself. Virgil, by lauding the Greek achievements
in
the arts is humbling himself. He is recognizing the greatness of
Homer's Iliad, and by doing this, he understands that the Iliad is a
base
for his Aeneid. Virgil takes this point well, for, in his
understanding,
the Iliad is a starting point for him that he can exercise creativity
upon
to generate his own Roman epic. (I
don't necessarily agree that Virgil
humbles himself - it may be ironic - but the writer here supports his
assertion)
Finally, Virgil raises a question (it is good
to find a problem or issue in the quotation) in the mind of the
reader
through the quote. He juxtaposes (he doesn't, but we may) the last
two
lines of the quote with Aeneas' killing of Turnus in book 12.
Virgil
is asking his audience if the Roman sword can be put back after it has
been taken out. Will the Roman empire turn out peacefully, as is
stated in this quotation, or will Rage be unbound as we see at the end
of the poem with the killing of Turnus. (good references to other specific
parts of the poem)
(One might have related the quotation
to our discussion of Roman art
and architecture as well, and the use of the visual arts in the service
of empire, whether by building the infrastructure of empire and
providing the amenities of urban
life, or by using the visual arts for political propaganda as on some
imperial monuments)
At least one of the quotations will be taken from the following list
(and these should also give you an idea of the type of quotations I
will use):
“‘...Within my sleep, before
my eyes there seemed to stand, in tears and sorrow,
Hector as once he was, dismembered by
the dragging chariot, black with bloodied dust;
his swollen feet were pierced with thongs. Oh this
was Hector, and how different he was
from Hector back from battle, putting on
Achilles’ spoils...’”
“‘If there is any goodness in the heavens
to oversee such acts, for this offense
and outrage may you find your fitting thanks
and proper payment from the gods, for you
have made me see the murder of my son,
defiled a father’s face with death. Achilles -
you lie to call him father - never dealt
with Priam so - and I, his enemy;
for he had shame before the claims and trust
that are a suppliant’s. He handed back
for burial the bloodless corpse of Hector
and sent me off in safety to my kingdom.’”
“But then all-able Juno pitied her
long sorrow and hard death and from Olympus
sent Iris down to free the struggling spirit
from her entwining limbs. For as she died
a death that was not merited or fated,
but miserable and before her time
and spurred by sudden frenzy, Proserpina
had not yet cut a gold lock from her crown.”
“‘I see wars, horrid wars, the Tiber foaming
with much blood. You shall have your Simois,
your Xanthus, and your Doric camp; already
there is in Latium a new Achilles -
he, too, son of a goddess. Nor will Juno
fail anywhere to hound the Teucrians.’”
“‘But all the rest, when they have passed time’s circle
for a millennium, are summoned by
the god to Lethe in a great assembly
that, free of memory, they may return
beneath the curve of the upper world, that they
may once again begin to wish for bodies.’”
“With rising tears Anchises answered him:
‘My son, do not search out the giant sorrow
your people are to know. The Fates will only
show him to earth; but they will not allow
a longer stay for him. The line of Rome,
o High Ones, would have seemed too powerful
for you, if his gifts, too, had been its own.
What cries of mourning will the Field of Mars
send out across that overwhelming city,
what funerals, o Tiber will you see!’”
“Father Jupiter
then spoke kind words to Hercules, his son:
‘Each has his day; there is, for all, a short,
irreparable time of life; the task
of courage: to prolong one’s fame by acts.
For under Troy’s high walls so many sons
of gods have fallen; even great Sarpedon,
my own child, lost his life together with them.
And Turnus, too, is called by his own fates;
he has reached the border given to his years.’”
“So the feebleness of infant limbs is innocent, not the infant’s
mind. I have personally watched and studied a jealous baby.
He could not yet
speak and, pale with jealousy and bitterness, glared at his brother
sharing his mother’s milk.”
“There was a pear tree near our vineyard laden with fruit, though
attractive in neither colour nor taste. To shake the fruit off
the tree and carry off the pears, I and a gang of naughty adolescents
set off late at night after
(in our usual pestilential way) we had continued our game in the
streets. We carried off a huge load of pears. But they were
not for our feasts but merely to throw to the pigs. Even if we
ate a few, nevertheless our pleasure lay in doing what was not allowed.”
“And this is what met me: something neither open to the proud nor laid
bare to mere children; a text lowly to the beginner but, on further
reading, of mountainous difficulty and enveloped in mysteries. I
was not in any state to be able to enter into that, or to bow my head
to climb its steps. What I am now saying did not then enter my
mind when I gave my attention to
the scripture. It seemd to me unworthy in comparison with the
dignity of Cicero.”
“So the renowned Faustus, who had been for many ‘a snare of death’,
without his will or knowledge had begun to loosen the bond by which I
had been captured. For in your hidden providence your hands, my
God, did not forsake my soul.”
“I considered the innumerable things I believed which I had not seen,
events which occurred when I was not present, such as many incidents in
the history of the nations, many facts concerning places and cities
which I had never seen, many things accepted on the word of friends,
many from physicians, many
from other people. Unless we believed what we were told, we would
do
nothing at all in this life. Finally, I realized how unmoveably
sure
I was about the identity of my parents from whom I came, which I could
not
know unless I believed what I had heard.”
“I had forgotten my intention to have a word with him to dissuade him
from ruining such good abilities by a blind and rash enthusiasm for
empty games. But Lord, you who preside over the government of
everything which you have created, had not forgotten him who among your
sons was to be a presiding minister
of your mystery. His amendment of life should really be
attributed to
you, even if you brought it about through my agency, although I did not
know
it...You use all, both those aware of it and those unaware of it, in
the
order which you know - and that order is just.”
“Simplicianus used to say that the presbyters offered him the
opportunity of affirming the creed in private, as was their custom to
offer to people who felt embarrassed and afraid. But he preferred
to make profession of his salvation before the holy congregation.
For there was no salvation in the rhetoric which he had taught; yet his
profession of that had been public.”