Old and Middle English Period, Age and divisions of English literature

Shariful Islam Zinna
Shariful Islam Zinna

১) Who is not a romantic poet from the list below?

ক) T.S. Eliot

খ) William Wordsworth

গ) S. T. Coleridge

ঘ) P. B. Shelley

ক) T.S. Eliot

ব্যাখ্যা:
- অপশনে প্রদত্ত চারজন কবির মধ্যে তিনজনই রোমান্টিক যুগের। (১৭৯৮-১৮৩২)
- কিন্তু T. S. Eliot (১৮৮৮-১৯৬৫ ) হলেন modern age (১৯০১-১৯৩৯)-এর কবি।
- তিনি Modernist Poetry-এর অন্যতম পথিকৃৎ। তিনি Modernist Poet বলেও পরিচিত।
 
English Literature Periods:

450 - 1066 :- The Old English Period
1066 - 1500 :- The Middle English Period
1500 - 1660 :- The Renaissance Period
1660 - 1785 :- The Neoclassical Period
1798 - 1832 :- Romantic Period
1832 - 1901 :- Victorian Period

T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) is a modern poet, dramatist and critic.
He wrote some famous dramas such as-
-‘Murder in the Cathedral’(1935)
-The Family Reunion(1939)
-The Cocktail Party(1949)

He is known for, Objective correlative, a literary theory first set forth by T.S. Eliot in the essay “Hamlet and His Problems” and published in The Sacred Wood (1920).

Source: An ABC of English Literature by Dr. M. Mofizar Rahman

২) 'The golden period' of English literature refers to:

ক) The Jacobean Period

খ) The Elizabethan Period

গ) The Anglo-Saxon Period

ঘ) The Restoration Period

খ) The Elizabethan Period

ব্যাখ্যা:
Elizabethan Age (1558-1603):
- This age is part of the renaissance period of English Literature. 
- This age is named after Queen Elizabeth I who reigned over England from 1558 to 1603.
- This is called the Golden Age of English literature.
- Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Thomas Kyd, Thomas Norton, Francis Bacon, etc are a famous literary figures of this period.

Other titles of this age:
- Glorious Period of English literature.
- Golden Period of English Drama.
- A nest of singing birds.

The Renaissance Period is divided into four shorter periods:
1. Elizabethan Age 1558 -1603
2. Jacobean Age  1603-1625  
3. Caroline age  1625-1649
4. Commonwealth Period 1649-1660

Source: An ABC of English Literature - Dr M Mofizar Rahman & Britannica

৩) The Canterbury Tales is a collection of ___ stories.

ক) 24

খ) 25

গ) 32

ঘ) 27

ক) 24

ব্যাখ্যা:
Canterbury Tales:
- রচনার ধরণ অনুযায়ী এটাকে Frame story বলা যায়।
- যদিও এটি মূলত: একটি কবিতা, এর মধ্যে প্রায় ২৪টি গল্প আছে।
- মোট চরিত্র হলো ৩০ জন। 
-The Nun priest’s Tale:, The Knight’s Tale etc. ইত্যাদি হলো ২৪ টি গল্পের মধ্যে অন্যতম। 


Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400):
- The outstanding English poet before Shakespeare.
- His 'The Canterbury Tales' ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in English.
- He is called the father of Modern English Poetry. 

Other Major works: 
- 'Troilus and Criseyde',
- 'The Parlement of Foules',
- 'The Pardoner’s Tale',
- 'The Miller’s Tale',
- 'The Friar’s Tale',
- 'The Nun’s Priest’s Tale',
- 'The Clerk’s Tale',
- 'The Man of Law’s Tale',
- 'The Franklin’s Tale'.

Source: Britannica.com

৪) The latest period of English literature is-

ক) The Edwardian period

খ) The post-modern period

গ) The Romantic Period

ঘ) The Georgian Period

খ) The post-modern period

ব্যাখ্যা:
The post-modern period of English literature: (1939-till now)

- The Latest Period of English Literature is the Post-Modern period, Which began during the time of the 2nd world war.
- এর আগের যুগটি হলো, The Modern English period . ইংরেজি সাহিত্যের বিবর্তনের ধারায় অত্যন্ত গুরুত্বপূর্ন এই সময়টি। 

The Modern Period (1901-1939) আবার দুই ভাগে বিভক্ত:
 ১. The Edwardian Period (1901-1910).  
২. The Georgian Period (1910-1939).


source: An ABC of English Literature, Dr. M Mofizar Rahman.

৫) The time frame of the Romantic age of English Literature is:

ক) 1500-1660

খ) 1832-1901

গ) 1760-1785

ঘ) 1798-1832

ঘ) 1798-1832

ব্যাখ্যা:
English Literature Periods:

450 - 1066 :- The Old English Period
1066 - 1500 :- The Middle English Period
1500 - 1660 :- The Renaissance Period
1660 - 1785 :- The Neoclassical Period
1798 - 1832 :- The Romantic Period
1832 - 1901 :- The Victorian Period
1901 - 1939 :- The Modern Period
1939 - Present :- The Post Modern Period.

[Source: An ABC of English Literature - Dr M Mofizar Rahman]

৬) 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens is -

ক) a neo-classical novel

খ) a victorian novel

গ) a modern novel

ঘ) an Elizabethan novel

খ) a victorian novel

ব্যাখ্যা:
Victorian age:
 -The Victorian period ranges from 1837 to 1901 i.e. the period of the reign of Queen Victoria.
- However, according to some critics this period in literature started in 1832, five years earlier than the reign of Queen Victoria.
- It was in the Victorian era that the novel became the leading literary genre in English.

Great Expectations is the famous Novel of Charles Dickens.
লেখক যেহেতু ভিক্টোরিয়ান যুগের, সেহেতু এটি একটি  Victorian novel.

• The important character of this novel:
- Pip,
- Estella,
- Miss Havisham.

• Famous quotations of great expectation:

- The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me.
- Charity begins at home and Justice begins next door.

Charles Dickens's other famous novels - 
- A Tale of Two Cities
- David Copperfield
- Bleak House
- Great Expectations

Source: Britannica and Enotes.com.

৭) Among the authors below, who wrote poems in the Victorian age?

ক) William Wordsworth

খ) Robert Browning

গ) John Milton

ঘ) Lord Byron

খ) Robert Browning

ব্যাখ্যা:
Victorian age:
 -The Victorian period ranges from 1837 to 1901 i.e. the period of the reign of Queen Victoria.
- However, according to some critics this period in literature started in 1832, five years earlier than the reign of Queen Victoria.
- It was in the Victorian era that the novel became the leading literary genre in English.
- এই যুগে উপন্যাস রচনার প্রাধান্য বা আধিক্য থাকলেও এই যুগে বেশ কজন নামকরা কবিও রাজত্ব করেছেন। এদের মধ্যে অন্যতম:

☞ Robert Browning  
☞ Mathew Arnold
☞ Lord Alfred Tennyson  সহ আরো অনেকে। 

Robert Browning (1812-89):

- He is famous for his dramatic monologues.

Best Works:
- Dramatic Lyrics (1842)
- Men and Women (1855)
- Dramatis Personae (1864)

Source: An ABC of English Literature - Dr. M Mofizar Rahman

৮) Identify the correct statement:

ক) Beowulf is a 14th-century epic.

খ) Beowulf is a Romantic epic.

গ) Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic.

ঘ) Beowulf is a Jacobean epic.

গ) Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic.

ব্যাখ্যা:
Beowulf
- এটি মূলত: একটি  Heroic poem.
- এটাকে বিবেচনা করা হয়, highest achievement of Anglo-Saxon/ Old English literature হিসাবে।   
-  এছাড়াও, এটাকে Earliest European vernacular epic ও বলা হয়। 

- Beowulf  এর লেখকের পরিচয় জানা যায় না। 
- Beowulf কাব্য মোট দুটি অংশে বিভক্ত। 
- নায়ক  Beowulf এর তিনটি দু:সাহসিক অভিযানকে কেন্দ্র করে কাহিনী এগিয়ে চলে। 
- ইংরেজি সাহিত্যের প্রথম দীর্ঘ কবিতা এটি।  মোট পংক্তিসংখ্যা ৩০০০ লাইনেরও অধিক। 
- ডেনমার্ক এবং দক্ষিণ সুইডেন হচ্ছে কাহিনীর কেন্দ্রভূমি।
- এই কবিতার  Scandinavian hero, Beowulf এর নাম অনুযায়ী পরে এই কবিতার নামকরণ করা হয়েছে।

Source: Live MCQ upcoming Literature & content Brtitannica.com

৯) Who supervised the compilation of "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"?

ক) Alfred the Great

খ) Geoffery Chaucer

গ) Venerable Bede

ঘ) Roger Bacon

ক) Alfred the Great

ব্যাখ্যা:
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: 

- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was written in The Anglo-Saxon Period (450-1066) which is the earliest prose of English Literature.
- Alfred the Great supervised the compilation of this.

Notable works of this age:

- Beowulf (earliest epic)
- The Wanderer
- The Seafarer
- The Husband's Message
- The Wife's Lament

Source: An ABC of English Literature, Dr. M Mofizar Rahman & Britannica.com

১০) William Shakespeare was an English playwright of-

ক) 14th century

খ) 15th century

গ) 16th century

ঘ) 18th century

গ) 16th century

ব্যাখ্যা:
William Shakespeare:
- He was an English dramatist and poet of the sixteenth century.
- William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 AD and died on 23 April 1616 AD.
- Birthplace: Stratford Avon. 
- Shakespeare wrote a total of 37 plays and 154 sonnets. 


William Shakespeare's famous tragedies are:
- Romeo and Juliet
- Julius Caesar
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth etc

William Shakespeare's comedies:
- Measure for Measure (Dark Comedy)
- As You like It
- The Winter's Tales etc

Source: An ABC of English Literature, Dr M Mofizar Rahman.

১১) The Jacobean Period of English Literature began in-

ক) 1605

খ) 1603

গ) 1602

ঘ) 1601

খ) 1603

ব্যাখ্যা:
The Renaissance Period (1558-1660) is divided into four shorter  periods. 
Such as–
- Elizabethan Period (1558-1603)
- Jacobean Period (1603-1625)
- Caroline Period (1625-1649)
- Commonwealth Period (1649-1660)

Famous writers of Jacobean Period (1603-1625) are-
- John Donne
- Andrew Marvell
- George Herbert etc.


Source: An ABC of English Literature by Dr M Mofizar Rahman.

১২) Which is true about Geoffrey Chaucer?

ক) The father of English novel

খ) The father of English poetry

গ) The father of English essay

ঘ) The representative poet of the 16th century

খ) The father of English poetry

ব্যাখ্যা:
Geoffrey Chaucer:
- Poet Geoffrey Chaucer was born circa 1340, most likely at his parents’ house on Thames Street in London, England.
- The Canterbury Tales became his best-known and most acclaimed work.
- He was the representative poet of the 14th century. 

The other titles Chaucer owns:
- Father of English Language 
- Father of English Literature 
- Father of English Modern Poetry 
- The first great English storyteller. 

Source: Britannica.

১৩) Which one below does not belong to the neo-classical age of English literature?

ক) Augustan period

খ) The restoration period

গ) Age of Sensibility

ঘ) Commonwealth period

ঘ) Commonwealth period

ব্যাখ্যা:
The Commonwealth period is one of the parts of the Renaissance period of English literature. 
এছাড়া অপশনে প্রদত্ত বাকীগুলো The neo-Classical period এর অন্তর্ভুক্ত। 

The neo-Classical period (1660-1798) is divided into 3 short periods. Such as-

1. Restoration Age (1660-1700).
2. Augustan Period/The Age of Pope (1700-1745).
3. Age of Sensibility (1745-1785).

Important Authors from the Restoration period are: 

- Samuel Butler
- John Bunyan
- John Dryden
- William Wycherley
- William Congreve
- George Farquhar

Source: An ABC of English Literature, Dr. M Mofizar Rahman.

১৪) Which one is called the 'shortest period' of English literature?

ক) Victorian Period

খ) Renaissance Period

গ) Elizabethan period

ঘ) Romantic Period

ঘ) Romantic Period

ব্যাখ্যা:
English Literature Periods:
450 - 1066 : The Old English Period
1066 - 1500 : The Middle English Period
1500 - 1660 : The Renaissance Period
1660 - 1785 : The Neoclassical Period
1798 - 1832 : Romantic Period
1832 - 1901 : Victorian Period

Among them, Romantic Period is the shortest period of English literature. 

Source: An ABC of English Literature, Dr. M Mofizar Rahman.

১৫) Who translated “The New Testament” into English?

ক) John Gower

খ) John Wycliffe

গ) Thomas Lodge

ঘ) Richard Lovelace

খ) John Wycliffe

ব্যাখ্যা:
John Wycliffe translated “The New Testament”.
- John Wycliffe(1330 - 1384), English theologian, philosopher, church reformer, and promoter John Wycliffe is widely considered one of the medieval forerunners of the Protestant Reformation.
- His criticism of the practices and beliefs of the church foreshadowed those of later reformers.
- Wycliffe also directed a translation of the Bible into English.

Wycliffe's other works include:
-The Last Age of the Church (1356)
- De Logica (''On Logic'') (1360)
- De Universalibus (''On Universals'') 1368
- De Dominio Divino (1373)

Source: Britannica.com

১৬) Who wrote the prose 'Morte D' Arthur?

ক) Robert Browning

খ) Sir Thomas Malory

গ) William Sydney Porter

ঘ) Lord Alfred Tennyson

খ) Sir Thomas Malory

ব্যাখ্যা:
Morte D' Arthur (poem) - Lord Alfred Tennyson
Morte D' Arthur (prose) - Sir Thomas Malory

১৭) 'Jacobean Age; is named after -

ক) King James-1

খ) King James-2

গ) Prince Jacob

ঘ) King Henry

ক) King James-1

ব্যাখ্যা:
Jacobean Period:
 
1603 থেকে 1625 সাল পর্যন্ত সময় কালকে ইংরেজি সাহিত্যের ইতিহাসে Jacobean Period হিসেবে বিবেচনা করা হয়।

- The age is named after King James 1 যিনি 1603-1625 সাল পর্যন্ত England এর উপর রাজত্ব করেছিলেন।
- The word 'Jacobean' is the latin version of ‘James’.
- Jacobean Age মূলত The Renaissance Period এর অন্তর্গত।
- The Renaissance Period এর ব্যাপ্তিকাল ছিল 160 বছর এবং চারটি ছোট যুগে বিভক্ত ছিল - 
• Elizabethan Age 
• Jacobean Age
• Caroline Age 
• Commonwealth Age
- কিছু কিছু Historian, Jacobean Age এর শেষ পাঁচ বছরকে Puritan Age হিসেবে ধরে থাকেন। They call it so because between 1620-1660 Puritanism became the driving force in the life and Literature of England.

• Jacobean Age এর অধিকাংশ writers Elizabethan Period এ সাহিত্যকর্ম শুরু করেন এবং পরবর্তী যুগ অর্থাৎ Jacobean Period পর্যন্ত চালিয়ে যান।
যেমন - 
- William Shakespeare, who had started writing in the Elizabethan Period, wrote twelve serious plays in this period.
- Ben Jonson and Francis Bacon also started writing in the Elizabethan period and continue to write in the Jacobean Age.

তাছাড়া অন্য লেখকদের মধ্যে - 
- John Webster 
- Cyril Tourneur
- John Donne 
- George Herbert

Source: An ABC of English Literature by Dr M Mofizar Rahman.

১৮) 'The Renaissance Period' in English literature was technically ended in:

ক) 1785

খ) 1660

গ) 1560

ঘ) 1800

খ) 1660

ব্যাখ্যা:
The Renaissance period starts from 1500 AD and ends at 1660 AD.
The Renaissance Period (1500-1660) is divided into four main periods.
1. Elizabethan Period (1558-1603),
2. Jacobean Period (1603-1625),
3. Caroline Period (1625-1649) and
4. Commonwealth Period (1649-1660).


Source: Britannica.com 

১৯) Which one is not the literary work of Geoffrey Chaucer?

ক) The Nun's Priest's Tale

খ) The Canterbury Tales

গ) Troilus and Cressida

ঘ) The House of Fame

গ) Troilus and Cressida

ব্যাখ্যা:
Troilus and Cressida is a play by William Shakespeare.
On the other hand, Troilus and Criseyde is an epic poem written by Geoffrey Chaucer. 

এছাড়া অপশনে প্রদত্ত বাকী সাহিত্যকর্মগুলো Geoffrey Chaucer এর। 


Source: Britannica.com

২০) The author of Beowulf-

ক) King Alfred The Great

খ) Geoffrey Chaucer

গ) Cynewulf

ঘ) Anonymous

ঘ) Anonymous

ব্যাখ্যা:
Beowulf
- Beowulf  এর লেখকের পরিচয় জানা যায় না। সুতরাং, Anonymous বা অজ্ঞাত লেখকের দ্বারা একটি লিখিত। 
- এটি মূলত: একটি  Heroic poem.
- এটাকে বিবেচনা করা হয়, highest achievement of Anglo-Saxon/ Old English literature হিসাবে।   
-  এছাড়াও, এটাকে Earliest European vernacular epic ও বলা হয়। 
- Beowulf কাব্য মোট দুটি অংশে বিভক্ত। 
- নায়ক  Beowulf এর তিনটি দু:সাহসিক অভিযানকে কেন্দ্র করে কাহিনী এগিয়ে চলে। 
- ইংরেজি সাহিত্যের প্রথম দীর্ঘ কবিতা এটি।  মোট পংক্তিসংখ্যা ৩০০০ লাইনেরও অধিক। 
- ডেনমার্ক এবং দক্ষিণ সুইডেন হচ্ছে কাহিনীর কেন্দ্রভূমি।
- এই কবিতার  Scandinavian hero, Beowulf এর নাম অনুযায়ী পরে এই কবিতার নামকরণ করা হয়েছে।


Source: Live MCQ upcoming Literature & content Brtitannica.com

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