English 211 – Study Guide for Test 2
Objective Section: Basically, this covers the same material as quizzes.

Be generally familiar with the period: Renaissance, Reformation, Civil War.

Know the author and general nature of Utopia. For the two plays (Twelfth Night and
Dr. Faustus), know the plots and characters as well as authors. See summaries
posted or linked in D2L.

For the lyric poems (readings for March 14-16 and April 4-6), be generally familiar
with the themes and images associated with each group of poems. (E.g., what is
the typical situation of the speaker in a love sonnet; how is Spenser’s sequence
atypical; what subjects does Donne write about; etc.)

Know the two main sonnet forms and their rhyme schemes and other terms
associated with the poetry (summarized on the back, and see powerpoints).

Be generally familiar with the chronology:
1485: Henry VII becomes King.
1509-47: Reign of Henry VIII
More
Reformation
Wyatt and (slightly later) Surrey
1558-1603: Reign of Elizabeth I
1580s: Sidney’s and Spenser’s sonnets; Ralegh; Marlowe
1590s: Shakespeare’s sonnets and early plays (Twelfth Night ca. 1601); early
work of Donne.
1603-25: Reign of James I
Shakespeare’s later plays; Jonson, Wroth, Donne
1625-49: Reign of Charles I and beginnings of Civil War; 1649-60: Commonwealth
Philips, Herbert, Crashaw, Herrick, Marvell
There are quizzes available in D2L that you are welcome to use as tools for reviewing
material that may appear in the objective section.
Essay Section:
You will write one essay on the longer works (Utopia, Dr. Faustus, and Twelfth Night.)
You will also write two shorter essays dealing with poems we have read and discussed
in class, which I will reproduce on the test. Examples of things I may ask you to do
include explaining a poem, discussing it as an example of its type, and comparing two
poems.
Test 2 Terms Summary
Sonnet – know the general characteristics and what distinguishes the two main types;
be able to recognize them when you see them
Fourteen lines, iambic pentameter (10 syllables)
Italian or Petrarchan sonnet rhymes abbaabba cdecde (pattern of the last six
lines can vary): octave and sestet
English or Shakespearean sonnet rhymes abab cdcd efef gg: three quatrains +
couplet
Conceit (when used of poetry) – be able to define or recognize
Metaphor extended through an entire poem (or section of a poem)
Metaphysical - be able to recognize a definition or example, and know which poets are
most likely to use this
Imagery that is unlikely, abstract, intellectual (such as conveying emotional states
through scientific concepts), or poetry characterized by such imagery
Some additional tips for studying the poems:
•
•
Review the poems we discussed as soon as possible after class and make/add to
notes on them to help you in reviewing later. You should be able to
–
identify the form (for sonnets);
–
paraphrase the literal meaning of the poem (reword it with more ordinary, or
more modern, sentence structure and word choice); and
–
identify metaphors used and have a plausible interpretation of them.
–
make generalizations about each writer: What subjects does he/she write
about? What can you say about the poet’s style (use of imagery, complexity
of sentences, etc.)?
As you review for the test, re-read poems we looked at in class and make sure you
can still analyze them as described above. Consider possible comparisons between
poems that are in the same tradition or that treat similar themes.