Literature Flashcards
(46 cards)
An epic poem that is one of the most important works of Old English literature. It tells the story of the hero, who battles the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon.
Beowulf
A collection of 24 stories written in Middle English. The tales are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims traveling
The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer
An epic poem that describes the author’s journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Heaven (Paradiso). It is considered one of the greatest works of world literature.
The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
collection of 100 stories told by young people fleeing the Black Death.
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
considered one of the oldest surviving major works of French literature and is based on the Battle of Roncevaux Pass
The Song of Roland
novel by “Miguel de Cervantes” satirizes the concept of chivalry through the adventures of a man who believes he is a knight
Don Quixote
epic poem follows the journey of a Trojan hero to Italy and is considered the story of the founding of Rome
The Aeneid by Virgil
In which novel does Fyodor Dostoevsky explore deep philosophical questions through the story of a troubled family
The Brothers Karamazov
work by Leo Tolstoy explores Russian society during the Napoleonic Wars
War and Peace
Gothic novel by Bram Stoker features the legendary vampire Count Dracula and his attempt to move to England
Dracula
novel by Herman Melville tells the story of Captain Ahab’s obsessive quest to hunt down a giant white whale
Moby-Dick
dystopian novel by George Orwell portrays a totalitarian regime that uses surveillance, propaganda, and fear to control its citizens
1984
ancient Greek epic poem details the events of the Trojan War, particularly the conflict between Achilles and Hector
The Iliad by Homer
novel by Victor Hugo follows the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean in post-revolutionary France
Les Misérables
novel by Jane Austen critiques the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century
Pride and Prejudice
novel by Mark Twain follows the adventures of a boy and a runaway slave as they travel down the Mississippi River
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
novel by Charles Dickens does an orphan named Pip experience personal growth and development
Great Expectations
What is the title of the epic poem by John Milton that explores the Fall of Man and themes of free will, sin, and redemption?
Paradise Lost
epic poem by Homer follows the journey of Odysseus as he returns home after the Trojan War
Odyssey
novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald critiques the American Dream and the disillusionment of the Jazz Age
The Great Gatsby
novel by Charlotte Brontë tells the story of a governess who overcomes hardship and falls in love with her employer, Mr. Rochester
Jane Eyre
ancient Mesopotamian poem that is one of the earliest works of literature, detailing the adventures of King Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh
novel by Emily Brontë is the intense and destructive love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw
Wuthering Heights
ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles tells the story of a man who unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother
Oedipus Rex
