Format of the Final Exam

Format of the Final Examination

For the Exam: Please bring bluebooks (or lined paper that can be stapled together) and pencils and/or pens. The exam is closed book with the exception that you can consult a print copy of Frankenstein, though, doing so won’t be required.

Note: The exam represents 25% of your course grade.

Part I

20 Questions— ½ point each (10 points possible) (approx. 15 minutes)

The first section of the exam will assess your knowledge of the literary texts, authors, and terms important to an understanding of British Romanticism.

Some questions will focus on literary forms and terms. For this part, refer to the handout “Literary and Cultural Terms” available online at the course website. Be prepared to match the following terms to their definitions (some but not all of these terms will appear on the exam):

alliteration
closet drama
emphasis
fancy, imagination
frame narrative
gothic
ode
paradox
romance
sensibility
Spenserian stanza

Some questions will focus on facts of literary history (i.e. who wrote Manfred). A couple of questions will ask you about key dates associated with the Romantic age.

Part II

5 Passages—5 points each (25 points possible) (approx. 45 minutes)

The second section of the exam will assess your knowledge of the literary texts, authors and techniques important to an understanding of British Literature of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. You will be asked to identify five out of seven passages taken from assigned reading since the midterm. For each identified passage, you will need to write the name of the author (1 point), the title of the text from which the passage was taken (1 point) and a short paragraph (3 points) explaining why the passage is important to an understanding of the text. 

Part III

1 Essay—15 points possible (approx. 50 minutes)

The last section of the exam will assess your ability to write a detailed and coherent essay that compares how two or more texts respond to a key concern of the Romantic age. To prepare for this last part of the exam, review the suggested topics for the class’ essay assignment.