English 211 Final Exam Fall Instructions

General Instructions: First, read the instructions to Sections I, II, and III, and plan your time well.  Section I (identification) is worth 30 points (2 for each of 15), Section  II (description of content and form, and explication of importance) is worth 40 points (8 for each of 5), and  Section III (1 essay) is worth 30 points.

Section I: Identify the author and title (or genre if no title) of  15 out of these 32 passages we read after midterm. Their order is not chronological; all proper nouns are replaced by eight spaces. Some authors are represented by more than one passage.  Bracketed ellipsis [ . . . ] means the passage is an excerpt.  [30 points @ 2 points each]

Section II: Choose five (5) of the passages you have identified in Section I and analyze them..  In the course of your analysis, identify the "speaker" (implied narrator or lyric voice) if any, the "spoken to" (implied audience) if  any, and any important things or actions mentioned in the  selection, filling in any blank lines with names which were omitted.  If it is poetry, identify the rhyme scheme (if any) and its meter (at least the number of feet per line), or if it is prose, identify its genre (fiction, essay, biography, etc.).  Then explain briefly the significance of  the passage, its relationship to the rest of the work if it’s an excerpt, and its relationship to other works or issues in English literature.  Write in words and phrases, rather than full sentences.  Address specific parts of the passage in question rather than reciting memorized generalizations about the entire work in general.  [40 points @ 8 points each]

 

Section III.  Referring to relevant passages from Section I when possible, write a coherent essay on one of the following topics.  In each case, your answer must  consider works from both halves of the semester.  Please remember to indicate which essay topic you've chosen.  [30 points]

[Note: at least one essay prompt will apply one of the passages from Dryden's literary criticism.  As in the midterm exam, passages from Section I were chosen, in part, for their usefulness in providing concrete examples for the Section III essays.  Refer to them by number rather than recopying them, and you will save time when writing the essay.]