BEOWULF

1. England was invaded in the 5th century by Anglo Saxon, who came from
Germany and Denmark.
2. Old English Literature was written in Anglo Saxon language, from 450 A.D
to 1066.
3. By simply stating that a character is shy/selfish, the writer directly makes
statement about character’s personality (direct characterization).
4. Before the occupation of the Romans, England was inhabited by the Celts
5. Before the Anglo-Saxons, the Romans had invaded and occupied England
for 4 centuries.
6. After the Roman withdrawal, England was invaded and occupied by the
Anglo-Saxons.
7. England was invaded in the 5th century by the Anglo-Saxons, who came
from Germany and Denmark.
8. The Old English, or Anglo-Saxon language is the basis of Modern
English.
9. Old English literature was chiefly orally made, dominated by poetry over
prose and anonymous (it is hard to tell who wrote the stories).
10.Beowulf is written in England but it is about Denmark and Sweden because
its content took place in Denmark and Geatland.
11.History of English literature began with the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons.
12.The epic Beowulf is anonymous because it was told by word of mouth so
we don’t know exactly who wrote it.
13.Beowulf is sometimes called “England’s national epic”
14.Beowulf’s overarching conflict is between close-knit warrior societies and
the various menaces that threaten their boundaries.
15.From Beowulf we draw many details of Anglo-Saxon social life and
warrior society.
16.In Beowulf the relationship between the leader, or king, and his warriors was
defined in terms of provision and service.
17.The three battles in Beowulf are fought between Beowulf with Grendel,
Beowulf with Grendel’s Mother and Beowulf with the Dragon.
18.Beowulf dies from the wounds he has received when he fights a dragon.
19.Beowulf comes from southern Sweden to help Hrothgar get rid of the
monster.
20.Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother with A mighty sword from Grendel’s
mother armory.
 21.Beowulf comes to help Hrothgar on a good together with the warriors of
the bravest.
22.In Beowulf, the dragon attacks Beowulf’s country because a slave steals a
golden cup from the dragon’s lair.
23.In Beowulf, instead of pairs of lines joined by rhyme, Anglo Saxon poets
typically used alliteration.
24.Grendel attacks Hrothgar’s men because he is angered by the singing
feasts.
25.Grendel is an outcast from society.

THE CANTERBURY TALES DECK: THREE YOUNG MEN, DEATH AND

A BAG OF GOLD

1. Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the greatest English poets of the 14th century.
His masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales.
2. In Three Young Men, Death and a Bag of Gold, the young men think they
can kill Death because they are a little drunk.
3. The social background of Middle English Literature is England was
invaded and occupied by the Normans, who came from Normandy,
France.
4. From 1066 to 1485 is the period of Middle English.
5. The period of Middle English begins with the Norman invasion of 1066
and the subsequent conquest of the whole of England.
6. From 1066 until the 14th century, French largely replaced English in
ordinary literary composition.
7. Geoffrey Chaucer was greatly influenced by Renaissance.
8. The genres of the tales in The Canterbury Tales are Moral stories.
9. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in the 14th century in
Middle English.
10.The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories told by a group of
characters who are pilgrims on their way to visit the shrine of
Canterbury Cathedral which is the Holyland of English catholics.
11.The work of The Canterbury Tales is incomplete because Chaucer died.
12.The theme of Three young men, death and a bag of gold is Greed for
wealth is the root of all evils
13.The greatest contribution that The Canterbury Tales made to English
literature was in popularising the literary use of English rather than
French or Latin
 14.The historical event about England reflected in Three young men, death and
a bag of gold is the plague. During 14th century, 3 epidemics attacked
England and killed nearly half population of England
15.The moral from Three young men, death and a bag of gold is not to be over
greedy, to keep the friendship, loyalty and promises
16.The contrast in Three young men, death and a bag of gold is before and
after finding the bag of gold. It is to emphasize the destructive power of
the gold
17.In The Canterbury Tales, the pilgrims represent all the social levels of the
hierarchical order of medieval society. (not sure)
The pilgrims represent a diverse cross section of fourteenth-century
English society ( all the classes in society, cover all the aspects of the
society)
18.In The three young men, death and a bag of gold, after finding the gold, the
men decide that they carry it home by night because they are afraid that
people can see them and think they stole the gold
19.Analyze the avarice (tính hám lợi) and the evil in Three young men, death
and a bag of gold Greed for wealth: the change of the three young men
before and after finding a bag of gold. The evil: they kill each other.
20.The three young men see the funeral of their friends when they are at an
inn/ are making merry over a bottle of wine
21.The old man is possibly the death because he traps the men to finding the
gold which kills them.

HAMLET
1.Shakespeare’s comedies depict the endearing(=lovable) as well as the
ridiculous sides of human nature

2.In Hamlet, Claudius sends Hamlet to England pretending for the prince’s
safety (but in fact Hamlet is escorted by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
carrying Claudius’ letter requiring Hamlet to be executed on his arrival)

3.The fact that Hamlet struggles with his doubts about whether he can trust the
ghost and whether killing Claudius is the appropriate thing to do is the internal
conflict

4.Renaissance is a culture movement that began in Italy.

5.The Renaissance revived the great values of the ancient Greek and Roman
civilizations that had long been lost to Europe.

6.The spirit of Renaissance was humanism.

7.The Renaissance was a “rebirth” of certain classical ideas.

8.Renaissance is a cultural movement that began in Italy in 14th century and

spread to the rest of Europe by 16th century.

9.William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616.

10.Shakespeare’s great tragedies look deeply into the springs of action in the
human soul.

11.Shakespeare’s compassionate has perpetuated his greatness.

12.Shakespeare’s last plays are called dramatic romances

13.Shakespeare’s greatness lies in his compassionate understanding of human.

14.In Hamlet, Shakespeare depicts the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces
moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder.

15.Background of Soliloquy One: After the ghost told Hamlet the truth and told
him what to do and the ghost disappeared, Hamlet is alone on the battlements
in the castle and makes the soliloquy.

16.What makes Hamlet sure that Claudius killed his father is Claudius’s reaction
to the staged murder by leaving in the middle of the performance and
Hamlet’s overhearing on Claudius’s plea forgiveness for killing his brother
and marrying his wife.

17.In Hamlet, Claudius sends Hamlet to England pretending for protecting

Hamlet from being brought into the court.

18.The fact that Hamlet struggles with his doubts about whether he can trust the
ghost and whether killing Claudius is the appropriate thing to do is the Internal
Conflict.
19.In Hamlet, Claudius murders king Hamlet by pouring poison into his ear
while he is napping.

20.Brief explain the Moral Integrity in Hamlet: Moral Integrity refers to the fact
that Hamlet faces a difficult situation in which he has to realize his father’s
commandment as the same time be a moral son and nephew.

21.Brief explain the Moral Corruption in Hamlet: Moral Corruption refers to the
fact that Claudius kills his brother to take his crown and marries his wife. The
queen marries her husband’s brother in less than 2 months after her
husband’s death.

22.Hamlet pretends to be mad because he wants to uncover the truth about his
father's death and what happened (he wants to disguise his felling and enable
him to observe the interactions in the castle)

23.In Hamlet, Polonius is killed by Hamlet when Hamlet is having a talk to the
queen.

24.In Hamlet, Claudius attempts to get rid of Hamlet by sending Hamlet to

England to be killed by English and arranging a fencing match between
Hamlet and Laertes.

25.In Hamlet, Yorick’s Skull symbolizes the inevitable disintegration of human

body.

26.In Hamlet, the ghost requires Hamlet to take revenge for his death and spare
the Queen.

27.Explain these two lines. That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain; At
least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark

Hamlet exclaims disappointedly that his uncle is really a damned villain

although he seems to be a very polite by smiling all the time. Moreover,
Hamlet thinks that the Denmark are also villain. This refers that Hamlet is in
his complete pessimism.
28.A paraphrases of: O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else? And shall I
couple hell? O, fie! — Hold, my heart; And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. — Remember thee!

Paraphrase: ah, all you up in heaven! And earth! What else? Shall I include
hell as well? Damn it! Keep beating, my heart, and muscles, don’t grow old
yet- keep me standing. Remember you!

29.Identify and analyze the literary technique used in: And shall I couple hell? O,
fie! — Hold, my heart; And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,

Literary technique: “heart, sinew” apostrophe because Hamlet talks to his

heart, his sinews as if they were humans.

30.Paraphrase the following lines from Hamlet’s soliloquy: That one may smile,
and smile, and be a villain; At least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark

where’s my notebook? - it’s a good idea for me to write down that one can
smile and smile, and be a villain. At least it’s possible in Denmark.

31.A paraphrase of : Yea, from the table of my memory. I'll wipe away all trivial
fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there; From Hamlet is yes, I’ll wipe my mind
clean of all trivials facts and memories and preserve only your commandment
there. Hamlet promises to himself that he will forget all the trivial fond
records of the past, all the good things he had been learnt from the books and
other people, especially from his youth because all these things are different
from what he is suffering now. And from now, he just memorised what the
ghost says

32.The literary techniques of the underlined in: O all you host of heaven! O earth!
what else? And shall I couple hell? O, fie! — Hold, my heart;

Are: - host of heaven: metaphor because the writer compare host of heaven
with the God without using “as, like”.
- O:
+ exclamatory word
+ Onomatopoeia because it is an imitation of the sound made by people who
are shocked and exclaim.
- “heart”:Apostrophe because Hamlet talks to his heart.

33.Why does Hamlet hesitate to kill Claudius?

Because he wants to have more time to find evidence. Moreover, it’s not easy
for him to kill his uncle and to hurt his mother’s feeling
34.Why was Hamlet doubtful?
It’s just the Ghost’s story

ROBINSON CRUSOE

1. In Robin Crusoe the victim (Friday) shows his gratitude for saving his life
by kneeling down every ten or twelve steps in token of
acknowledgement
2. One of the writers of enlightenment you have learnt is Daniel Defoe
3. Daniel Defoe is considered as one of the founders of English novel/ the
earliest practitioners of the novel helping popularize the genre in
Britain and even one of the founders of English novels.
4. The novel Robinson Crusoe is regarded as one of the first novels in
English
5. Robinson Crusoe is a novel of isolation because it is about a sea-man who
get stranded on a deserted island for 28 years
6. Robinson Crusoe was written by Daniel Defoe in 1719 during the cultural
movement of enlightenment
7. Robinson Crusoe embodies the spirit of the age of enlightenment through
the character of Robinson Crusoe who is adventurous, enterprising and
reason-controlled
8. One of the symbols of Robinson Crusoe is Crusoe’s Bower, which
symbolizes the changes in Robinson’s attitude towards his life on the
desert island
9. Robinson Crusoe stayed on the deserted island for 28 years, 2 months and
17 days
10.Self-awareness in Robinson Crusoe refers to the fact that Robinson is
always conscious of himself and his situation. For example, he keeps a
journal of his daily activities, he grows rice, corn...
11.Crusoe suffers a storm at sea near Yarmouth, foreshadowing his shipwreck
years later
12.Robinson’s first trip is financially successful, so he plans another, leaving
his early profits in the care of a friendly widow
13.In Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe gets married after he...and before he donates a
portion to the widow and his sister-revisits his island and Brazil
14.“I set my gun at the foot of my ladder”. The literary technique of the
underlined is… because metaphor- the writer compares the function of
the foot of a human with the function of the bottom part of the ladder
without using “like” or ”as”
15.The literary technique used in “ he stood trembling, as if he had been taken
prisoner” is simile because the writer compares the victim “ stood
trembling” with the fact that he had been taken prisoner using “ as if ”
16.The literary technique used in “ i lay still in my castle”, “castle” ( the
specific) referring to “home” (the general) is a case of synecdoche
17.The Ambivalence of Mastery in Robinson Crusoe refers to Robinson’
mastery over all the hardships which is positive, over his fellows which
is negative (not sure)
18.Analyze the Ambivalence (sự mâu thuẫn) of Mastery in Robinson Crusoe
the conflict in Robinson’s mind as to contacting human beings
19.Robinson Crusoe established himself as a plantation owner in Brazil during
his second trading voyage.
20.In Robinson Crusoe, the victim (Friday) shows his gratitude for saving his
life by Swearing to be Robinson’s slave forever
21.In Robinson Crusoe, Friday is killed when some savages ( kẻ man rợ,
hoang dã ) attack the ship on the way to Brazil
22.In Getting a human companion, the pursuers are Cannibals and the pursued
is Friday
23.In Getting a human companion, the first thing Robinson does when he gets
to the beach to rescue the victim is saying “hello” to the victim to attract
his attention
24.The Footprint Robinson finds on the beach one day is the symbol of the
conflict in Robinson’s mind as to contacting human beings
25.Robinson Crusoe called a fictional autobiology because it is not the
adventure of Daniel Defoe
 GULLIVER’S TRAVELS

1. Some similarities between Gulliver’s travels and Robinson Crusoe are:

+they are adventurous
+ they are practical-minded and reason-controlled
+ they rarely show any deep emotion
+ they are the first narrators
+Both works were written in the age of Enlightenment
2. Jonathan Swift is considered One of the greatest masters of English prose
and one of the most impassioned satirists of human folly and pretension
3. Lemuel Gulliver is A practical-minded Englishman trained as a surgeon
who takes to the seas when his business fails
4. Setting of the excerpt :
Time: after staying for sometime in the country of Lilliput, Gulliver
gained so far on the emperor and his court with his gentleness and good
behavior
Place: in the court of Lilliput
5. As a form of fiction, Gulliver’s travels is The greatest satire by the
greatest prose satirist in the English language and its literary genre is
satire
6. What is the message of Gulliver’s travels ?
The fact that Gulliver simply secedes(rút ra khỏi) from human society
upon the conclusion of the story implies that there is plainly no hope for
human society and that human nature is so corrupt and malevolent
(hiểm ác ) that there is no possibility of reformation (sự cải cách)
7. After staying in England with his wife and family for 2 months, Gulliver
undertakes his next sea voyage which takes him to Brobdingnag.
8. By the war between Lilliput and Blefuscu, Jonathan Swift satirizes That the
two neighboring empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu with their foolish
causes which are differences on how to break egg for the frequent
conflicts and wars between them hint at England and France
9. In Lilliput, the ministers are often required to perform in diversions to make
sure that they have not lost their faculty
10.Gulliver’s rejection of human society is showed in the fact that in the fourth
voyage, he shuns the generous Don Pedro as a vulgar Yahoo. He
concludes his narrative with a claim that the lands he has visited belong
by rights to England, even though he questions the whole idea of
colonialism.
11.By the two diversions that Gulliver observes in Lilliput the writer satirizes
the small mind of Lilliput’s Emperor and the way English people get the
high positions in the court not by intellectual quality but by performing
some physical skills and especially by going on all fours.

12.Gulliver wants to stay with the Houyhnhnms, but he is banished because He

is very much like a Yahoo

13.The diversion of rope dancing and jumping is dangerous, as shown in the

fact that it is often attended with fatal accidents

14.Why do the chief ministers in Lilliput often have to perform in diversions?

The chief ministers themselves are commanded to show their skills and
to convince the emperor that they have not lost their faculty.
They want to have great employments and high favour of the emperor
at court.

15.The rope dancing and jumping is dangerous because It is often attended

with fatal accidents
16.Gulliver’s experiences with various flawed societies foreshadow His
ultimate rejection of human society in the fourth voyage
17.Gulliver becomes a national resource of Lilliput by Helping Lilliput to
defeat Blefuscu
18.The first winner of the stick leaping and creeping is rewarded with Blue
coloured silk which he uses to put around his belt as a symbol of the high
position in the court
19.The land below Laputa is called Balnibarbi, whose scientific researches are
totally insane and impractical
20.Gulliver’s travels has managed to survive as two books in one: one is a
fanciful children’s tale, the other is a trenchant (rõ ràng, sắc bén) satire
of the fallacies of human nature
21.Lemuel Gulliver arrives in Lilliput on his first voyage after a shipwreck
and awakes to find himself a prisoner of a race of 6-inch tall people
22.The Luggnaggians and the Struldbrug are Senile (suy yếu, già) immorals
23.On his fourth journey, Gulliver arrived in a land populated by Houyhnhnms,
who are the master of the country and by Yahoos, who are the servants
of the country
24.The emperor of Lilliput had a mind one day to entertain in Gulliver with
several of country shows because He thinks that those diversions are
something intellectual and the most amusing. He is very proud of these
diversions.
THE SOLITARY REAPER

1. In “The Solitary Reaper”, Wordsworth describes in the first person how he

is amazed and moved by a Scottish Highlands girl who sings as she reaps
grain in a solitary field.
2. “The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more” are the final two lines in The Solitary
Reaper. They express the soothing effect of beautiful memories on human
thoughts and feelings
3. Romantic age and Enlightenment age are quite opposite because Romantic
age emphasized emotion while Enlightenment emphasized reason and
rationalism
4. The common topics of English Romanticism are Nature and ordinary
people
5. William Wordsworth is a Poet of the Romantic age. He maintained that
poetry should be written in more ordinary language and simpler form so
that all classes might appreciate it
6. “The solitary reaper” is one of the best known works by William
Wordsworth, whose great theme is the world of simple, natural things, in
the countryside or among people
7. Setting: Time: during the harvest time
Place: on the field in Scotland, located in the valley surrounded by hills
on a highland.
8. “The solitary reaper” is one of the best known works by William
Wordsworth, who grew up in a rustic society and spent a great deal of
time playing outdoors, in what he would remember as a pure
communication with nature
9. “The solitary reaper” is a picture of words. The picture refers to physical
and spiritual beauty of the girl
10.In “The solitary reaper” Wordsworth is impressed by the natural landscape
and the ordinary working people
11.The possible topics of the reaper girl’s song in “The solitary reaper”, are far-
off battles and natural sorrow, pain or loss
12.In “The solitary reaper” the poet compares the voice of the reaper with Any
chant of the nightingale to weary travelers. (the voice of two birds :
nightingale and cuckoo bird
13.In “The solitary reaper”, Wordsworth describes chiefly the Finest qualities
of mind and character of the highland lass
14.The literary technique used in “ Whate’en the theme the Maiden sang - As if
her song could have no ending” is hyperbole because it emphatically
makes the point that the maiden was singing so passionately and with
pleasure
OLIVER TWIST

1. Realism emphasized the depiction of subjects as they appeared in

everyday life
2. The genre of Oliver Twist is children’s story, novel of social protest
3. Nancy (in Oliver Twist) is murdered for disclosing Monk’s plans to
Oliver’s guardians
4. London bridge symbolizes Nancy’s attempt to escape from the evil world
to return to the good world
5. Oliver Twist has a happy ending because the good are rewarded while the
evil are punished
6. The discouraging atmosphere in At the Criminal Lair is showed in violent
actions, rude words and gloomy facial expression.
7. Monks (in Oliver Twist) plotting with Fagin to destroy the reputation of
Oliver because he is Oliver’s paternal half brother, he wants to ensure
that his half brother is deprived of his share family inheritance
8. In Oliver Twist, in the midst of corruption and degradation, Oliver remains
his righteousness
9. At the end of Oliver Twist, Fagin was arrested and condemned to the
gallow.
10.In Oliver Twist, Nancy is killed by Sikes because she discloses Monks’
plans to Oliver’s guardians.
11.A writer of English realism is Charles Dickens who was one of the most
popular English novelists of the Victorian era and a fierce critic of the
poverty of social stratification of Victorian society.
12.Realism took place in Europe and America during the second half of the
19th century
13.Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and died in 1870
14.The failure of Charity in Oliver Twist refers to the fact that the British
government’s attempts to establish a system of workhouses to support
 the poor; however, the poor work hard with little food and comfort
while managers give themselves a lot of food without working.
15.The negative effects of the industrialism on 19th-century England is shown
in Oliver Twist by the fact that a small number of British people did not
enjoy the benefits of industrialism. They were criminalized, become the
bottom of the society
16.By describing Bill Sikes’s physical appearance and clothing, Charles
Dickens ( in At the Criminal Lair) indirectly describes character
17.The major conflict in Oliver Twist is Oliver’s righteousness versus the
social environment encouraging thievery and prostitution
18.Oliver run away from Mr Sowerberry because he was mistreated and
bullied by mrs Sowerberry and another apprentice named Noah.

LORD OF THE FLIES

1. William Golding writes Lord of the Flies in early 1950s, based on his
experience with the real-life violence and brutality of World War II
2. During their first days on the deserted island the children’s life is well
organized in that they elect Ralph as their new leader, work together towards
common goals to have fun and to be rescued by maintaining a constant
fire signal, erect shelters, gather food and water, keep the fire. They use the
conch as a symbol of authority
3. In Lord of the Flies, the human instinct descending into savagery, violence,
and chaos is shown in the fact that they begin to lose discipline, laziness
and hedonism
4. The message of Lord of the Flies is: All humans have a dark side that can
cause a breakdown of society’s ethical standards if this dark side overcomes
one’s reasoning and right thinking.
5. William Golding is one of the most acclaimed writers of the second half
of the twentieth century, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1983.
6. Briefly, Lord of the Flies is about a group of English schoolboys left on a
tropical island after their plane is shot down during a war
7. Lord of the Flies is told from the point of view of the third person because
the narrator stands outside the story to describe the characters and
their actions. The narrator knows all the minds of the characters
8. In Lord of the Flies, Simon is killed because he tries to approach the boys,
convey them the messages about the beast, but the boys are at peak of
savagery and they mistake Simon for the beast.
9. The setting place of Lord of the Flies is a deserted tropical island
10.One of the themes of Lord of the Flies is civilization vs. savagery, which
means the struggle of the boys between civilizing instinct-the impulse (su
thoi thuc) to seek rules, behave morally, and act lawfully-and the savage
instinct –the impulse to seek brute (suc vat) power over others, act
selfishly, scorn (khinh bi) moral rules, and indulge in violence.
11.The signal fire in Lord of the Flies symbolizes the boy’s wish to come back
to the civilized world
12.Modernism is marked by A break with the sequential, developmental,
cause-and-effect presentation of the “reality” of the realist fiction,
toward a presentation of experience as layered, allusive, discontinuous.
13.Modernism is flourished in The first decades of the 20th century
14.Modernism emphasized social and historical change
15.A common motif in Modernist fiction is an Alienated individual,
dysfunctional individual trying in vain to make sense of a
predominantly urban and fragmented society.
16.The characteristics of Modernism and Post Modernism are searching for
new forms, breaking with past deliberately
17.Jack runs away from the meeting because he feels very embarrassed and
ashamed when he tries to persuade the boys that Ralph is not a proper
leader but the boys keep silent means they don’t agree to the vote Ralph
out of the leadership
18.At the end of Separation Jack runs away from the meeting into a British
naval officer
19.“Dived into the forest” in “until he dived into the forest Ralph watched him”
is used as a literary technique of metaphor because there is a comparison
between the action of “driving” and the action of “moving into the
forest” using like or as
20. At the end of Lord of the Flies, the boys are rescued by a passing ship who
are British naval officers