View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The rumor about the husband of Cromwell's new love interest does NOT include which of the following violent acts?

2. Which courtier was executed the same week as Henry left Whitehall to go on progress?

3. Jane asserts in Chapter 1: Falcons that Mary Shelton is teaching her what language?

4. When Cromwell ponders the mutability of humankind, he decides that what objects "breed gentle manners" (33)?

5. Who reaches out to "save" (13) Gregory when he begins to take exception to Weston's comments about his late mother and sister?

Short Essay Questions

1. What evidence does the narrator provide for the conclusion that Henry has aged a great deal in the past five years?

2. Why is Harry Norris not present among the members of the king's progress in Chapter 1: Falcons?

3. What is the significance of Henry's request that Jane become his "good mistress" (97)?

4. What is Cromwell's plan for gathering the funds needed to fill Henry's coffers?

5. In what way does Mantel use Cromwell's character to discuss class differences in Chapter 2: Crows?

6. What event occurs during the supper at Wolf Hall that would usually require Harry Norris's services?

7. How does Gardiner describe the contents of the manuscript he gives Cromwell in Chapter 2: Crows?

8. Who is Mark Smeaton?

9. Discuss Mantel's use of personification to depict Stephen Gardiner, Cromwell's predecessor.

10. How does Mantel use irony to portray the paradox within Henry's persona?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look carefully at the passages of Bring Up the Bodies that describe the close relationship between power and corruption. What is Mantel’s purpose for discussing at length the nature of this connection throughout the text?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the ways in which the themes of adaptability and resignation appear within Mantel’s novel Bring Up the Bodies. What message is Mantel sending about these two themes over the course of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

What is the function of Jane Seymour's character, as Mantel portrays her within the novel Bringing Up the Bodies? Discuss the characterization methods used by Mantel in depicting Jane Seymour and include in your discussion the reasons that Mantel portrays the historical figure in these particular ways.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,068 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample