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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who gets knocked unconscious during the joust, leading everyone to think he is dead for a time?

2. On the day when the whole court is wearing costumes, Norris dresses as what kind of person?

3. Cromwell receives blankets and a flask from a supporter in which country?

4. How does Cromwell respond to Fitzwilliam's query about hearing a particular family shouting their own name?

5. Cromwell notes that Henry's leg injury had already been prone to taking what action, even before Henry's recent fall?

Short Essay Questions

1. What information does Cromwell seek from Jane in Chapter 1: The Black Books and what is her answer?

2. How does Mantel use personification in order to make a distinction between how truth and lies are respectively received?

3. How does Mantel get across a playful side of Cromwell in Part One, Chapter 3: Angels?

4. In what way does Mantel portray the Seymours' fear of the Boleyns?

5. What are the qualities of the Black Book to which the title of Part Two, Chapter 1 refers?

6. For what reason does Cromwell don a hooded cape in Chapter 3: Angels?

7. Discuss a scene in which Mantel portrays the theme of gender inequality in Chapter 1: The Black Book.

8. On what kind of terms do Chapuys and Cromwell end their meeting in Chapter 3: Angels in Part One and why?

9. For what reason is Cromwell grateful for the wisdom of his scoundrel father Walter in Chapter 1: The Black Book?

10. How does the theme of appearance versus reality appear within Chapter 3: Angels in Part One?

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

Discuss Mantel's choice to tell the story of Bring Up the Bodies using a third person omniscient narrator to represent various characters’ points of view. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Mantel’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Mantel’s decision to include colloquialisms, slang, and profane language within the text. What purpose did Mantel have in mind when including these instances and how does the inclusion of these instances support the overarching themes and messages of the text?

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