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. How many ships actually sailed for Troy to recapture Helen?

2. How does Agamemnon respond to Chryses’ offering?

3. How does Agamemnon want to start his campaign against Troy?

4. How does Patroclus show Briseis that he means her no harm?

5. How does Patroclus describe his relationship with Achilles now that Achilles and Agamemnon are in conflict?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Chriseis create a crisis for the Greeks?

2. What does Patroclus’ accomplish in his interview with Agamemnon?

3. What are Patroclus’ feelings during the crisis over Chriseis and Briseis?

4. How does Thetis help Achilles’ renown when the Greek ships land at Aulis?

5. How does Achilles prevent the mutiny in the fourth year of the war?

6. How does the battle go, once Achilles is not fighting?

7. How do Achilles and Patroclus differ in their approach to the dead?

8. Describe the tension that is created in the meeting between Achilles and Agamemnon.

9. What is Patroclus’ relationship with Briseis like?

10. Patroclus recalls Chiron saying that no man’s life is worth more than another’s. How does he settle the questions this philosophical statement raises, in light of Achilles’ conflict with Agamemnon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of the natural world in The Song of Achilles. What does nature mean to the different characters? Who is close to it? Who protects it? Who is strengthened by it? Does the book say, in any way, what kind of relationship a person should have with the natural world?

Essay Topic 2

Write a character sketch of the author based on her style and content. What values does she hold dear? What are her hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think she is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

Essay Topic 3

In what ways is The Song of Achilles relevant to contemporary readers? What contemporary issues are at play in the book, and how would the book contribute to contemporary discussion? Cite specific discussions from contemporary sources, and cite specific instances from the book, that describe its contemporary relevance.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,047 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample