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. Who talks in bed?

2. What is the name that Cuchulainn is first called?

3. Who is impressed with Cuchulainn's tree-chopping?

4. Who does Deichtine marry?

5. Who kills a guard dog?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the poets of Ireland gather in the section called "Before the Tain?"

2. Who is Fedelm? What is unique about her and what message does she share with Medb?

3. What vow does Cuchulainn make to himself and how is it related to the names of the fords and plains of the story?

4. How does Emer's father plan to get rid of Cuchulainn? What is the result?

5. Discuss "woman's thinking" as the great army nears Ulster.

6. What does the owner of the prized possession think about the exchange offer and what is the ultimate result of it?

7. What happens when Cuchulainn realizes he has killed his son?

8. What is a warp spasm and how does it benefit Cuchulainn when he fights the neighborhood boys as a toddler?

9. How does Derdriu die?

10. Why does Macha curse the men of Ulster?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the difference between conflict and crisis in a novel? How are they similar? Also relate the differences and similarities specifically to The Tain.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the qualifications of Thomas Kinsella as a translator. What makes him an authority on the translation of The Tain.

Essay Topic 3

Define falling action as an element of plot. Discuss in detail the falling action in The Tain. How did the translator present it? How did the falling action flow? How did the falling action add to the suspense of the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 673 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample