English Literature CLEP Prep Practice Exam

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Prepare for the English Literature CLEP Exam with our comprehensive quiz! Engage with a variety of questions designed to boost your knowledge and confidence. Master literary terms, historical periods, and key texts to excel on test day.

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What form of literature is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales?

Short story
Novel
Poetry
Epic poem

The correct answer is: Epic poem

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is not a short story because it has multiple stories within it and a short story is typically defined as a single, self-contained narrative. It is also not a novel because a novel usually has a more cohesive plot and a singular narrative, which Canterbury Tales does not have. While it does contain elements of poetry, it is not solely a collection of poems and lacks the traditional structure and rhyme scheme of poetry. Therefore, it is not a poetry. The most appropriate category for Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales would be an epic poem because it is a long, grand narrative with a mixture of genres, multiple characters, and a central theme. It also contains elements such as heroic deeds, supernatural elements, and a grand scope, which are characteristic of an epic poem.