SPECIALIZATION

ENGLISH
A REVIEWER FOR LICENSURE EXAMINATION FOR TEACHERS

MYTHOLOGY and FOLKLORE

Directions: Each of the questions or statements below is followed by four choices or completions. Circle
the letter of the one that is best in each case.

1. What is conveyed in the following line?

“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?”
-Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe

A. the desire of King Menelaus to reclaim Helen and bring her back to Sparta
B. the affection of Paris for Helen that led to the destruction of a society
C. the passion implicit to Helen whose beauty led to war
D. the persistent disturbing feeling that resulted to the destruction of a nation

2. Who is described in the stanza below?

A. Ulysses B. Achilles C. Icarus D. Priam

And on the slope above the sea

The hard-handed peasants go their round
Turning the soil, blind to the body
Ambitious and viable, whose pride
Will leave no trace in the quenching tide.

3. Which of these does NOT comprise the four essential functions of mythology as viewed by Joseph
Campbell?
A. Eliciting and supporting a sense of awe before the mystery of being
B. Supporting the current social order to integrate the individual organically with his group
C. Initiating the individual into the order of realities of his own psyche
D. Exploring religious experience through reproducing the conditions of the mythical age

4. Joseph Campbell used the term “monomyth” to refer to the fundamental structure of all folklore of
olden days. He articulated this idea in his most famous work _____.
A. The Hero with 1000 Faces
B. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
C. Metamorphosis
D. The Hero’s Journey to La-land

5. This is a victorious ten-year series of battles of the Olympians gods against the Titans in Thessaly.
A. Trojan War C. The War in Italy
B. Adventures of Odysseus D. Titanomachy

6. Which of these theories claims that myths are distorted accounts of real historical events?
A. Euhemerism C. Personification
B. Allegory D. Myth-ritual Theory

7. Which theory related to the study of mythology is portrayed in following example?

Hades, for example, originally meant “unseen”, but came eventually to be the name for the god of
the dead.
A. Evolutionism theory C. Naturalism theory
B. Etymological theory D. Historical-critical theory

8. What is the best definition of “collective unconscious”?

A. It refers to the structures of the unconscious mind shared among beings
B. It refers to the culture and beliefs of people dwelling in a particular place
C. It refers to the inherited traits of beings of the same species.
D. It refers to the collective aspirations of a particular group of people.

9. The following are believed to be the sources of mythology and folklore EXCEPT:
A. A Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights)
B. Aesop’s Fable
C. The Great Vedas
D. The Great Epics of the World
10. The following shows “fulfilling prophecy” EXCEPT:
A. Achilles with so much wrath killed Hector.
B. Oedipus unknowingly killed King Laius.
C. Acrissius died in the hands of Perseus.
D. Orestes deliberately killed his mother.

11. According to this ancient theory of mythology, all myths contain hidden meanings which the narrative
deliberately conceals or encodes. The best example is the “Story of King Midas and His Golden Touch.”
A. Etymological Theory C. Euhemerism
B. Allegorical Theory D. Rationalism

12. He was an ancient writer who was a compendium of mythology. Most of the books about the stories of
classical mythology depend chiefly upon him.
A. Ovid B. Hesoid C. Pindar D. Aeschylus

13. The following statements are true about Trojan War EXCEPT:
A. When Paris abducted Helen to Troy, all the Greek princes were bound by the oath to help Menelaus
recover Helen.
B. Athena and Hera who were not chosen by Paris sided with the Greeks who sent one thousand ships to
Troy.
C. Hera and Athena harbored ill feelings.
D. Zeus ordered the goddesses to take side in the war

14. In Odyssey when a priest and a poet fell on their knees before Odysseus, praying him to spare their
lives, the hero ____ the priest without a thought, but ____ the poet.
A. imprisoned – freed C. killed – saved
B. freed – imprisoned D. saved - killed

15. He is a poet and musician in Greek mythology who almost rescued his wife Eurydice from the
underworld. Which is NOT true about him?
A. Orpheus is the son of Apollo, a Greek god.
B. Orpheus played his lyra, melting even Hades' cold heart.
C. Orpheus lost his faith and turned to see Eurydice.
D. Orpheus returned to the Underworld, but Hades told him that couldn’t take Eurydice.

16. Campbell gave an example of Hero (character), _____, who asked to sleep forever in a cave deep in a
mountain. For this he is often alluded to as having refused the responsibility.
A. God “Vishnu” B. Jason C. King Muchukunda D. King Rama

17. One cosmic Truth holds in _____, and that is that “all things are simply a part of a greater, whole One”.
All beings and things, from the gods and demons, through humans, on to the lowliest pebble on the beach,
were and are part of this One.
A. Hindu Mythology C. Celtic Mythology
B. Egyptian Mythology D. Mesopotamian Mythology

18. Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to mortals, carrying it away from Mount Olympus in a
fennel stalk. As a consequence, Zeus _____
A. bound him to a burning wheel that would spin forever.
B. cursed him with never-ending hunger.
C. made him hungry and thirsty forever.
D. chained him to a rock and eagles pecked out his liver.

19. Campbell’s theory has been consciously applied by a wide variety of writers and artists. According to
Wikipedia, the best-known example of a movie that acknowledges a debt to Campbell is _____.
A. Superman C. Star Wars
B. Harry Potter D. Independence Day

20. Which philosophical foundation of Chinese mythology has taught that cosmic energy and all life
compounded of “yin” (the negative, female principle) and “yang” (the complimentary positive, male
principle)?
A. Taoism C. Buddhism
B. Confucianism D. Mohism

21. Which of the following is true about the passage above?

A. There are references to Greek mythology.
B. There are references to fellow authors.
C. There are references to Biblical heroes.
 D. There are characters in the novels.

Now, the rake Herperus has called for his

breeches, and having well rubbed his drowsy
eyes, prepared to dress himself for all night;
by whose example his brother rakes on earth
likewise leave those beds in which they slept
away the day. Now Thetis, the good housewife,
began to put on the pot, in order to regale the
good man Phoebus after his daily labors were over.

22. As a baby, Oedipus was abandoned on a hillside by his father because _____.
A. he would be safe if nobody would know that Oedipus was his son
B. it was foretold he would kill his own father
C. he was to be brought by a servant to a safe place
D. Zeus, the ruler of the gods and goddesses instructed him to offer his son

22. Who is described in the following sentences?

Even as a baby he was loved by Aphrodite. Persephone loved him too. Zeus decided that he should
spend autumn and winter with Persephone, and the spring and summer with Aphrodite.

A. Narcissus C. Adonis
B. Hyacinthus D. Vulcan

23. Which of the following will correctly complete the sentence above?
A. Helen…Paris C. Eurydice…Orpheus
B. Andromeda…Perseus D. Adriane…Theseus

“____ provided the hero ____ with a ball of string that allowed him to trace his way back to the light of
day after slaying the Minotaur in the labyrinth.”

24. He wrote the book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” which discussed his theory of the journey of the
archetypal hero found in world mythologies.
A. Carl Jung C. Hesoid
B. Euhemerus D. Joseph Campbell

25. Which mythology emphasizes individual’s self-sacrifice in the service of Odin (death and magic) who
brings the reward of unlimited food and drink – and more fighting – in Valhalla?
A. Persian mythology C. Egyptian mythology
B. Norse mythology D. Roman Mythology