Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Viewpoints 4.1: The Inglorious Side of War in the Book of Songs and the Patirruppattu

Select the best answer. Click Submit for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. To whom are the soldiers’ complaints addressed in the Book of Songs?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is b. The soldiers refrain from criticizing the king directly, addressing instead his Minister of War.
Incorrect: The answer is b. The soldiers refrain from criticizing the king directly, addressing instead his Minister of War.
1. To whom are the soldiers’ complaints addressed in the Book of Songs?

Question

2. Which of these is the soldiers’ chief complaint in the Book of Songs?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is c. In the soldiers’ estimation, the Minister of War has lost sight of the fact that the soldiers are fellow human beings.
Incorrect: The answer is c. In the soldiers’ estimation, the Minister of War has lost sight of the fact that the soldiers are fellow human beings.
2. Which of these is the soldiers’ chief complaint in the Book of Songs?

Question

3. Which of these is discussed in both the Book of Songs and the Patirruppattu?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is a. Both texts stress the misery, destruction, and death brought about by war.
Incorrect: The answer is a. Both texts stress the misery, destruction, and death brought about by war.
3. Which of these is discussed in both the Book of Songs and the Patirruppattu?

Question

4. Which of these best characterizes the subject of the poem “Harvest of War”?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is b. The poem creates an ironic tension between its “celebration” of victory in battle and its description of the death and gore that accompany such victories.
Incorrect: The answer is b. The poem creates an ironic tension between its “celebration” of victory in battle and its description of the death and gore that accompany such victories.
4. Which of these best characterizes the subject of the poem “Harvest of War”?

Question

5. What role do the soldiers see themselves as playing in the excerpt from the Book of Songs?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is b. The soldiers’ description of themselves as the “king’s claws and fangs” lays the foundation for their subsequent complaint that they are treated like beasts.
Incorrect: The answer is b. The soldiers’ description of themselves as the “king’s claws and fangs” lays the foundation for their subsequent complaint that they are treated like beasts.
5. What role do the soldiers see themselves as playing in the excerpt from the Book of Songs?