Norse Mythology

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the book’s thematic motifs is most clearly supported by Surtr waiting in Muspell for his role in Ragnarok before the gods have even been created?

A) Some prophecies are self-fulfilling.

B) Bound monsters will inevitably escape.

C) Fate is unavoidable.

D) Great gifts require great sacrifice.

2. Which of the gods is least predictable?

A) Odin

B) Thor

C) Loki

D) Frey

3. Which of the gods is the wisest?

A) Kvasir

B) Loki

C) Tyr

D) Balder

4. Which of the following incidents best demonstrates that sometimes an important benefit can come from Loki’s meddling and trickery?

A) The acquisition of poetry

B) The creation of Kvasir

C) The birth of Jormungandr

D) The creation of Mjolnir

5. Which of the following incidents best demonstrates the tragic irony of Odin’s fate?

A) His sacrifice of an eye

B) His binding of Fenrir

C) His hanging from the world tree

D) His seduction of Gunnlod

6. Which goddess do the gods try to trade away in marriage in return for things they want in multiple stories?

A) Freya

B) Sigyn

C) Sif

D) Frigg

7. Which of the book’s thematic motifs is most clearly supported by Ymir’s fate?

A) Some prophecies are self-fulfilling.

B) Bound monsters will inevitably escape.

C) Fate is unavoidable.

D) Great gifts require great sacrifice.

8. What do Thor’s “marriage” to Thrym, Odin’s creation of bad poetry, and the first meeting with Skrymir all have in common?

A) The setting of Asgard

B) A tone of bitter irony

C) Elements of physical comedy

D) Failed diplomacy

9. Which of the book’s thematic motifs is most clearly supported by the role of Loki and his children in Ragnarok?

A) Some prophecies are self-fulfilling.

B) Bound monsters will inevitably escape.

C) Fate is unavoidable.

D) Great gifts require great sacrifice.

10. What do the contests in Utgard, the loss of the golden apples, and Ragnarok all demonstrate about the gods?

A) They are not omniscient.

B) They are merciful.

C) They are courageous.

D) They are not omnipotent.

11. What do the gods’ release of the young Jormungandr, the wall building around Asgard, and Utgardaloki’s revelations about Skrymir all demonstrate about the gods?

A) They are not omniscient.

B) They are merciful.

C) They are courageous.

D) They are not omnipotent.

12. What common function of myth do the stories of Ymir and Audhumla, Ask and Embla, the compensation of Skadi, and Loki’s binding fulfill?

A) They prescribe rules for relationships between men and women.

B) They explain the origins of things in the natural world.

C) They teach humans how to show loyalty to the gods.

D) They convey cultural ideas about what happens after death.

13. What is an important difference between Loki’s mischief in the story about Balder’s dreams versus his mischief in the stories about Sif’s hair and Idunn’s golden apples?

A) Loki creates something valuable in the story about Balder’s dreams.

B) Loki’s motivation is selfish in the story about Balder’s dreams.

C) Loki’s mischief is unintentional in the story about Balder’s dreams.

D) Loki causes a god’s death in the story about Balder’s dreams.

14. What distinguishes Thialfi and Roskva from the other characters in Gaiman’s book?

A) They are the only gods to survive Ragnarok.

B) They exist before the gods are created.

C) They are mortal human beings.

D) They possess magical items and abilities.

15. What distinguishes Story 15, “Ragnarok: The Final Destiny of the Gods,” from the other stories in the collection?

A) It concerns events that have not yet occurred.

B) It has a different narrator.

C) Its tone is light and comic.

D) It shifts to a more global perspective on mythology.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Who are the Aesir and the Vanir, and what does the course of their relationship teach the gods about life?

2. What is the symbolic relationship between the Ouroboros’ shape and the Norse gods’ history?