English Literature MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) - Schoolingaxis.com

English Literature MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions)

 Que- When Satan leaps over the fence into Paradise, what does Milton liken him to ? 

a. A snake slithering up a tree  

b. A germ infecting a body  

c. A wolf leaping into a sheep's pen  

d. A fish leaping out of water 


Answer- A wolf leaping into a sheep's pen


Que- Which of the following is not a character in Paradise Lost ? 

a. Night  

b. Agony  

c. Discord  

d. Death 


Answer- Agony


Que- Which devil advocates a renewal of all-out war against God ? 

a. Belial  

b. Moloch  

c. Mammon  

d. Beelzebub 


Answer- Moloch


Que- In what book does the fall take place ? 

a. Book VIII  

b. Book X  

c. Book IX  

d. Book VII 


Answer- Book IX


Que- What are the best words to describe the Garden of Eden, the weather, and nature in general, before the Fall of Adam and Eve ? 

a. Ordered and rational  

b. Chaotic  

c. Wild and unmanageable  

d. Comfortable 


Answer- Ordered and rational


Que- The Archangel Michael might best be described as ? 

a. Jealous and envious  

b. Bombastic  

c. Firm and militant  

d. Kind and caring 


Answer- Firm and militant


Que- Inspired by Satan's victory over man, Sin and Death construct ? 

a. a bridge from hell to heaven  

b. a temple to welcome Satan back  

c. a bridge from hell to earth  

d. a funnel from Eden to the gates of hell 


Answer- a bridge from hell to earth


Que- The main reason for Adam's fall might best be described as ? 

a. lust  

b. love for Eve  

c. pride  

d. money 


Answer- love for Eve


Que- On the second day of battle in heaven, what does Satan use that surprises God's forces ? 

a. Catapults  

b. Artillery  

c. Illusions  

d. The Holy Sepulcher 


Answer- Artillery


Que- The reason for Satan's fall might best be described as ? 

a. incest  

b. lust  

c. greed  

d. pride 


Answer- pride


Que- Who might be considered the friendliest and most sociable of all God's angels ? 

a. Adam  

b. Michael  

c. Raphael  

d. Lucifer 


Answer- Raphael


Que- Eve before the Fall might best be described as ? 

a. a feminist  

b. uncomfortable with Adam  

c. detailed oriented  

d. a docile, vain creature 


Answer- a docile, vain creature


Que- The two archangels who serve as generals in God's army are ? 

a. Michael and Gabriel  

b. Michael and Raphael  

c. Raphael and Gabriel  

d. Michael and Lucifer 


Answer- Michael and Gabriel


Que- The battle between God's army and Satan's rebels in heaven lasted ? 

a. One day  

b. Three days  

c. Seven days  

d. One hour 


Answer- Three days


Que- In 'Paradise Lost', which angel is ordered by God to drive Adam and Eve out of Paradise? Before he does so, he shows Adam a number of visions about the future of the human race, beginning with Cain murdering Abel and ending with the redemption of mankind through Christ. Who is this angel that has a large role in the finishing chapters of 'Paradise Lost' ? 

a. Michael  

b. Abdiel  

c. Rafael  

d. Gabriel 


Answer- Michael


Que- Satan's name before he fell from heaven was ? 

a. Beezlebub  

b. Michael  

c. Lucifer  

d. Belial 


Answer- Lucifer


Que- When was Paradise Lost published ? 

a. 1660 

b. 1667 

c. 1658 

d. 1654 


Answer- 1667


Que- On which Biblical theme that Paradise lost is based ? 

a. The fall of Lucifer  

b. The fall of man  

c. Adam and Eve  

d. The genesis 


Answer- The fall of man


Que- In which style did John Milton write the poem Paradise Lost ? 

a. Free verse  

b. Vers libre  

c. Regular meter  

d. blank verse 


Answer- blank verse


Que- When was the first edition of the poem Paradise Lost published ? 

a. 1673 

b. 1676 

c. 1656 

d. 1667 


Answer- 1667


Que- To justify which purpose that Milton wrote Paradise Lost ? 

a. To justify the fall of Lucifer  

b. To justify the loss of paradise  

c. To justify the fall of man  

d. To justify the ways of God to men 


Answer- To justify the ways of God to men


Que- Dominated English literature from the Restoration until the end of the 18th century with the emergence of Romanticism ? 

a. Medievalism  

b. Modernism  

c. Victorianism  

d. Neoclassicism 


Answer- Neoclassicism


Que- In the first 75 lines of Book One of "Paradise Regained," Satan refers to which person he has recently seen, who is identified by the following quote? "Before him [Jesus] a great Prophet, to proclaim / His coming, is sent Harbinger, who all / Invites, and in the Consecrated stream / Pretends to wash off sin" ? 

a. John the Apostle  

b. John the Baptist  

c. Michael the Archangel  

d. Joseph, Jesus's stepfather 


Answer- John the Baptist


Que- Denied the right to apply for divorce and facing intense humiliation, John Milton wrote what work ? 

a. Christian Doctrines  

b. On Regicide  

c. The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce  

d. Paradise Lost 


Answer- The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce


Que- What author wrote "Life of Milton" ? 

a. Samuel Johnson  

b. Edmund Spencer  

c. Samuel Taylor Coleridge  

d. T. S. Eliot 


Answer- Samuel Johnson


Que- The term "Agonistes" is Greek and it means______________? 

a. one who is in agony.  

b. one who inflicts agony.  

c. one who struggles for or champions a cause.  

d. one who predicts the future. 


Answer- one who struggles for or champions a cause.


Que- After Milton went blind, he was able to compose poetry by using ______________? 

a. braille  

b. dictation  

c. a code of his own devising  

d. an Abacus 


Answer- dictation


Que- Which of the following events occur(s) in the first book of John Milton's "Paradise Lost" ? 

a. Satan lays dazed on the burning lake.  

b. Satan assembles his fallen legions.  

c. Adam and Eve fall from the state of Paradise.  

d. A and B 


Answer- A and B


Que- In Book Six of "Paradise Lost," Satan invents something that he thinks will help win his war against God. What is it ? 

a. Gunpowder  

b. Adamantine armor  

c. The Chariot of Paternal Deity  

d. The Thunderbolt 


Answer- Gunpowder


Que- How many times does Satan work to tempt Jesus in the Gospels ? 

a. One  

b. Two  

c. Three  

d. Four 


Answer- Three


Que- The elegy began as an ancient metrical form ? 

a. French  

b. Greek  

c. Roman  

d. German 


Answer- Greek


Que- In the Biblical book of "Judges,"? 

a. Dalila pays Samson's ransom from prison.  

b. Dalila refuses to pay Samson's ransom in prison.  

c. Never records Dalila's visit to Samson in prison.  

d. Never records Dalila's cutting of Samson's hair. 


Answer- Never records Dalila's visit to Samson in prison.


Que- In "Samson Agonistes," Samson predicts "This day will be remarkable in my life / By some great act, or of my days the last". This is interesting because___________? 

a. both statements end up happening that day.  

b. both statements end up not happening that day.  

c. Samson is echoing the older prediction of the prophet Enoch.  

d. both statements will later be fulfilled by Christ. 


Answer- both statements end up happening that day.


Que- The first sonnet form invented was the____________?The first sonnet form invented was the  

a. Spenserian  

b. Shakespearean  

c. Wordsworthian  

d. Petrarchan 


Answer- Petrarchan


Que- In his introduction, Milton described the genre of "Samson Agonistes" as_____________? 

a. history play  

b. tragedy  

c. comedy  

d. Morality Play 


Answer- tragedy


Que- Samson Agonistes differs from its source material, the Biblical book of "Judges," in what way(s) ? 

a. In "Samson," Samson is blind, but he is not in "Judges."  

b. In "Samson," Manoa is Samson's father, but he is not in "Judges."  

c. In "Samson," Samson is married to Dalila, but he is not in "Judges."  

d. In "Samson," Dalila cuts Samson's hair, but she does not in "Judges." 


Answer- In "Samson," Samson is married to Dalila, but he is not in "Judges."


Que- The pastoral elegy often begins with which of the following poetic conventions ? 

a. Invocation of a muse  

b. A cry of lament  

c. Prayer to the Sun  

d. A and B 


Answer- A and B


Que- John Milton's "Paradise Regained" is a story largely about what topic ? 

a. A quest for knowledge of the self  

b. A quest for knowledge of other countries  

c. A quest for knowledge of the future  

d. A quest for Forbidden Knowledge 


Answer- A quest for knowledge of the self


Que- The Primary Narrator for Books Eleven and Twelve of "Paradise Lost," who relates future events is which of the following ? 

a. The Son  

b. Raphael  

c. Michael  

d. Adam 


Answer- Michael


Que- Milton in "Samson Agonistes" uses a Chorus, which he borrows from what previous genre ? 

a. Medieval Mystery Plays  

b. Greek Epic  

c. Greek Drama  

d. French Chanson de Gestes 


Answer- Greek Drama


Que- John Milton was born in 1608 in what city ? 

a. Bath  

b. Paris  

c. London  

d. Nottingham 


Answer- London


Que- John Milton was fluent in which of the following languages ? 

a. Latin, Greek, and Hebrew  

b. Latin, Sanskrit, and Aramaic  

c. Latin, Arabic, and Spanish  

d. Mandarin, Dutch, and French 


Answer- Latin, Greek, and Hebrew


Que- Roughly speaking, how long was the English Civil War ? 

a. One decade  

b. Two decades  

c. Three decades  

d. Four decades 


Answer- One decade


Que- What British Romantic artist famously depicted John Milton's "Paradise Lost" in a series of etchings and prints ? 

a. William Wordsworth  

b. Percy Bysshe Shelley  

c. William Blake  

d. John Keats 


Answer- William Blake


Que- John Milton's "Areopagitica" is best described by which of the following genres ? 

a. Pastoral elegy  

b. Prose polemic  

c. Blank verse tragedy  

d. Masque 


Answer- Prose polemic


Que- Which of the following statements is/are TRUE concerning Puritanism ? 

a. There is an emphasis on the importance of preaching.  

b. There is an emphasis on spiritual experience.  

c. There is an emphasis on the freedom of sexual expression.  

d. A and B 


Answer- A and B


Que- The Renaissance was known for originating which of the following philosophical movements ? 

a. Existentialism  

b. Humanism  

c. Stoicism  

d. Postmodernism 


Answer- Humanism


Que- The first stanza of John Milton's "Paradise Regained" begins with what topic(s) ? 

a. A brief summary of "Paradise Lost"  

b. A detailed description of Satan  

c. A detailed description of Milton himself  

d. A and B 


Answer- A brief summary of "Paradise Lost"


Que- According to John Milton, political offices were to be filled by______________? 

a. the king  

b. the House of Lords  

c. popular election  

d. God 


Answer- popular election


Que- In the Oliver Cromwell "Commonwealth" and "Protectorate" administrations, Milton served as the British government's chief ? 

a. Civil Engineer  

b. Poet Laureate  

c. Military Strategist  

d. Intellectual Defender 


Answer- Poet Laureate

Previous Post Next Post