Que- In her essay "The Laugh of the Medusa," what does Hélène Cixous suggest for women ?
a. Women should write for and about themselves in order to counter phallocentric texts.
b. Women should write, but they should do so only within the existent male canon.
c. Women should primarily dedicate themselves to studying women's literature from the past.
d. Women should be unconcerned with the struggle for identity.
Answer- Women should write for and about themselves in order to counter phallocentric texts.
Que- Who coined the term New Historicism ?
a. Jacques Derrida
b. Terry Eagleton
c. Fredric Jameson
d. Stephen Greenblatt
Answer- Stephen Greenblatt
Que- Modern literary theory began with the work of which theorist ?
a. Claude Lévi-Strauss
b. Ferdinand de Saussure
c. Viktor Shklovsky
d. Roland Barthes
Answer- Ferdinand de Saussure
Que- Ultimately, the literary theory of deconstruction argues that___________?
a. texts are always heterogeneous.
b. the instability of a text is actually evident in the text itself.
c. any system for the production of meaning is inevitably bound by context, yet also limitless.
d. All of the above.
Answer- the instability of a text is actually evident in the text itself.
Que- Christopher Ricks would most likely DISAGREE with which of the following claims about literary theory ?
a. Literary theory often depends on esoteric knowledge to be properly understood.
b. Literary theory is employed mostly by academics.
c. Literary theory should not be an academic focus in English departments.
d. Literary theory is the only proper way to conceptualize literary texts.
Answer- Literary theory is the only proper way to conceptualize literary texts.
Que- According to Plato, what is the moral purpose of art ?
a. To connect human beings with a higher ideal
b. To entertain those who enjoy it
c. To criticize society through satire
d. To bring to light social oppressions
Answer- To connect human beings with a higher ideal
Que- What is the main goal of ethnic criticism ?
a. To rectify the double experiences of certain racial groups
b. To reconcile cultural identity with individual identity
c. To expand the canon to include works authored by different racial groups
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- What do structuralist and formalist critics have in common ?
a. Both sets of critics look for an objective way to view texts.
b. Both sets of critics study the underlying forms of texts.
c. Both sets of critics focus on evaluating literature in a scientific manner.
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- Which of the following best defines the work of a deconstructionist critic ?
a. Suggesting that the study of literature is based on the breakdown of language into signs
b. Arguing that language, and therefore literary texts, relies on the difference between terms and therefore constantly defers meaning.
c. Calling into question the capacity of language to communicate
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- How does New Historicism differ from traditional historicism ?
a. New Historicism does not make strict delineations between literary and nonliterary texts.
b. New Historicism takes a particular interest in marginalized peoples.
c. New Historicism is interested in how texts help us understand economic realities.
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- Which of the following descriptions best defines the literary theory known as formalism ?
a. An approach that emphasizes literary devices in a text
b. An approach that emphasizes the historical context of a text
c. An approach that emphasizes the biographical intent of a text
d. An approach that emphasizes racial issues in a text
Answer- An approach that emphasizes literary devices in a text
Que- What is the purpose of feminist theory ?
a. To create literary subjects with which female readers can identify
b. To critique phallocentric assumptions about literature
c. To counter stereotypes about women
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- Which of the following writers might be considered one of the early founders of first-wave feminism ?
a. Hélène Cixous
b. Judith Butler
c. Lucy Irigaray
d. Mary Wollstonecraft
Answer- Mary Wollstonecraft
Que- Which literary theorist argues that "there is nothing outside the text" ?
a. T.S. Eliot
b. Jacques Lacan
c. Jacques Derrida
d. Stanley Fish
Answer- Jacques Derrida
Que- What is false consciousness ?
a. A feminist term for the state that occurs when texts written by women are not considered in the study of literature
b. Another term for the unconscious
c. A term related to the period of psychosexual development that occurs before an infant reaches the mirror stage
d. An ideology that involves dominating the consciousness of exploited classes
Answer- An ideology that involves dominating the consciousness of exploited classes
Que- Which of the following best describes the difference between literary criticism and literary theory?
a. Literary criticism is concerned only with the meaning of a literary work, while literary theory is concerned only with the structure of a literary work.
b. Literary criticism draws upon research derived from sources outside literature, while literary theory draws upon sources within a text.
c. Literary criticism is concerned with how characters in a text act, while literary theory is concerned with why characters act.
d. Literary theory is concerned with the method used to interpret a work, while literary criticism is the application of literary theory.
Answer- Literary theory is concerned with the method used to interpret a work, while literary criticism is the application of literary theory.
Que- In general, what is Judith Butler's concept of gender ?
a. Women's gender is artificial, while men's gender is not.
b. While gender is not real, the stereotypes that accompany it are true.
c. Gender is a problematic, but essentially true, category.
d. Gender is largely a cultural construct.
Answer- Gender is largely a cultural construct.
Que- Which school of literary theory is associated with the phrase "to make the stones stonier" ?
a. Humanism
b. Formalism
c. Structuralism
d. Poststructuralism
Answer- Formalism
Que- What is hermeneutics ?
a. A term that describes the absence of racial others in the canon
b. A term that describes the attempt to read homosexuality into literature
c. A term that describes the effect of autobiography on text
d. A term that describes the interpretation of meaning
Answer- A term that describes the interpretation of meaning
Que- In her essay "The Poem as Event," Louise M. Rosenblatt sees the reader as performing what function ?
a. The reader is acted upon by the text.
b. The reader acts upon the text.
c. The reader brings individual knowledge to his or her reading of the text.
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- What is phenomenology ?
a. The examination of structures informing our conscious experience
b. The examination of desires informing our consciousness
c. The examination of our unconscious experience
d. The examination of intricate structures within our unconscious
Answer- The examination of structures informing our conscious experience
Que- What are some common criticisms of literary theory ?
a. The reasoning of theory is often too circular.
b. Many theories have been pushed too far into abstraction.
c. Many theories are no longer accepted by their parent disciplines.
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- With what literary critic is the term the author function most closely associated ?
a. Claude Lévi-Strauss
b. Jacques Derrida
c. Jacques Lacan
d. Michel Foucault
Answer- Michel Foucault
Que- Which of the following is a theme of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's book Epistemology of the Closet ?
a. Understanding sexuality is crucial to understanding culture.
b. Understanding homosexuality has little effect on understanding culture.
c. Literary study is unaffected by a lack of interest in sexuality.
d. Understanding homosexual themes in novels has become too routine
Answer- Understanding sexuality is crucial to understanding culture.
Que- What is double consciousness ?
a. An understanding of how double experiences create identity
b. A concept developed by W.E.B Du Bois
c. An attempt to explain dual identity
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- What is dialectical materialism ?
a. A form of literary criticism that is based on historical context
b. A form of literary criticism that does not incorporate economic concerns
c. A form of literary criticism based on linguistic analysis
d. A term related to gender theory that argues that men are dominant in society by virtue of their economic privilege
Answer- A form of literary criticism that is based on historical context
Que- Which of the following texts provides the best example of defamiliarization ?
a. Aristotle's Poetics
b. Leo Tolstoy's The Kreutzer Sonata
c. John Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
d. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Answer- Leo Tolstoy's The Kreutzer Sonata
Que- How do Marxist theorists react to ideology ?
a. They accept ideology as an essential, although sometimes problematic, part of society.
b. They subject all ideologies to critique in order to expose biased interests.
c. They reject the idea that ideology has real effects on social progress.
d. They promote ideology because it helps to create a dominant social order
Answer- They subject all ideologies to critique in order to expose biased interests.
Que- Which of the following figures is considered to be the father of the linguistic theory known as structuralism ?
a. Cleanth Brooks
b. Ferdinand de Saussure
c. Karl Marx
d. Sigmund Freud
Answer- Ferdinand de Saussure
Que- Trauma theory is tremendously influenced by which theoretical school ?
a. Psychoanalysis
b. Marxism
c. Feminism
d. Deconstruction
Answer- Psychoanalysis
Que- Which of the following statements best describes Cleanth Brooks's attitude towards studying literature ?
a. Critics should examine historical information surrounding a literary work.
b. Critics should develop universal readings of texts.
c. Critics should consider evolving notions of a text over time.
d. Critics should attempt to paraphrase texts in order to find out what they mean
Answer- Critics should develop universal readings of texts.
Que- Which of the following offers the best definition of écriture féminine ?
a. How women really feel about male writers
b. The inscription of womanhood and femininity in texts
c. Second-wave feminism
d. Psychological studies of women
Answer- The inscription of womanhood and femininity in texts
Que- Which school of literary theory shows a particular interest in the role of testimony in literature ?
a. Trauma theory
b. Ecotheory
c. Chaos theory
d. Formalism
Answer- Trauma theory
Que- The concept of otherness is related to which of the following theories ?
a. Feminist theory
b. Ethnic criticism
c. Postcolonial theory
d. All of the above.
Answer- All of the above.
Que- Which of the following statements best describes the "Great Chain of Being" ?
a. It regarded human beings as social creatures who could create meaningful lives only in association with other social beings.
b. Its major premise was that every existing thing in the universe had its "place" in a divinely planned hierarchical order which was pictured as a chain, vertically extended.
c. It could only be achieved through faith in God's grace.
d. Both A and B
Answer- Its major premise was that every existing thing in the universe had its "place" in a divinely planned hierarchical order which was pictured as a chain, vertically extended.
Que- Fill in the blank. Renaissance thinkers strongly associated themselves with the values of ____________?
a. Catholicism
b. Medieval Europe
c. Classical antiquity
d. Protestantism
Answer- Classical antiquity
Que- Greek theatre took place where ?
a. Large hillside amphitheaters
b. Large indoor theaters
c. Small indoor theaters
d. All of the above
Answer- Large hillside amphitheaters
Que- The character of Falstaff is important in which play(s) by William Shakespeare ?
a. Henry IV, Part I
b. Henry IV, Part II
c. Titus Andronicus
d. All of the above
Answer- All of the above
Que- Which of the following figures was an important political theorist of the Renaissance ?
a. Niccolo Machiavelli
b. Francesco Petrarcha
c. Aristotle
d. Plato
Answer- Niccolo Machiavelli
Que- A total of how many sonnets constitute the entirety of "Astrophil and Stella" ?
a. 10
b. 20
c. 30
d. 40
Answer- 30
Que- Which of the following plays by William Shakespeare is a comedy ?
a. Romeo and Juliet
b. Hamlet
c. Much Ado about Nothing
d. Henry IV, Part I
Answer- Much Ado about Nothing
Que- According to John Milton's "Paradise Lost," what is Satan's tragic flaw ?
a. Lust
b. Pride
c. Jealousy
d. Love
Answer- Pride
Que- Fill in the blank. The intellectual and social movement which historians call "___________" is what lies at the base of the period we call the Renaissance ?
a. Socialism
b. Capitalism
c. Humanitarianism
d. Humanism
Answer- Humanism
Que- Fill in the blank. Sir Philip Sidney's strong_____________ convictions made him publicly oppose a projected marriage for Queen Elizabeth?
a. Catholic
b. Protestant
c. Buddhist
d. Quaker
Answer- Protestant
Que- Which of the following characters is NOT found in the dramatis personae ofWilliam Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" ?
a. Benvolio
b. Lady Capulet
c. Mercutio
d. Falstaff
Answer- Falstaff
Que- John Milton's "Paradise Lost" focuses attention on the relationship between which opposing entities ?
a. Heaven vs. hell
b. God vs. Satan
c. Good vs. evil
d. All of the above
Answer- All of the above
Que- Fill in the blank. The term "Renaissance" literally translates as "_____________" ?
a. Reincarnation
b. Rebirth
c. Reproduction
d. Recapitulation
Answer- Rebirth
Que- What text greatly popularized the sonnet form in England during the Elizabethan period ?
a. Astrophil and Stella
b. Utopia
c. Paradise Lost
d. Canterbury Tales
Answer- Astrophil and Stella
Que- Who was in charge of organizing court festivities and entertainment of the English court ?
a. Court Jester
b. Master of Revels
c. Master of Rebels
d. Master of Ceremonies
Answer- Master of Revels
Que- Sir Thomas More wrote what famous text ?
a. Toxophilus
b. Utopia
c. The Inferno
d. Paradise Lost
Answer- Utopia