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

English Literature MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions)

 Que- The concept of otherness is related to which of the following theories ? 

a. Psychoanalytic theory  

b. Feminist theory  

c. Ethnic criticism  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- Plato's Republic is written in the form of______________? 

a. Drama  

b. Narrative mode  

c. Poetry  

d. Dialogue 


Answer- Dialogue


Que- What is the philosophical theory known as pragmatism ? 

a. A maxim of logic developed by Charles Sanders Peirce  

b. A theory of practical actions developed by William James  

c. An idea used to guide conduct towards clear objectives  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- Which of the following human behaviors is important to a Freudian psychoanalytic study of William Shakespeare's Hamlet ? 

a. Neurotic behavior  

b. Changes in emotional states  

c. Slips of the tongue  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- What is the main function of literary theory ? 

a. To understand the importance of the formal elements of literary structure  

b. To formulate relationships among an author, a reader, and a literary work  

c. To understand the role of sexuality, gender, race, and ethnicity in literary study  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- What does Elaine Showalter argue about gender in terms of representations of the character of Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet ? 

a. Ophelia's madness represents the social oppression of women.  

b. It is nearly impossible to represent women as anything other than mad in patriarchal discourses.  

c. Feminist critics need to re-appropriate Ophelia for their own purposes.  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- With which theorist is the term implied reader associated ? 

a. Wolfgang Iser  

b. William Wimsatt  

c. Cleanth Brooks  

d. Harold Bloom 


Answer- William Wimsatt


Que- A critic argues that in John Milton's "Samson Agonistes," the shearing of Samson's locks is symbolic of his castration at the hands of Delilah. What kind of critical approach is this critic using ? 

a. Mimetic approach  

b. Formalist approach  

c. Historical approach  

d. Psychological approach 


Answer- Psychological approach


Que- Which of the following critics preferred Shakespeare's Comedies to his Tragedies ? 

a. Dryden  

b. Pope  

c. Dr. Johnson  

d. Addison 


Answer- Dr. Johnson


Que- Which literary theory would most directly explore questions of the role of spatial setting in a poem ? 

a. Trauma theory  

b. Ecotheory  

c. Game theory  

d. Marxist theory 


Answer- Ecotheory


Que- With which theorist is the concept imaginative geography associated ? 

a. Julia Kristeva  

b. Fredric Jameson  

c. Terry Eagleton  

d. Edward Said 


Answer- Edward Said


Que- The statements below are steps on "How to Read and Understand an Expository Essay". Which comes in as an initial thing to do before writing an expository essay ? 

a. Identify the Mode of Development  

b. Analysis of the Author  

c. Subsequent Readings/Reviews  

d. Identify External Factors Related to the Work 


Answer- Analysis of the Author


Que- From whom did New Historicists draw the idea of "self-regulating systems" ? 

a. Theodor W. Adorno  

b. Claude Lévi-Strauss  

c. Julia Kristeva  

d. Jacques Derrida 


Answer- Claude Lévi-Strauss


Que- Who called Dryden the Father of English Criticism ? 

a. Joseph Addison  

b. Dr. Johnson  

c. Coleridge  

d. Matthew Arnold 


Answer- Dr. Johnson


Que- The statements below are parts of the steps on "How to Write an Analytical Essay about Short Fiction". Which comes in as the last thing to do in the writing an essay about short fiction ? 

a. Begin your paper with an introduction that identifies the purpose of the paper and the text you are addressing.  

b. Compose topic sentences (four or five, perhaps) that support, explore, demonstrate, or illustrate your thesis.  

c. Select specific passages in the text of the story that help you to develop each topic sentence.  

d. Build your paper to a climax; save your most engaging or important topic sentence for discussion last. 


Answer- Begin your paper with an introduction that identifies the purpose of the paper and the text you are addressing.


Que- What is mimesis ? 

a. A reversal  

b. An imitation  

c. A satire  

d. A poetic metaphor 


Answer- An imitation


Que- Who was the first literary critic who said that "Art is twice removed from reality" ? 

a. Plato  

b. Aristotle  

c. Longinus  

d. Horace 


Answer- Plato


Que- What do structuralist and formalist critics have in common ? 

a. Both sets of critics reject the importance of historical context in studying literature.  

b. Both sets of critics look for an objective way to view texts.  

c. Both sets of critics focus on evaluating literature in a scientific manner.  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- The key word that characterised the Romantic movement was_______________? 

a. Inspiration  

b. Imagination  

c. Fancy  

d. Decorum 


Answer- Imagination


Que- The statements below are parts of the steps on "How to Explicate Poetry". Which comes in as second to the last thing to do before writing a critical essay of a poem ? 

a. Interpret the Poem.  

b. Introduce External Support.  

c. Analyze the Elements of the Poem  

d. Evaluate the Poem. 


Answer- Interpret the Poem.


Que- Is Dryden's Essay of Dramatic Poesy a work of ? 

a. Interpretative Criticism  

b. Legislative Criticism  

c. Comparative Criticism  

d. Textual Criticism 


Answer- Comparative Criticism


Que- The statements below are parts of the steps on "How to Analyze a Play". Which comes in as second thing to do before writing a critical essay of a play ? 

a. Identify External Factors Related to the Work  

b. Interpret the Play  

c. Analyze the Staging  

d. Analyze the Essential Elements of the Play 


Answer- Analyze the Staging


Que- Wordsworth's theory of poetry appears in_____________? 

a. Excursion  

b. Tintern Abbey Lines  

c. Preface to the Lyrical Ballads  

d. Immortality Ode 


Answer- Preface to the Lyrical Ballads


Que- In which capter of Biographia Lieraria, Coleridge make a distinction between fancy and imagination ? 

a. 14 

b. 15 

c. 12 

d. 13 


Answer- 13


Que- Ultimately, the literary theory of deconstruction argues that ? 

a. the meaning of a text always relies on context.  

b. texts are always heterogeneous.  

c. any system for the production of meaning is inevitably bound by context, yet also limitless.  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- They believe that this approach tends to reduce art to the level of biography and make it relative (to the times) rather than universal. What approach possess this disadvantage ? 

a. Moral/Philosophical  

b. Formalism/New Criticism  

c. Historical/Biographical  

d. Psychological 


Answer- Historical/Biographical


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. Toni Morrison 


Answer- Ferdinand de Saussure


Que- To whom "poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful passion." ? 

a. Keats  

b. P.B. Shelley  

c. Wordsworth  

d. Coleridge 


Answer- Wordsworth


Que- A critic of Thomas Otway's "Venice Preserv'd" wishes to know why the play's conspirators, despite the horrible, bloody details of their obviously brutish plan, are portrayed in a sympathetic light. She examines the author's life and times and discovers that there are obvious similarities between the conspiracy in the play and the Popish Plot. She is most likely a critic ? 

a. Historical  

b. Feminist  

c. Tory  

d. Psychological 


Answer- Historical


Que- The name "Ars Poetica" (Art of Poetry) was given to Horace's Epistle to the Pisos by____________? 

a. Horace  

b. Quintillion  

c. Cicero  

d. Virgil 


Answer- Quintillion


Que- What is humanism ? 

a. An idea traditionally associated with the Renaissance  

b. A humanity-centered view of the universe  

c. A theory that values restraint, form, and imitation  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- What fundamental idea does psychoanalytic criticism hold about literary texts ? 

a. Literary texts should not be read as a projection of the author's psyche.  

b. Literary texts solely reflect an author's intentions.  

c. Literary texts reveal secret elements of an author's unconscious.  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- Literary texts reveal secret elements of an author's unconscious.


Que- He was an influential force in archetypal criticism ? 

a. Freud  

b. Tate  

c. Richards  

d. Jung 


Answer- Jung


Que- Jacques Derrida's concept of différance challenges us to think about language as a system that____________? 

a. mirrors our physical evolution as human beings.  

b. prevents us from communicating through writing or speech.  

c. involves a constant process of deferred meaning.  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- involves a constant process of deferred meaning.


Que- In his essay "The Business of Theory," William Deresiewicz argues which of the following about Terry Eagleton's book After Theory ? 

a. It offers a strong outline for how theory can be conducted in the 21st century.  

b. It should not be read or considered by any student or scholar.  

c. It offers some valid ideas and critiques, but its author is not entirely trustworthy.  

d. It offers a strong counterpoint to Jacques Derrida's notion of deconstruction. 


Answer- It offers some valid ideas and critiques, but its author is not entirely trustworthy.


Que- It is not rhyming and versing that maketh a poet no more than a long gown maketh an advocate. Whose view is this ? 

a. Shakespeare's  

b. Marlowe's  

c. Spenser's  

d. Sidney's 


Answer- Sidney's


Que- Who is the meaning of the term Peripeteia as used by Aristotle in his Theory of Tragedy ? 

a. Change in the fortune of the hero from bad to good  

b. Change in the fortune of the hero from good to bad  

c. Constancy in the fortune of the hero  

d. Fluctuations occurring in the fortune of the hero 


Answer- Change in the fortune of the hero from good to bad


Que- On Translating Homer is written by________________? 

a. Mathew Arnold  

b. Walter Pater  

c. T. S. ELiot  

d. William Hazlit 


Answer- Mathew Arnold


Que- Which of the following statements best explains Mikhail Bakhtin's philosophy of language ? 

a. Language includes multiple social dialects and jargons.  

b. Language can include socio-ideological contradictions from the past.  

c. Language exhibits and is bound up in the social lives and historical context of the people who speak it.  

d. Language is loaded with the intentions of others. 


Answer- Language exhibits and is bound up in the social lives and historical context of the people who speak it.


Que- What is the meaning of the term Anagnorisis as used by Aristotle in his Theory of Tragedy ? 

a. The hero's recognition of his tragic flaw  

b. The hero's ignorance about his tragic flaw  

c. The hero's recognition of his adversary  

d. The hero's recognition of his tragic end 


Answer- The hero's ignorance about his tragic flaw


Que- With which theorist is the term identity thinking most closely associated ? 

a. Sigmund Freud  

b. Carl Jung  

c. William James  

d. Theodor W. Adorno 


Answer- Theodor W. Adorno


Que- What is false consciousness ? 

a. A term for the false neuroses expressed in dreams  

b. A feminist term for the state that occurs when texts written by women are not considered in the study of literature  

c. Another term for the unconscious  

d. An ideology that involves dominating the consciousness of exploited classes 


Answer- An ideology that involves dominating the consciousness of exploited classes


Que- What is affective fallacy ? 

a. A term first used by literary theorists William Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley  

b. A term that suggests that a critic should study the structural and thematic elements of a poem rather than the effect it has on the emotions of the reader  

c. An important term in the field of New Historicism  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- What does the critical term 'esemplatic' mean ? 

a. The unifying power  

b. Ability to coin new word  

c. Power of imagination  

d. Negative capability 


Answer- The unifying power


Que- What is generally considered to be Theodor W. Adorno's primary concern as a theorist ? 

a. The effect of literature in enlightening the human mind  

b. The effect of modern society on human suffering  

c. The effect of the economy on women's concerns  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- The effect of modern society on human suffering


Que- Which school of literary theory is associated with the phrase "to make the stones stonier" ? 

a. Humanism  

b. Formalism  

c. Structuralism  

d. Marxism 


Answer- Formalism


Que- Some critics of literary theory argue that literary theory is problematic for which reason ? 

a. Literary theory tends to be too political.  

b. Literary theory does not offer a holistic interpretation of a text.  

c. Literary theory depends on specialized knowledge that is outside the realm of literary studies.  

d. All of the above answers are correct. 


Answer- All of the above answers are correct.


Que- Gynocriticism' is associated with_________________? 

a. Elaine Showalter  

b. Ellen Moors  

c. Julia Kristeva  

d. Kate Millet 


Answer- Elaine Showalter


Que- What does hermeneutic theory suggest about how readers view literature ? 

a. It is impossible to view a piece of literature as its author intended.  

b. It is impossible to divorce a text from capitalist ideology.  

c. It is impossible to view a piece of literature correctly, because we can only work within the hetero-normative paradigm.  

d. It is impossible to separate a text from the linguistics that compose it. 


Answer- It is impossible to view a piece of literature as its author intended.


Que- According to trauma theorists, a testifying subject needs which of the following to deliver a successful testimony ? 

a. A figure of judgment  

b. Religious belief  

c. A witness  

d. Psychological treatment 


Answer- A witness

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