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

English Literature MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions)

 Que- Why does Horace Walpole make use of elaborate machines in "The Castle of Otranto" ? 

a. To encourage rational evaluation rather than arouse emotional reactions  

b. To emphasize the importance of character development over action  

c. To assist with the flight and pursuit of villains and their prey  

d. To support the growth and development of machinery in the 18th century 


Answer- To assist with the flight and pursuit of villains and their prey


Que- How does Emily show initiative in "The Mysteries of Udolpho" ? 

a. She leaves home in search of adventure.  

b. She takes control of her own money.  

c. She rejects her aunt's invitation to travel to Italy.  

d. She converts to Catholicism. 


Answer- She takes control of her own money.


Que- In "Frankenstein" how do dreams function ? 

a. They provide relief from the real world.  

b. They prophesy future destruction.  

c. They are part of the unconscious controlled by science.  

d. They obscure deep emotions. 


Answer- They prophesy future destruction.


Que- The vampire myth is NOT associated with which of the following ? 

a. Incest  

b. Life rituals with blood  

c. The fear of dying  

d. The fear of being buried alive 


Answer- Incest


Que- Which term is most closely affiliated with the female Gothic ? 

a. Terror  

b. Sentimentalism  

c. Horror  

d. Ghosts 


Answer- Terror


Que- Based on your readings for this course, which of the following best summarizes how most critics interpret the crumbling castle in "The Castle of Otranto" ? 

a. The castle represents the presence of newer technologies.  

b. The castle signifies the ruin of feudal medievalism.  

c. The castle symbolizes the desire for a more powerful aristocracy.  

d. The castle shows the lack of change in popular architecture styles. 


Answer- The castle signifies the ruin of feudal medievalism.


Que- In "The Gothic Sublime" how does Mishra characterize the Gothic novel ? 

a. As a version of the Romantic novel  

b. As a set of literary devices developed in the 18th century but applicable to present day  

c. As the antithesis of postmodernism  

d. As the resolution of madness 


Answer- As a set of literary devices developed in the 18th century but applicable to present day


Que- In which way does Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" include elements of the uncanny ? 

a. It reflects a woman's everyday life.  

b. An everyday object causes her terror.  

c. An apparently normal person is revealed as a man.  

d. It features a body transformation. 


Answer- An everyday object causes her terror.


Que- In "Frankenstein" how does Shelley represent science ? 

a. As potentially productive when used correctly  

b. As something needed for humans to advance  

c. As a way to resolve human madness  

d. As inherently monstrous 


Answer- As inherently monstrous


Que- Why is it significant that Dracula is from Transylvania ? 

a. Transylvania is England's economic rival.  

b. Transylvania and England had been at war in the 1860s.  

c. Transylvania represents a vaguely known and, therefore, suspicious country.  

d. Transylvania and England were once part of the Holy Roman Empire. 


Answer- Transylvania represents a vaguely known and, therefore, suspicious country.


Que- What is a Satanic Hero ? 

a. A hero who is known for being aristocratic, moody, and secretive  

b. A character who is essentially kind but performs a horrible act by accident  

c. A hero-villain who defies the laws of God's universe  

d. A hero who is usually defined by his fatal attraction to women 


Answer- A hero-villain who defies the laws of God's universe


Que- What does the character Dracula symbolize in the novel ? 

a. Modern science  

b. The consciousness  

c. Theories of evolution  

d. Ancient evil 


Answer- Ancient evil


Que- The popularity of which Gothic novelist is parodied in Austen's "Northanger Abbey" ? 

a. Horace Walpole  

b. Ann Radcliffe  

c. Matthew Lewis  

d. Mary Shelley 


Answer- Ann Radcliffe


Que- Which of the following best explains the treatment of the heroine in "The Mysteries of Udolpho" ? 

a. The heroine's fantasies about the castle are combined with her fear of violation.  

b. She is excluded from the novel's violent disturbances.  

c. She is excluded from the general sense of isolation in the novel.  

d. The heroine is robbed of psychological complexity by focusing only on horror. 


Answer- The heroine's fantasies about the castle are combined with her fear of violation.


Que- In what way is Dracula NOT an "Other" figure ? 

a. He is from a foreign land.  

b. He is racially different.  

c. He is Christian.  

d. He is a connection to a different time. 


Answer- He is Christian.


Que- What is NOT Gothic about the room to which the female protagonist of "The Yellow Wallpaper" is confined ? 

a. It has bars on the window.  

b. It is removed from the main area of the house.  

c. It is locked.  

d. It is sunny. 


Answer- It is sunny.


Que- How is the abbey in "The Monk" NOT Gothic ? 

a. It is a Catholic structure.  

b. It was built in the Middle Ages.  

c. It is a sanctuary for women.  

d. It is labyrinthine. 


Answer- It is a sanctuary for women.


Que- A MANUSCRIPT was communicated to me during my travels in Italy, which was copied from the archives of the Cenci Palace at Rome, and contains a detailed account of the horrors which ended in the extinction of one of the noblest families of that city during the Pontificate of Clement VIII, in the year 1599. All of the following state why this quotation from Perce Shelley's "The Cenci" represents the Gothic EXCEPT_____________? 

a. The placement of the action in the past and in a foreign country  

b. The grandiose threatening setting that requires ingenious stagecraft  

c. The focus on wrongdoing at the highest level of authority  

d. The use of real historical resources by Shelley for the foundation of his play 


Answer- The use of real historical resources by Shelley for the foundation of his play


Que- Which of the following Romantic poets would have been most likely to write a poem celebrating the innocence of childhood ? 

a. Lord Byron  

b. Samuel Taylor Coleridge  

c. William Blake  

d. William Wordsworth 


Answer- William Blake


Que- Napoleon's decision to__________________can be understood as representative of the French Revolutionary spirit because this decision served to radically reposition France in contemporary European political affairs ? 

a. Engage in the Napoleonic Wars  

b. Change all aspects of French law  

c. Involve himself directly in affairs in the United States  

d. Offer landmark political writings calling for peace with other European nations 


Answer- Engage in the Napoleonic Wars


Que- Which of the following is a love poem ? 

a. John Clare's "To Elia"  

b. Wordsworth "Peter Bell"  

c. Byron's "Don Juan"  

d. Coleridge's "Kubla Kahn" 


Answer- John Clare's "To Elia"


Que- Which long Romantic poem opens with the line "oh there is blessing in this gentle breeze" ? 

a. The Prelude  

b. Don Juan  

c. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage  

d. Rime of the Ancient Mariner 


Answer- The Prelude


Que- Ode to a Nightingale focuses on ______________? 

a. How pleasures are fleeting and life cannot continue forever  

b. The fall of man into sin  

c. The futility of artistic creation  

d. The unfortunate conclusion of the French Revolution 


Answer- How pleasures are fleeting and life cannot continue forever


Que- Which of the following would probably NOT occur in a William Wordsworth poem ? 

a. Use of common, everyday language  

b. Engagement with the natural world  

c. Mockery of political figures  

d. Psychological insight 


Answer- Mockery of political figures


Que- A neoclassical poet would be most likely to compose a poem celebrating which of the following ideals ? 

a. Passionate love  

b. Emotional restraint  

c. Revolution against tyranny  

d. Communion with the natural world 


Answer- Emotional restraint


Que- Which Romantic author is the subject of Paul O'Brien's essay "Prophet of the Revolution" ? 

a. Lord Byron  

b. Percy Shelley  

c. William Blake  

d. William Wordsworth 


Answer- Percy Shelley


Que- Shelley's "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" suggests that _________________? 

a. Beauty can be understood only through metaphysics  

b. Anything that is intellectual cannot be beautiful  

c. Beauty is missing from the world  

d. The source of beauty cannot be known, and that beauty can only be felt 


Answer- The source of beauty cannot be known, and that beauty can only be felt


Que- Who does Shelley consider the true founders of civilized cultures and laws ? 

a. Kings and queens  

b. Poets and artists  

c. Dictators and Tyrants  

d. All people equally 


Answer- Poets and artists


Que- Which poem is considered Wordsworth's magnum opus ? 

a. Lyrical Ballads  

b. The Prelude  

c. We Are Seven  

d. Lines Written in Early Spring 


Answer- The Prelude


Que- Coleridge's Ancient Mariner could be said to be suffering from an overwhelming feeling of ___________? 

a. Guilt  

b. Disbelief  

c. Hatred  

d. Love 


Answer- Guilt


Que- Shelley's poem "Mont Blanc" can be best said to depict an encounter with _____________? 

a. The sublime  

b. Death  

c. Childhood  

d. A lost lover 


Answer- The sublime


Que- In "Of Poetry in General,"William Hazlitt contends that good poetry comes from ____________? 

a. The intellect  

b. The author's personal pain  

c. Strong feeling  

d. Rewriting Homer 


Answer- Strong feeling


Que- Lines Written a few Miles above Tintern Abbey explores ________________? 

a. The way in which one's psychological state changes over time  

b. The failures of Romanticism  

c. The beauty of the natural world  

d. Coleridge's addiction to drugs 


Answer- The way in which one's psychological state changes over time


Que- To whom does the Ancient Mariner tell his story in "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" ? 

a. Coleridge  

b. Dorothy Wordsworth  

c. The Wedding Guest  

d. Life-in-Death 


Answer- The Wedding Guest


Que- The general tone and attitude of Byron's "Don Juan" would be best described as ______________? 

a. Dramatic and dark  

b. Ironic and satirical  

c. Strange and haunting  

d. Humorless and stark 


Answer- Ironic and satirical


Que- Paul O'Brien contends that _____________make(s) Shelley a "radical."? 

a. Shelley's political beliefs  

b. Shelley's sexuality  

c. Shelley's love of Shakespeare  

d. Shelley's relationship with Byron 


Answer- Shelley's political beliefs


Que- Who refers to poetry as "an imitation of nature" ? 

a. Percy Shelley  

b. Samuel Taylor Coleridge  

c. William Hazlitt  

d. William Wordsworth 


Answer- William Hazlitt


Que- Which poem by Wordsworth examines writer's block ? 

a. The Prelude  

b. We Are Seven  

c. Lines Written a few miles above Tintern Abbey  

d. Lines Written in Early Spring 


Answer- The Prelude


Que- Which of the following was responsible for Samuel Taylor Coleridge's mental decline ? 

a. His addiction to opium  

b. His experiences during the French Revolution  

c. The end of his friendship with Wordsworth  

d. His physical battle with gout 


Answer- His addiction to opium


Que- Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the French Revolution" ______________? 

a. Celebrates the French Revolution  

b. Encourages the United States to Support the French Revolution  

c. Attacks the ideals of the French Revolution  

d. Champions Napoleon's political vision 


Answer- Attacks the ideals of the French Revolution


Que- Percy Shelley's poem "Mont Blanc" presents nature as ________________? 

a. A powerful, sublime force  

b. A peaceful force  

c. Depressing and miserable  

d. Controlled by gods 


Answer- A powerful, sublime force


Que- John Keats died from________________? 

a. Influenza  

b. Tuberculosis  

c. Fever  

d. Suicide 


Answer- Tuberculosis


Que- A Romantic poet would be LEAST likely to celebrate __________________? 

a. The imagination  

b. Love  

c. The natural world  

d. Rationality 


Answer- Rationality


Que- Which Romantic poet was famous for being "mad, bad and dangerous to know" ? 

a. Lord Byron  

b. Percy Shelley  

c. John Keats  

d. William Blake 


Answer- Lord Byron


Que- Which Romantic poet would have believed that a poet needs influence from something external and transformative in order to write a strong poem ? 

a. William Blake  

b. Samuel Taylor Coleridge  

c. Lord Byron  

d. Percy Shelley 


Answer- Percy Shelley


Que- The dedication of Byron's "Don Juan" can be best described as ________________? 

a. Sincere and heartfelt  

b. Mocking and satirical  

c. Mournful and dark  

d. Polemic and dry 


Answer- Mocking and satirical


Que- Which of the following was NOT a key element or aspect of Romantic poetry ? 

a. Celebration of the imagination  

b. Engagement with nature  

c. The use of symbolism  

d. The use of allegory 


Answer- The use of allegory


Que- With whom did John Keats have a love affair ? 

a. Fanny Brawne  

b. Dorothy Wordsworth  

c. Mary Shelley  

d. Mary Keats 


Answer- Fanny Brawne


Que- Paul O'Brien argues that Shelley did not lose his passion for the French Revolution, but that _____________did? 

a. Lord Byron and John Clare  

b. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge  

c. John Keats and William Blake  

d. Lord Byron and William Blake 


Answer- William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge


Que- Which poet would be most likely to write about his time in revolutionary France ? 

a. William Wordsworth  

b. Samuel Taylor Coleridge  

c. William Blake  

d. John Keats 


Answer- William Wordsworth

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