english literature MCQs – Page 35

Practise multiple-choice questions from english literature for competitive examinations and subject revision. Review each marked answer and report any item that may be outdated or unclear.

1701. Which school of literary theory is associated with the phrase to make the stones stonier ?
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A. Structuralism

B. Formalism

C. Poststructuralism

D. Humanism

1702. Fill in the blank. Th . was a movement that had profound implications not only for the modern world in general but also for literary history.
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A. None of

B. Catholic Reformation

C. Protestant Reformation

D. Catholic Restoration

1703. Which of the following is a theme of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwicks book Epistemology of the Closet ?
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A. Understanding homosexual themes in novels has become too routine

B. Literary study is unaffected by a lack of interest in sexuality.

C. Understanding homosexuality has little effect on understanding culture.

D. Understanding sexuality is crucial to understanding culture.
1704. What does Judith Butler mean when she suggests that gender is performed ?
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A. Gender does not reflect an essential truth, but rather is a role people play based on their internalization of socially constructed gender roles.

B. Gender roles do not exist.

C. Real gender roles are scripted by excellent writers.

D. Only individuals who have the capacity to perform have gender.

1705. Who introduced the Italian sonnet to the British Isles during the reign of King Henry VIII ?
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A. Thomas Wyatt

B. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

C. John Donne

D. Both A and B
1706. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein most reflects which central romantic themes or concerns ?
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A. The centrality of subjective experience to apprehending the world

B. Nature as mirroring the human mind and its imagination

C. The limits of scientific attempts to understand and control the world

D. The poet as special interpreter of the world

1707. Which theorist is associated with the idea that art is a copy of a copy ?
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A. Plato

B. Julia Kristeva

C. Walter Benjamin

D. Claude Lvi-Strauss

1708. Ultimately, the literary theory of deconstruction argues that___________?
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A. the instability of a text is actually evident in the text itself.

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.

1709. Ecotheorists tend to show an interest in which of the following ?
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A. Who is responsible for damaging the environment

B. How writers have damaged the environment

C. How the environment can be repaired

D. How writers conceptualize natural environments and the representation of environmental issues in literature and culture
1710. What is the purpose of feminist theory ?
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A. To counter stereotypes about women

B. To create literary subjects with which female readers can identify

C. All of the above.

D. To critique phallocentric assumptions about literature

1711. Who was in charge of organizing court festivities and entertainment of the English court ?
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A. Court Jester

B. Master of Rebels

C. Master of Revels

D. Master of Ceremonies

1712. What is the philosophical theory known as pragmatism ?
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A. A concept derived from the ancient Greek word pragma, meaning action

B. An idea used to guide conduct towards clear objectives

C. A theory of practical actions developed by William James

D. All of the above.
1713. A total of how many sonnets constitute the entirety of Astrophil and Stella ?
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A. 30

B. 10

C. 40

D. 20

1714. According to trauma theorists, a testifying subject needs which of the following to deliver a successful testimony ?
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A. Religious belief

B. A witness

C. Psychological treatment

D. A figure of judgment

1715. What does the shift in weather in Chapter 23 of Jane Eyre reflect about the plot ?
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A. It foreshadows a negative shift in mood.

B. It symbolizes the increase in scientific knowledge.

C. It functions as a metaphor for the womens rights movement.

D. It acts as an allusion to the importance of nature in the Romantic period.

1716. Choose the best answer. Which of the following statements is true concerning epic poetry ?
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A. Epic poetry is of a moral nature and tends to the promotion of virtue.

B. Canterbury Tales is an example of epic poetry.

C. All of the above answers are true.

D. Both A and B are true.
1717. Which of the following characters is NOT found in the dramatis personae ofWilliam Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet ?
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A. Falstaff

B. Lady Capulet

C. Benvolio

D. Mercutio

1718. Fill in the blank. John Foxe was extremely sensitive to the_______________?
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A. Quaker

B. Anglican

C. Buddhist

D. Catholic
1719. Complete the following sentence. Unlike many Enlightenment thinkers, Adam Smith and Rousseau_____________?
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A. rejected Newtons view of the universe.

B. believed in God.

C. traveled to America.

D. emphasized the importance of human emotions as guiding behavior.
1720. What does the term meta-language mean, according to Andrzej Warminski ?
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A. A language about another language

B. A language that does not yet constitute a real language

C. A language used by a particular marginalized group of people within a larger dominant culture

D. A supernatural language

1721. Which of the following writers might be considered one of the early founders of first-wave feminism ?
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A. Mary Wollstonecraft

B. Lucy Irigaray

C. Judith Butler

D. Hlne Cixous

1722. There was greater emphasis placed on human potentiality for growth and excellence through Europe by which year ?
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A. 1600

B. 1650

C. 1400

D. 1500
1723. Many of William Shakespeares plays were performed at what theater in Elizabethan England ?
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A. The Globe

B. The Anchor

C. The Curtain

D. The Rose

1724. Complete the following sentence. The Byronic hero is characterized as________________?
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A. nearly superhuman in his powers but tortured by a psychological weight.

B. always fighting for good against evil.

C. devoted to religion above all things

D. fortunate in always coming out victorious.

1725. According to John Miltons Paradise Lost, what is Satans tragic flaw ?
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A. Love

B. Pride

C. Jealousy

D. Lust

1726. Christopher Ricks would most likely DISAGREE with which of the following claims about literary theory ?
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A. Literary theory is the only proper way to conceptualize literary texts.

B. Literary theory often depends on esoteric knowledge to be properly understood.

C. Literary theory should not be an academic focus in English departments.

D. Literary theory is employed mostly by academics.

1727. Which of the following plays by William Shakespeare is a comedy ?
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A. Much Ado about Nothing

B. Henry IV, Part I

C. Hamlet

D. Romeo and Juliet

1728. According to the Geneva School, what is the function of the reader ?
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A. Entering the authors mind through his or her literary works

B. Understanding the authors consciousness

C. All of the above.

D. Reproducing the authors thoughts in a critical context

1729. What is humanism ?
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A. A school of theory devoted to the revival of Classical (ancient Greek and Roman) literature

B. A humanity-centered view of the universe

C. All of the above.

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

1730. Both the Gothic and sentimental fiction emphasize which of the following ?
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A. The necessity for an aristocracy

B. Reason over emotions

C. A sense of adventure

D. The power of feelings
1731. Which of the following figures is considered to be the father of the linguistic theory known as structuralism ?
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A. Cleanth Brooks

B. Sigmund Freud

C. Ferdinand de Saussure

D. Karl Marx

1732. What is double consciousness ?
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A. An understanding of how double experiences create identity

B. All of the above.

C. A concept developed by W.E.B Du Bois

D. An attempt to explain dual identity

1733. Which of the following statements best explains Mikhail Bakhtins philosophy of language ?
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A. Language can include socioideological contradictions from the past.

B. Language is loaded with the intentions of others.

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

D. Language includes multiple social dialects and jargons.

1734. What is hermeneutics ?
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A. A term that describes the absence of racial others in the canon

B. A term that describes the effect of autobiography on text

C. A term that describes the attempt to read homosexuality into literature

D. A term that describes the interpretation of meaning
1735. Which literary theorist argues that there is nothing outside the text ?
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A. Jacques Lacan

B. Stanley Fish

C. T.S. Eliot

D. Jacques Derrida
1736. What author wrote the poem Whoso list to hunt ?
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A. Sir Thomas More

B. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

C. Sir Philip Sidney

D. Thomas Wyatt
1737. Which of the following offers the best definition of criture fminine ?
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A. How women really feel about male writers

B. Second-wave feminism

C. The inscription of womanhood and femininity in texts

D. Psychological studies of women

1738. Greek theater was often of what genre ?
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A. Comedy

B. A and B only

C. Tragedy

D. Romance

1739. A work of criticism that considers how English imperialism affected native Indian authors would be an example of_______________?
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A. postcolonial theory

B. psychoanalytic theory

C. deconstruction

D. Marxist theory

1740. Which of the following human behaviors is important to a Freudian psychoanalytic study of William Shakespeares Hamlet ?
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A. Changes in emotional states

B. All of the above.

C. Obsessions

D. Slips of the tongue

1741. Which text argues that, as infants, human beings begin to define their identities against the identities of others? A. W.E.B. Du Boiss The Souls of Black Folk______________?
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A. Jacques Derridas Of Grammatology

B. Jacques Lacans The Mirror Stage

C. Roland Barthess The Death of the Author

1742. Compared to Aquinas, the writers of Florentine humanism considered which of the following only unsystematically ?
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A. Emotions

B. All of the above

C. Psychology

D. Sex

1743. Which of the following figures was an important political theorist of the Renaissance ?
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A. Aristotle

B. Francesco Petrarcha

C. Plato

D. Niccolo Machiavelli
1744. In The Book of Martyrs, John Foxe provides a record of all known Christian martyrs throughout history, focusing on the persecution of people practicing which religion ?
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A. Buddhism

B. Roman Catholicism

C. Catholicism

D. Protestantism
1745. Which of the following social issues does Dickens confront in Great Expectations ?
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A. Penal reform

B. Educational reform

C. The role of the monarchy

D. Both A and B
1746. Which of the following theaters could be found in England after Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne ?
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A. The Rose

B. The Curtain

C. The Globe

D. All of the above
1747. What is the main function of postcolonial criticism ?
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A. To show the ways in which mostWestern literature is superior

B. To represent the relationship between colonizers and the colonized

C. To draw attention to the positive effects of colonization on literature

D. To explain why there are few examples of successful non-Western literature

1748. Which is a common postcolonial critique of the West ?
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A. The West refuses to apply economic and political coercion to Asian writers.

B. TheWest spends too much time trying to consider an Asian perspective.

C. The West tends to look at Asian countries as individual units rather than lump them together.

D. The West views matters through its own limited historical position.
1749. In which of the following ways did Hopkins revolutionize poetry ?
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A. He made obscure allusions.

B. He used unusual, arcane words.

C. He created a radically new form.

D. All of these answers
1750. Trauma theory is tremendously influenced by which theoretical school ?
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A. Deconstruction

B. Psychoanalysis

C. Feminism

D. Marxism