introduction to literary theory MCQs – Page 2

Practise focused introduction to literary theory questions with marked answers for exam preparation and subject revision.

introduction to literary theory Mcqs

21. Which of the following texts is the BEST example of the argument that a works meaning does not come entirely from the imagination of the author ?
0

A. T.S. Eliots Tradition and the Individual Talent

B. Platos The Republic

C. Roland Barthess The Death of the Author

D. Jacques Derridas Of Grammatology

22. Which of the following human behaviors is important to a Freudian psychoanalytic study of William Shakespeares Hamlet ?
0

A. Obsessions

B. Slips of the tongue

C. All of the above.

D. Changes in emotional states

23. Which of the following is a theme of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwicks book Epistemology of the Closet ?
0

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

B. Understanding homosexuality has little effect on understanding culture.

C. Understanding homosexual themes in novels has become too routine

D. Understanding sexuality is crucial to understanding culture.

24. What is the philosophical theory known as pragmatism ?
0

A. All of the above.

B. A concept derived from the ancient Greek word pragma, meaning action

C. An idea used to guide conduct towards clear objectives

D. A theory of practical actions developed by William James

25. What is hermeneutics ?
0

A. A term that describes the interpretation of meaning

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 absence of racial others in the canon

26. Trauma theory primarily developed out of the work of which psychoanalyst ?
0

A. Carl Jung

B. Sigmund Freud

C. Michel Foucault

D. Jacques Derrida

27. How does Virginia Woolfs essay A Room of Ones Own contribute to feminist theory ?
0

A. It suggests that gender has power over class.

B. It suggests that gender roles are conditioned by the possession of money and power.

C. It suggests that education, rather than money, is needed for the liberation of women.

D. It suggests that the suppression of women is part of a historical climate that will naturally fade away.

28. Which of the following best defines the work of a deconstructionist critic ?
0

A. Suggesting that the study of literature is based on the breakdown of language into signs

B. Calling into question the capacity of language to communicate

C. Arguing that language, and therefore literary texts, relies on the difference between terms and therefore constantly defers meaning.

D. All of the above.

29. Which school of literary theory shows a particular interest in the role of testimony in literature ?
0

A. Formalism

B. Chaos theory

C. Trauma theory

D. Ecotheory

30. What is double consciousness ?
0

A. All of the above.

B. An understanding of how double experiences create identity

C. An attempt to explain dual identity

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

31. With which theorist is the term implied reader associated ?
0

A. Cleanth Brooks

B. Harold Bloom

C. William Wimsatt

D. Wolfgang Iser

32. With which theorist is the term identity thinking most closely associated ?
0

A. Sigmund Freud

B. Carl Jung

C. William James

D. Theodor W. Adorno

33. In Of Grammatology, Jacques Derrida argues what about literature ?
0

A. Literature is timeless, and thus meaning does not change.

B. There is no potential for multiple and differing meanings in a work of literature.

C. No fixed, stable meaning is possible.

D. Language must be studied in conjunction with history in order to create meaning.

34. With which theorist is phenomenology associated ?
0

A. All of the above.

B. Emmanuel Lvinas

C. Wolfgang Iser

D. Jean-Paul Sartre

35. To what idea does the term heteroglossia refer ?
0

A. The multi-layered nature of language in a literary work

B. An infants inability to speak prior to the mirror stage

C. The formulaic shift between economic and political themes

D. The referential relationships among symbols, signifiers, and signs

36. Modern literary theory began with the work of which theorist ?
0

A. Viktor Shklovsky

B. Roland Barthes

C. Ferdinand de Saussure

D. Claude Lvi-Strauss

37. In general, what is Judith Butlers concept of gender ?
0

A. Gender is largely a cultural construct.

B. Gender is a problematic, but essentially true, category.

C. While gender is not real, the stereotypes that accompany it are true.

D. Womens gender is artificial, while mens gender is not.

38. Which is a common postcolonial critique of the West ?
0

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

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

C. The West views matters through its own limited historical position.

D. The West refuses to apply economic and political coercion to Asian writers.

39. Which school of literary theory is associated with the phrase to make the stones stonier ?
0

A. Poststructuralism

B. Formalism

C. Structuralism

D. Humanism

40. Which of the following statements best describes Cleanth Brookss attitude towards studying literature ?
0

A. Critics should attempt to paraphrase texts in order to find out what they mean

B. Critics should develop universal readings of texts.

C. Critics should examine historical information surrounding a literary work.

D. Critics should consider evolving notions of a text over time.

Previous Next

Showing 21 to 40 of 100 mcqs