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literary theory and criticism MCQs

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

literary theory and criticism Mcqs

1. Name the author of The New Criticism ?
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A. John Crowe Ransom

B. F. R. Leavis

C. R. P. Blackmur

D. Allen Tate

2. The structure of tragedy according to Aristotle is________________?
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A. Loose

B. Simple

C. Episodic

D. Complex

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

B. Spensers

C. Sidneys

D. Shakespeares

4. How does literary theory resemble the practice of philosophy as it was developed by Plato and Aristotle ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

B. Literary theory engages with theoretical rather than real-world issues.

C. Literary theory asks fundamental questions about literary interpretation, and at the same time builds specific systems of literary interpretation.

D. Literary theory relies totally on speculation rather than history.

5. 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 ?
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A. Analyze the Essential Elements of the Play

B. Identify External Factors Related to the Work

C. Analyze the Staging

D. Interpret the Play

6. Who is the author of Symposium ?
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A. Longinus

B. Plato

C. Aristotle

D. Dante

7. Which of the following critics preferred Shakespeares Comedies to his Tragedies ?
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A. Pope

B. Dr. Johnson

C. Dryden

D. Addison

8. What approach is described by the paragraph? Users of this approach believe that all information essential to the interpretation of a work must be found within the work itself; there is no need to bring in outside information about the history, politics, or society of the time, or about the authors life ?
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A. Historical/Biographical Approach

B. Moral/ Philosophical Approach

C. Psychological Approach

D. Formalism

9. What does the critical term esemplatic mean ?
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A. Ability to coin new word

B. Negative capability

C. The unifying power

D. Power of imagination

10. What is affective fallacy ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

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

C. An important term in the field of New Historicism

D. 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

11. One archetype in literature is the scapegoat. Which of these literary characters serves that purpose ?
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A. Captain Ahab

B. Hamlet

C. Billy Budd

D. Ophelia

12. 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 ?
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A. Build your paper to a climax; save your most engaging or important topic sentence for discussion last.

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

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

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

13. What is the main function of literary theory ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

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

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

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

14. Who is the meaning of the term Peripeteia as used by Aristotle in his Theory of Tragedy ?
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A. Change in the fortune of the hero from good to bad

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

C. Constancy in the fortune of the hero

D. Fluctuations occurring in the fortune of the hero

15. A critic examining Popes An Essay on Man asks herself: How well does this poem accord with the real world? Is it accurate? Is it moral? She is most likely a critic?
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A. Formalist

B. Reader Response

C. Feminist

D. Mimetic

16. Who said theatre is not a hospital ?
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A. Hillis Miller

B. J K Atkins

C. Derrida

D. F.L. Lucas

17. What is the main function of postcolonial criticism ?
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A. To explain why there are few examples of successful non-Western literature

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

C. To show the ways in which most Western literature is superior

D. To represent the relationship between colonizers and the colonized

18. Which of the following descriptions best defines the literary theory known as formalism ?
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A. An approach that emphasizes racial issues in a text

B. An approach that emphasizes the biographical intent of a text

C. An approach that emphasizes literary devices in a text

D. An approach that emphasizes the historical context of a text

19. What does hermeneutic theory suggest about how readers view literature ?
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A. It is impossible to view a piece of literature correctly, because we can only work within the hetero-normative paradigm.

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

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

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

20. What does gynocriticism recommend as an approach to literature ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

B. Considering womens literature outside of its historical context

C. Becoming more familiar with the history of women and womens writing

D. Examining only female-authored literature more critically

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