literary theory and criticism Mcqs
52. Is Drydens Essay of Dramatic Poesy a work of ?
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A. Textual Criticism

B. Interpretative Criticism

C. Legislative Criticism

D. Comparative Criticism
53. Who is the author of the notorious book entitled The School of Abuse ?
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A. Stephen Gosson

B. John Skelton

C. Stephen Hawes

D. Roger Ascham

54. What is generally considered to be Theodor W. Adornos primary concern as a theorist ?
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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 womens concerns

D. All of the above answers are correct.

56. Which of the following statements best describes Cleanth Brookss attitude towards studying literature ?
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A. Critics should look at the biographical information of authors.

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

C. Critics should develop universal readings of texts.

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

57. What is the meaning of the term Anagnorisis as used by Aristotle in his Theory of Tragedy ?
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A. The heros recognition of his tragic flaw

B. The heros ignorance about his tragic flaw

C. The heros recognition of his tragic end

D. The heros recognition of his adversary

58. From whom did New Historicists draw the idea of self-regulating systems ?
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A. Claude Lvi-Strauss

B. Theodor W. Adorno

C. Julia Kristeva

D. Jacques Derrida

59. According to the Geneva School, what is the function of the reader ?
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A. Understanding the authors ideas in the context of the real world

B. All of the above answers are correct.

C. Entering the authors mind through his or her literary works

D. Reproducing the authors thoughts in a critical context

60. Which of the following theorists is associated with formalism ?
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A. Cleanth Brooks

B. Judith Butler

C. Mikhail Bakhtin

D. Viktor Shklovsky
61. Gynocriticism is associated with_________________?
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A. Ellen Moors

B. Elaine Showalter

C. Julia Kristeva

D. Kate Millet

62. With which theorist is phenomenology associated ?
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A. Edmund Husserl

B. All of the above answers are correct.

C. Jean-Paul Sartre

D. Wolfgang Iser

63. This literary critic coined the term fancy. ?
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A. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

B. Virginia Woolf

C. Carl Jung

D. Matthew Arnold

64. Ultimately, the literary theory of deconstruction argues that ?
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A. the meaning of a text always relies on context.

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

C. All of the above answers are correct.

D. texts are always heterogeneous.

66. 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 ?
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A. Identify External Factors Related to the Work

B. Identify the Mode of Development

C. Analysis of the Author

D. Subsequent Readings/Reviews

67. Which school of theorists is most closely associated with phenomenology ?
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A. The Frankfurt School

B. The Chicago School

C. The Geneva School

D. The Moscow School

68. Poetic Diction was taken to be the standard language for poetry in______________?
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A. The Neo-Classical Age

B. The Elizabethan Age

C. The Romantic Age

D. The Victorian Age

69. The concept of otherness is related to which of the following theories ?
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A. Psychoanalytic theory

B. Feminist theory

C. All of the above answers are correct.

D. Ethnic criticism

70. Literary Theory and Criticism________________?
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A. Pope

B. Dryden

C. Dr. Johnson

D. Addison

72. Who is the writer of Hamlet and Oedipus (1949) ?
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A. Erik Erikson

B. Ernest Jones

C. Harold Bloom

D. Carl Jung

73. The New Critics were_________________?
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A. Marxist critics

B. Psychological Critics

C. Feminist critics

D. Formalist critics
74. Which of the following human behaviors is important to a Freudian psychoanalytic study of William Shakespeares Hamlet ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

B. Slips of the tongue

C. Changes in emotional states

D. Neurotic behavior

75. 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 writers conceptualize natural environments and the representation of environmental issues in literature and culture

D. How the environment can be repaired

78. Plato used the word mimesis in relation to literature with the meaning ?
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A. Representation

B. Copying

C. Interpretation

D. Criticism of life

79. Plato said that art is an imperfect reflection of the real world because______________?
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A. Art presents only part of the world

B. Art is an exaggeration of the world

C. Art tells lies about the world

D. Art describes only what appears and not what is real
81. What is denouement ____________?
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A. The ending of a comedy

B. The ending of a tragedy

C. The climax in a comedy

D. The climax in a tragedy

82. In his essay What Is an Author? what position(s) on authorship does Michel Foucault take ?
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A. The idea of the author came into being at a certain point in history.

B. The names of authors serve a classificatory function.

C. The author may not always exist.

D. All of the above answers are correct.
83. The term collective unconscious is coined by_____________?
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A. Erik Erikson

B. Carl Jung

C. Sigmund Freud

D. Ernest Jones

84. New trends in literary theory tend to do which of the following ?
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A. Reject all previous modes of literary theory

B. Make use of different literary theories in order to develop new theories

C. Focus on a return to traditional critical methods

D. Work only with ideas developed by post- Marxist theorists

85. One of the disadvantages of this school of criticism is that it tends to make readings too subjective ?
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A. Reader Response Criticism

B. These are all equally subjective

C. Historical Criticism

D. Formalist Criticism

86. Wordsworths theory of poetry appears in_____________?
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A. Immortality Ode

B. Tintern Abbey Lines

C. Excursion

D. Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
88. What is the philosophical theory known as pragmatism ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

B. An idea used to guide conduct towards clear objectives

C. A theory of practical actions developed by William James

D. A maxim of logic developed by Charles Sanders Peirce

90. Which literary theorist argues that there is nothing outside the text ?
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A. Jacques Derrida

B. Jacques Lacan

C. Stanley Fish

D. T.S. Eliot

93. In her essay The Poem as Event, Louise M. Rosenblatt sees the reader as performing what function ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

B. The reader is acted upon by the text.

C. The reader participates in a transaction with the text.

D. The reader acts upon the text.

94. In a Freudian approach to literature, concave images are usually seen as____________?
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A. Evidence of an Oedipus complex

B. Female symbols

C. Male symbols

D. Phallic symbols

97. According to Jacques Lacan, the mirror stage is the point at which a child _______________?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

B. refuses maternal bonds.

C. is able to separate the I from the Other.

D. looks into a mirror for the first time.

98. What is humanism ?
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A. A theory that values restraint, form, and imitation

B. A humanity-centered view of the universe

C. An idea traditionally associated with the Renaissance

D. All of the above answers are correct.
99. What is phenomenology ?
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A. The examination of intricate structures within our unconscious

B. The examination of our unconscious experience

C. The examination of structures informing our conscious experience

D. The examination of desires informing our consciousness