literary theory and criticism MCQs – Page 4

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

literary theory and criticism Mcqs
151. What does the term meta-language mean, according to Andrzej Warminski ?
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A. A language about another language

B. A supernatural language

C. All of the above answers are correct.

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

152. Which of the following statements offers the best definition of the concept of strange attractors in chaos theory ?
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A. Strange attractors are mysterious forces that are entirely random.

B. Strange attractors are complex forces that are determined by the laws of physics.

C. Strange attractors are mysterious forces that are both random and determined.

D. Strange attractors are complex forces that are entirely random

153. What does Judith Butler mean when she suggests that gender is performed ?
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A. Real gender roles are scripted by excellent writers.

B. Gender does not reflect an essential truth, but rather is a role people play based on their internalization of socially constructed gender roles.

C. All of the above answers are correct.

D. Gender roles do not exist.

154. Who contributed the term to see the object as in itself it really is ?
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A. Coleridge

B. Arnold

C. Wordsworth

D. Goethe

155. In Fredric Jamesons book The Political Unconscious, what does Jameson suggest about literature ?
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A. Biography is essential to literary analysis

B. All of the above answers are correct.

C. Politics and the economy are the most important factors in literary analysis

D. History comprises the essential framework for the performance of literary analysis
156. Sublimity has_______________?
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A. 5 sources

B. 3 sources

C. 2 sources

D. 4 sources

157. Who established the Lyceum ?
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A. Aristotle

B. Plato

C. Longinus

D. Horace

158. The term Electra Complex has originated from a tragedy entitled Electra. Who is the author of his tragedy ?
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A. Sophocles

B. Seneca

C. Euripides

D. Aeschylus

159. In which essay did Arnold say that for good literature to flourish two powers are necessary creative and the critical ?
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A. The Study of Poetry

B. The Function of Criticism

C. Essay on Wordsworth

D. Preface to Eighteen Fifty Three poems

160. Arnold summarises the rule of English criticism in one word, in The Function Of Criticism. What is the word ?
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A. Civilization

B. Purification

C. Intresedness

D. Disintrestedness
161. Regarding the observance of the three Classical Unities in a play, Dr. Johnsons view is that ?
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A. Only the Unity of Action should be observed

B. Only the Unity of Place should be observed

C. All the three Unities should be observed

D. Only the Unity of Time should be observed

162. Who called Aristotle the very Alexander of criticism ?
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A. Murray

B. Tyllard

C. Atkins

D. Saintsbury
163. The end of writing is to instruct, the end of poetry is to instruct by pleasing. Whose view is this ?
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A. Wordsworths

B. Coleridges

C. Matthew Arnolds

D. Dr. Johnsons
164. Which school of literary theory shows a particular interest in the role of testimony in literature ?
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A. Ecotheory

B. Trauma theory

C. Chaos theory

D. Formalism

165. What is the main goal of ethnic criticism ?
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A. To rectify the double experiences of certain racial groups

B. All of the above answers are correct.

C. To reconcile cultural identity with individual identity

D. To bring attention to false Euro-centric paradigms

166. Who for the first time discriminated between imagination and fancy ?
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A. Coleridge

B. John Ruskin

C. Schegell

D. William Wordsworth
167. Michael Foucault was the major practitioner of this school of criticism?
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A. Mimetic Criticism

B. Structuralism

C. Deconstructionism

D. Formalist Criticism

168. How are Julia Kristevas psychoanalytic theories distinct from traditional Freudian concepts ?
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A. Kristeva rejects the idea that neuroses provide insight into the unconscious.

B. Kristeva offers a more central place for womens issues within psychological development.

C. Kristeva suggests that women are not subject to traditional fetishes.

D. All of the above answers are correct.

169. Who made a distinction between Fancy and Imagination ?
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A. Southey

B. Hazlitt

C. Wordsworth

D. Coleridge
170. What is Christopher Rickss attitude toward literary theory ?
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A. He considers it to be vital in order to understand literary texts.

B. He has no misgivings about the practical usability of literary theory.

C. He feels that literary theory is ultimately too limited in scope to serve as a proper method of interpretation.

D. He considers theory to be the only way that literary texts can be interpreted.

171. Christopher Ricks would most likely DISAGREE with which of the following claims about literary theory ?
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A. Literary theory is limited in its ability to interpret a text.

B. Literary theory is the only proper way to conceptualize literary texts.

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

D. Literary theory is employed mostly by academics.

172. How does VirginiaWoolfs essay A Room of Ones Own contribute to feminist theory ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

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

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

D. It suggests that gender has power over class.

173. One purpose of LITERARY CRITICISM is described below: A formalist approach might enable us to choose between a reading which sees the dissolution of society in Lord of the Flies as being caused by too strict a suppression of the bestial side of man and one which sees it as resulting from too little suppression. We can look to the text and ask: What textual evidence is there for the suppression or indulgence of the bestial side of man? Does Ralph suppress Jack when he tries to indulge his bestial side in hunting? Does it appear from the text that an imposition of stricter law and order would have prevented the breakdown? Did it work in the grownup world of the novel? What purpose does this prescribe to ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

B. To enable to form judgments about literature.

C. To help decide which is the better of two conflicting readings.

D. To help resolve a question, problem, or difficulty in the reading.

174. Aristotle said of chorus in Greek tragedy that_____________?
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A. It is only lyrical songs in the play

B. It should make only reports

C. It should be regarded as one of the actors

D. It should only comment on the action

175. Seven is an archetype associated with____________?
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A. Death

B. Perfection

C. Birth

D. Evil

176. This approach provides a universalistic approach to literature and identifies a reason why certain literature may survive the test of time. It works well with works that are highly symbolic.What approach has this advantage ?
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A. Mimetic

B. Mythological/Archetypal

C. Historical/Biographical

D. Psychological

177. Which of the following texts provides the best example of defamiliarization ?
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A. Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness

B. W.E.B. Du Boiss The Souls of Black Folk

C. Leo Tolstoys The Kreutzer Sonata

D. Aristotles Poetics

178. Which of the following statements best explains the main objective of New Historicism ?
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A. Texts are examined to see how the formal aspects of the text create meaning.

B. Texts are examined to see how colonizers and the colonized interact.

C. Texts are examined to determine how they reveal social realities.

D. Texts are examined to determine the authors intent.

179. In which the following works Plato discusses his Theory of Poetry ?
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A. The Republic

B. Phaedrus

C. Apology

D. Ion

180. What is the purpose of feminist theory ?
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A. To advocate for womens rights

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

C. All of the above answers are correct.

D. To critique phallocentric assumptions about literature

181. Which of the following is a theme of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwicks book Epistemology of the Closet ?
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A. Literary study is unaffected by a lack of interest in sexuality.

B. All of the above answers are correct.

C. Understanding homosexuality has little effect on understanding culture.

D. Understanding sexuality is crucial to understanding culture.
182. Aristotles critical work is entitled_______________?
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A. De Arte Poetica

B. Ars Poetica

C. Art Poetique

D. Poetics
183. A critic examining John Miltons Paradise Lost focuses on the physical description of the Garden of Eden, on the symbols of hands, seed, and flower, and on the characters of Adam, Eve, Satan, and God. He pays special attention to the epic similes and metaphors and the point of view from which the tale is being told. He looks for meaning in the text itself, and does not refer to any biography of Milton. He is most likely a critic ?
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A. Feminist

B. Reader Response

C. Formalist

D. Mimetic

184. Preface to the Lyrical Ballads was published in______________?
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A. 1815

B. 1798

C. 1800

D. 1802

185. Reader-response theory is focused on considering which of the following ?
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A. How readers learn to read

B. How readers imagine visual images in a text

C. How readers regard critics

D. How readers participate in creating the meaning of a text
186. The probable date of composition of Ars Poetica is_______________?
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A. 100 BC

B. 15 AD

C. 12 to 8 BC

D. 20 AD

187. What is defamiliarization ?
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A. An idea explored by Viktor Shklovsky

B. A term that describes the capacity of art to counter the effects of habit

C. A term that describes how literature exposes its own artificiality

D. All of the above answers are correct.
188. The Lyrical Ballads was published in____________________?
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A. 1805

B. 1815

C. 1798

D. 1780

189. According to Plato, what is the moral purpose of art ?
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A. To criticize society through satire

B. To connect human beings with a higher ideal

C. To entertain those who enjoy it

D. All of the above answers are correct.

190. 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 ?
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A. Jacques Derridas Of Grammatology

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

C. Platos The Republic

D. Jacques Lacans The Mirror Stage..

191. Dryden wrote An Essay of Dramatic Poesy. Is this ?
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A. A Poetical Work

B. An Essay

C. An Interlocution

D. A Drama

192. The tragic-comedy which is the product of the English theatre is one the most monstrous inventions that ever entered into a poets thought. Whose view is this ?
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A. Joseph Addisons

B. John Drydens

C. Dr. Johnsons

D. Alexander Popes

193. Whom did Aristotle consider the most tragic of the Greek dramatists ?
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A. Euripides

B. Aeschylus

C. Agathon

D. Sophocles

194. Which of the following ideas relates to J.L. Austins performativity theory ?
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A. Language is used to indicate action as well as thought.

B. All of the above answers are correct

C. Performance is the ultimate objective of all human beings.

D. Individuals perform gender actively.

195. Who used the words romanticism and romantic first ?
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A. Carlyle

B. Coleridge

C. Wordsworth

D. Schlegel
196. Coleridge considered imagination as______________?
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A. Critical faculty

B. A psychological experience

C. A product of intellect

D. Modifying power
197. Which of the following is a rule of semiotics ?
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A. All linguistic concepts evolve solely out of the responses of people within a specific historical era.

B. All linguistic and social phenomena are texts, and the object of studying these texts is to reveal the underlying codes that make them meaningful.

C. All of the above answers are correct.

D. All linguistics is in some way related to class struggle.

198. Which is a common postcolonial critique of the West ?
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A. The West spends too much time trying to consider an Asian perspective.

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

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.
199. This critical approach assumes that language does not refer to any external reality. It can assert several, contradictory interpretations of one text ?
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A. Structuralism

B. Formalist Criticism

C. Mimetic Criticism

D. Deconstructionism
200. What is the central idea of Ferdinand de Saussures Course in General Linguistics ?
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A. All of the above answers are correct.

B. There are five phases of linguistic development.

C. Language can be analyzed as a formal system of elements.

D. Language is inseparable from its historical context.