literary theory and criticism MCQs – Page 6

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

literary theory and criticism Mcqs
101. Who originated the term objective correlative, which is often used in formalist criticism ?
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A. Matthew Arnold

B. C.S. Lewis

C. T.S. Eliot

D. Virginia Woolf

102. Among the following which is not a work by Aristotle ?
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A. Rhetoric

B. Ethics

C. Ars Poetica

D. Metaphysics

103. What is mimesis ?
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A. An imitation

B. A reversal

C. A poetic metaphor

D. A satire

104. Who coined the term esemplastic ?
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A. Browning

B. Coleridge

C. William Worsworth

D. Eliot

105. A critic argues that in John Miltons Samson Agonistes, the shearing of Samsons locks is symbolic of his castration at the hands of Delilah. What kind of critical approach is this critic using ?
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A. Mimetic approach

B. Formalist approach

C. Historical approach

D. Psychological approach
106. What approach to literary criticism requires the critic to know about the authors life and times ?
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A. Historical

B. All of these

C. Formalist

D. Mimetic

107. What has Dryden to say about the observance of the three Classical Dramatic Unities ?
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A. He does not advocate their strict observance

B. He advocates their strict observance

C. He says that every dramatist should decide it for himself

D. He is silent about this issue

108. What approach is described by the paragraph? Those who apply this approach believe it is necessary to know about the author and the political, economical, and sociological context of his times in order to truly understand his works ?
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A. Formalism

B. Moral/ Philosophical Approach

C. Historical/Biographical Approach

D. Psychological Approach

109. On Translating Homer is written by________________?
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A. T. S. ELiot

B. William Hazlit

C. Walter Pater

D. Mathew Arnold
110. What does Sidney say about the observance of the three Dramatic Unities in drama ?
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A. He favours the observance of the Unity of Action only

B. Their observance depends upon the nature of the theme of the play

C. It is not necessary to observe them

D. They must be observed
111. With which theorist is the term implied reader associated ?
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A. William Wimsatt

B. Harold Bloom

C. Cleanth Brooks

D. Wolfgang Iser

112. With which theorist is the concept imaginative geography associated ?
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A. Fredric Jameson

B. Julia Kristeva

C. Terry Eagleton

D. Edward Said
113. What does Elaine Showalter argue about gender in terms of representations of the character of Ophelia in William Shakespeares Hamlet ?
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A. Feminist critics need to re-appropriate Ophelia for their own purposes.

B. All of the above answers are correct.

C. Ophelias madness represents the social oppression of women.

D. It is nearly impossible to represent women as anything other than mad in patriarchal discourses.

114. What fundamental idea does psychoanalytic criticism hold about literary texts ?
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A. Literary texts should not be read as a projection of the authors psyche.

B. Literary texts solely reflect an authors intentions.

C. Literary texts reveal secret elements of an authors unconscious.

D. All of the above answers are correct.

115. Modern literary theory began with the work of which theorist ?
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A. Viktor Shklovsky

B. Michel Foucault

C. Roland Barthes

D. Ferdinand de Saussure
116. With which theorist is the term identity thinking most closely associated ?
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A. Sigmund Freud

B. Carl Jung

C. William James

D. Theodor W. Adorno
117. What do structuralist and formalist critics have in common ?
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A. Both sets of critics reject the importance of historical context in studying literature.

B. Both sets of critics look for an objective way to view texts.

C. Both sets of critics focus on evaluating literature in a scientific manner.

D. All of the above answers are correct.
118. The Frankfurt School of literary theory was most greatly influenced by which of the following schools of thought ?
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A. Structuralism

B. Formalism

C. Marxism

D. Poststructuralism

119. What is the original meaning of the term Hamartia ?
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A. To miss the mark

B. Sin

C. Flaws

D. Tragic flaw

120. Philip Sidneys Apologie for Poetrie is a defence of poetry against the charges brought against it by____________?
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A. Stephen Gosson

B. Henry Howard

C. John Skelton

D. Roger Ascham