MCQs

English Literature MCQs with Explanations

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1091English LiteratureMedium

In the play, “Twelfth Night,” who is Sebastian?

AA clown

BOlivia’s uncle

CViola’s eventual lover

DViola’s twin brother

Correct answer

D. Viola’s twin brother

Explanation

The correct answer is Viola’s twin brother.

1092English LiteratureMedium

To whom does the Ancient Mariner tell his story in “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”?

ADorothy Wordsworth

BLife-in-Death

CThe Wedding Guest

DColeridge

Correct answer

C. The Wedding Guest

Explanation

The correct answer is The Wedding Guest.

1093English LiteratureMedium

In A Portrait of the Artist, the main character is named after which mythical figure?

AMinos

BAeneas

CIcarus

DDaedalus

Correct answer

D. Daedalus

Explanation

The correct answer is Daedalus.

1094English LiteratureMedium

Why is it significant that Dracula is from Transylvania?

ATransylvania and England had been at war in the 1860s.

BTransylvania represents a vaguely known and, therefore, suspicious country.

CTransylvania and England were once part of the Holy Roman Empire.

DTransylvania is England’s economic rival.

Correct answer

B. Transylvania represents a vaguely known and, therefore, suspicious country.

Explanation

The correct answer is Transylvania represents a vaguely known and, therefore, suspicious country..

1095English LiteratureMedium

This mode of discourse attempts to convince someone________?

APrejudice

BPromise

CPersuasion

DPromotion

Correct answer

C. Persuasion

Explanation

The correct answer is Persuasion.

1096English LiteratureMedium

Who does NOT represent the “new woman”?

ACharlotte Perkins Gilman

BAntonia

CJane Eyre

DMina Murray Harker

Correct answer

B. Antonia

Explanation

The correct answer is Antonia.

1097English LiteratureMedium

Who wrote “The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock”?

ACumings

BEdgar lee masters

CRobert Lee Frost

DT.S. Eliot

Correct answer

D. T.S. Eliot

Explanation

The correct answer is T.S. Eliot.

1098English LiteratureMedium

Which of the following sentences is the famous first line of Nabokov’s “Lolita”?

A“Lolita, all at once we were madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with each other.”

B“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.”

C“Lolita, a cluster of stars palely glowed above us.”

D“Lolita, look at this tangle of thorns.”

Correct answer

B. “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.”

Explanation

The correct answer is “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.”.

1099English LiteratureMedium

John Milton’s “Areopagitica” is best described by which of the following genres?

AProse polemic

BBlank verse tragedy

CMasque

DPastoral elegy

Correct answer

A. Prose polemic

Explanation

The correct answer is Prose polemic.

1100English LiteratureMedium

How does this quotation from Behn’s Oroonoko most suggest its status as an early novel: “I do not pretend, in giving you the history of this Royal Slave, to entertain my reader with adventures of a feigned hero, whose life and fortunes fancy may manage at the poet’s pleasure.”?

AIt focuses on a royal hero.

BIt focuses on adventures.

CIt connects to poetry.

DIt denies being imagined in favor of claims of realism.

Correct answer

D. It denies being imagined in favor of claims of realism.

Explanation

The correct answer is It denies being imagined in favor of claims of realism..

Why is it significant that Dracula is from Transylvania?

ATransylvania and England had been at war in the 1860s.

BTransylvania represents a vaguely known and, therefore, suspicious country.

CTransylvania and England were once part of the Holy Roman Empire.

DTransylvania is England’s economic rival.

Correct answer

B. Transylvania represents a vaguely known and, therefore, suspicious country.

Explanation

The correct answer is Transylvania represents a vaguely known and, therefore, suspicious country..

Which of the following sentences is the famous first line of Nabokov’s “Lolita”?

A“Lolita, all at once we were madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with each other.”

B“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.”

C“Lolita, a cluster of stars palely glowed above us.”

D“Lolita, look at this tangle of thorns.”

Correct answer

B. “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.”

Explanation

The correct answer is “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.”.