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English Literature MCQs with Explanations

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1371English LiteratureMedium

The poem “In Flanders Fields” was written by John McCrae referring to which war?

AWorld War II

BWorld War I

CThe American Civil War

DThe Franco-Prussian War

Correct answer

B. World War I

Explanation

The correct answer is World War I.

1372English LiteratureMedium

Which of the following best describes litote, a favorite rhetorical device in Old English poetry?

Aironic understatement

Brepetition of parallel syntactic structures

Cstress on every third diphthong

Dembellishment at the service of Christian doctrine

Correct answer

A. ironic understatement

Explanation

The correct answer is ironic understatement.

1373English LiteratureMedium

What does Eve do when she first becomes conscious?

ALook at her reflection in a stream

BTalk to the animals

CGo in search of her mate

DEat of the Tree of Knowledge

Correct answer

A. Look at her reflection in a stream

Explanation

The correct answer is Look at her reflection in a stream.

1374English LiteratureMedium

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

AStructuralism

BMimetic Criticism

CDeconstructionism

DFormalist Criticism

Correct answer

C. Deconstructionism

Explanation

The correct answer is Deconstructionism.

1375English LiteratureMedium

Which work of William Wordsworth, with the joint publication with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature?

AThe Prelude

BPoems, in Two Volumes

CLyrical Ballads

DThe Excursion

Correct answer

C. Lyrical Ballads

Explanation

The correct answer is Lyrical Ballads.

1376English LiteratureMedium

What doctrine significantly influenced Sir Thomas More’s “Utopia”?

AChristian Humanism

BFeminism

CNew Historicism

DMarxism

Correct answer

A. Christian Humanism

Explanation

The correct answer is Christian Humanism.

1377English LiteratureMedium

Why did Bradford and the Pilgrims create Plymouth Colony?

AReligious practice of the Church of England

BFor the land

CAll of the above

DSovereignty to establish godly kingdom as they saw fit

Correct answer

D. Sovereignty to establish godly kingdom as they saw fit

Explanation

The correct answer is Sovereignty to establish godly kingdom as they saw fit.

1378English LiteratureMedium

In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” what does Alisoun say women want most?

Achastity

Bfreedom

Clove

Deducation

Correct answer

B. freedom

Explanation

The correct answer is freedom.

1379English LiteratureMedium

In Chapter XV of William Wells Brown’s Clotel, why was Clotel made to cut her long hair?

ATo keep the lice away.

BThe mistress of the house was afraid her husband would be attracted to Clotel.

CSo she could sell it.

DSo that the other slaves would get along with her.

Correct answer

B. The mistress of the house was afraid her husband would be attracted to Clotel.

Explanation

The correct answer is The mistress of the house was afraid her husband would be attracted to Clotel..

1380English LiteratureMedium

Who was “Fortinbras”?

AHamlet’s Mend

BSon to the king of Norway

CClaudius’s son

DOphelia’s lover

Correct answer

B. Son to the king of Norway

Explanation

The correct answer is Son to the king of Norway.

In Chapter XV of William Wells Brown’s Clotel, why was Clotel made to cut her long hair?

ATo keep the lice away.

BThe mistress of the house was afraid her husband would be attracted to Clotel.

CSo she could sell it.

DSo that the other slaves would get along with her.

Correct answer

B. The mistress of the house was afraid her husband would be attracted to Clotel.

Explanation

The correct answer is The mistress of the house was afraid her husband would be attracted to Clotel..