MCQs

English Literature MCQs with Explanations

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3111English LiteratureMedium

The Canterbury Tales is an unfinished work, wherein each pilgrim was supposed to tell more than one tale. How many tales did Chaucer originally envision each pilgrim telling?

Asix

Bone

Ctwo

Dfour

Correct answer

D. four

Explanation

The correct answer is four.

3112English LiteratureMedium

Which of the following texts is the BEST example of the argument that a work’s meaning does not come entirely from the imagination of the author?

APlato’s The Republic

BJacques Derrida’s Of Grammatology

CJacques Lacan’s “The Mirror Stage.....

DT.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent”

Correct answer

D. T.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent”

Explanation

The correct answer is T.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent”.

3113English LiteratureMedium

The poem ends on a________?

Atragic and painful note

Bhappy and meaningful note

Ccourageous and hopeful note

Dphilosophical note

Correct answer

D. philosophical note

Explanation

The correct answer is philosophical note.

3114English LiteratureMedium

In the play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” where is Helena from?

AParis

BNaples

CLondon

DAthens

Correct answer

D. Athens

Explanation

The correct answer is Athens.

3115English LiteratureMedium

What does Elaine Showalter argue about gender in terms of representations of the character of Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet?

AFeminist critics need to re-appropriate Ophelia for their own purposes.

BWomen’s tragedies tend to be subordinated to those of men.

CAll of the above

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

Correct answer

C. All of the above

Explanation

The correct answer is All of the above.

3116English LiteratureMedium

H.D.’s poem “Oread” reads: “WHIRL up, sea-/Whirl your pointed pines./Splash your great pines/On our rocks./Hurl your green over us-/Cover us with your pools of fir.” To which of the following categories does this poem belong?

AFuturist poetry

BVorticist poetry

CObjectivist poetry

DImagist poetry

Correct answer

D. Imagist poetry

Explanation

The correct answer is Imagist poetry.

3117English LiteratureMedium

Which novel did T. S. Eliot praise for utilizing a new “mythical method” in place of the old “narrative method” and demonstrates the use of ancient mythology in modernist fiction to think about “making the modern world possible for art”?

AJames Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake

BVirginia Woolf’s The Waves

CJames Joyce’s Ulysses

DJoseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

Correct answer

C. James Joyce’s Ulysses

Explanation

The correct answer is James Joyce’s Ulysses.

3118English LiteratureMedium

What is the philosophical theory known as pragmatism?

AA theory of practical actions developed by William James

BAll of the above.

CA concept derived from the ancient Greek word pragma, meaning action

DAn idea used to guide conduct towards clear objectives

Correct answer

B. All of the above.

Explanation

The correct answer is All of the above..

3119English LiteratureMedium

According to John Milton’s view of the structure of the universe, the “Created Universe” is surrounded by what?

AHeaven

BHell

CSunshine

DChaos

Correct answer

D. Chaos

Explanation

The correct answer is Chaos.

3120English LiteratureMedium

Sir Thomas More wrote what famous text?

A“Paradise Lost”

B“The Inferno”

C“Utopia”

D“Toxophilus”

Correct answer

C. “Utopia”

Explanation

The correct answer is “Utopia”.

Which of the following texts is the BEST example of the argument that a work’s meaning does not come entirely from the imagination of the author?

APlato’s The Republic

BJacques Derrida’s Of Grammatology

CJacques Lacan’s “The Mirror Stage.....

DT.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent”

Correct answer

D. T.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent”

Explanation

The correct answer is T.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent”.

What does Elaine Showalter argue about gender in terms of representations of the character of Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet?

AFeminist critics need to re-appropriate Ophelia for their own purposes.

BWomen’s tragedies tend to be subordinated to those of men.

CAll of the above

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

Correct answer

C. All of the above

Explanation

The correct answer is All of the above.