MCQs

English Literature MCQs with Explanations

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741English LiteratureMedium

In The Paradiso, what event does Dante allegorically represent?

AThe soul’s descent into hell

BThe soul’s tour of purgatory

CThe soul’s ascent to heaven

DThe soul’s union with the body

Correct answer

C. The soul’s ascent to heaven

Explanation

The correct answer is The soul’s ascent to heaven.

742English LiteratureMedium

Shakespeare composed much of his plays in what sort of verse?

ASonnet form

BDactylic hexameter

CIambic pentameter

DAlliterative verse

Correct answer

C. Iambic pentameter

Explanation

The correct answer is Iambic pentameter.

743English LiteratureMedium

The word ‘bank’ in ‘on the banks on the river’ and ‘banks are financial institutions’ is called a________?

AHomographs

BAllophones

CHomonyms

DHomophones

Correct answer

A. Homographs

Explanation

The correct answer is Homographs.

744English LiteratureMedium

In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” what is the significance of “barley bread”?

ABarley bread signifies Chaucer’s use of alliterative verse.

BBarley bread represents the wife’s answer to the belief that virginity is superior to marriage.

CBarley bread suggests the heroine’s state as a fallen woman.

DBarley bread provides an example of medieval estates satire.

Correct answer

B. Barley bread represents the wife’s answer to the belief that virginity is superior to marriage.

Explanation

The correct answer is Barley bread represents the wife’s answer to the belief that virginity is superior to marriage..

745English LiteratureMedium

Which of the following ideas relates to J.L. Austin’s performativity theory?

AIndividuals develop consciousness through speech

BIndividuals perform gender actively.

CLanguage is used to indicate action as well as thought.

DPerformance is the ultimate objective of all human beings.

Correct answer

C. Language is used to indicate action as well as thought.

Explanation

The correct answer is Language is used to indicate action as well as thought..

746English LiteratureMedium

Which poets collaborated on the Lyrical Ballads of 1798?

AWilliam Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

BMary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley

CCharles Lamb and William Hazlitt

DMary Wollstonecraft and William Blake

Correct answer

A. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Explanation

The correct answer is William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

747English LiteratureMedium

Which of the following statements best describes Cleanth Brooks’s attitude towards studying literature?

ACritics should attempt to paraphrase texts in order to find out what they mean.

BCritics should examine historical information surrounding a literary work.

CCritics should look at the biographical information of authors.

DCritics should develop universal readings of texts.

Correct answer

D. Critics should develop universal readings of texts.

Explanation

The correct answer is Critics should develop universal readings of texts..

748English LiteratureMedium

All works of the highest art are meant to________?

Ainstill in us the sense of the art

Bstir our intellect

Crestore our skills for the art

Dtingle our senses

Correct answer

B. stir our intellect

Explanation

The correct answer is stir our intellect.

749English LiteratureMedium

To Whom does Franklin say he is addressing his autobiography part 1?

AHis son, john

BHis son, William

CIndians

DHimself

Correct answer

B. His son, William

Explanation

The correct answer is His son, William.

750English LiteratureMedium

To what subgenre did the Senecan influence give rise, as evidenced in the first English tragedy Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex?

Apoetic tragedy

Bvillain tragedy

Crevenge tragedy

Dheroic tragedy

Correct answer

C. revenge tragedy

Explanation

The correct answer is revenge tragedy.

In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” what is the significance of “barley bread”?

ABarley bread signifies Chaucer’s use of alliterative verse.

BBarley bread represents the wife’s answer to the belief that virginity is superior to marriage.

CBarley bread suggests the heroine’s state as a fallen woman.

DBarley bread provides an example of medieval estates satire.

Correct answer

B. Barley bread represents the wife’s answer to the belief that virginity is superior to marriage.

Explanation

The correct answer is Barley bread represents the wife’s answer to the belief that virginity is superior to marriage..

Which of the following ideas relates to J.L. Austin’s performativity theory?

AIndividuals develop consciousness through speech

BIndividuals perform gender actively.

CLanguage is used to indicate action as well as thought.

DPerformance is the ultimate objective of all human beings.

Correct answer

C. Language is used to indicate action as well as thought.

Explanation

The correct answer is Language is used to indicate action as well as thought..

Which poets collaborated on the Lyrical Ballads of 1798?

AWilliam Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

BMary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley

CCharles Lamb and William Hazlitt

DMary Wollstonecraft and William Blake

Correct answer

A. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Explanation

The correct answer is William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Which of the following statements best describes Cleanth Brooks’s attitude towards studying literature?

ACritics should attempt to paraphrase texts in order to find out what they mean.

BCritics should examine historical information surrounding a literary work.

CCritics should look at the biographical information of authors.

DCritics should develop universal readings of texts.

Correct answer

D. Critics should develop universal readings of texts.

Explanation

The correct answer is Critics should develop universal readings of texts..