MCQOPTIONS
Saved Bookmarks
MCQOPTIONS
This section includes 450 Mcqs, each offering curated multiple-choice questions to sharpen your English Literature knowledge and support exam preparation. Choose a topic below to get started.
| 251. |
What is the name for the process of dividing land into privately owned agricultural holdings ? |
| A. | partition |
| B. | segregation |
| C. | enclosure |
| D. | division |
| Answer» D. division | |
| 252. |
What is the name for a shift in tone or meaning of a sonnet______________? |
| A. | Octave |
| B. | Volta |
| C. | Iambic Pentameter |
| D. | Petrarchan |
| Answer» C. Iambic Pentameter | |
| 253. |
What is the first extended written specimen of Old English ? |
| A. | Boethius’s Consolidation of Philosophy |
| B. | Saint Jerome’s translation of the Bible |
| C. | Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People |
| D. | a code of laws promulgated by King Ethelbert |
| Answer» E. | |
| 254. |
What is the delicate balancing act of Marvell’s Horatian Ode ? |
| A. | praising Roman virtues whilst endorsing Christian beliefs |
| B. | praising feminine virtue whilst mocking the fixation on chastity |
| C. | celebrating Cromwell’s victories whilst inviting sympathy for the executed king |
| D. | celebrating the Restoration whilst regretting the frivolity of the new regime |
| Answer» D. celebrating the Restoration whilst regretting the frivolity of the new regime | |
| 255. |
What is the climax of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain ? |
| A. | the reign of King Arthur |
| B. | the coronation of Henry II |
| C. | King John’s seal of the Magna Carta |
| D. | the marriage of Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine |
| Answer» B. the coronation of Henry II | |
| 256. |
What is Shakespeare’s longest play ? |
| A. | Taming of the Shrew |
| B. | Romeo and Juliet |
| C. | A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
| D. | Hamlet |
| Answer» E. | |
| 257. |
What is meant by ’Wessex’ ? |
| A. | The region where Bronte sisters lived |
| B. | The region in which Hardy’s novels are set |
| C. | The home town of George Eliot |
| D. | A county in Ireland |
| Answer» C. The home town of George Eliot | |
| 258. |
What is common among D.G. Rosetti, Christina Rosetti, Morris and Swinburne? |
| A. | They were Pre-Raphaelite artists |
| B. | They were friends |
| C. | They extended the ideals of the pre-Raphaelite art to literature |
| D. | None of these |
| Answer» D. None of these | |
| 259. |
What is common amongst Cardinal Newman, John Keble, Henry Newman and Stanley ? |
| A. | They were all poets |
| B. | They were all associated with Pre- Raphaelite School |
| C. | They were all atheists |
| D. | They were all associated with the Oxford Movement |
| Answer» E. | |
| 260. |
What is blank verse ? |
| A. | iambic pentameter in rhyming couplets |
| B. | the verse form of the Shakespearean sonnet |
| C. | free verse, without rhyme or regular meter |
| D. | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| Answer» E. | |
| 261. |
What impulse probably accounts for the rise of distinguished translations of works, such as Homer’s lliad and Odyssey, into English during the sixteenth century ? |
| A. | human reverence for the classics |
| B. | the belief that the English were direct descendants of the ancient Greeks |
| C. | pride for the vernacular language |
| D. | a and c only |
| Answer» E. | |
| 262. |
What historical figure promoted the rapid growth of a high Anglican faction within the church whose ceremony, ritual, and doctrine more closely resembled Roman Catholicism ? |
| A. | William Collins |
| B. | William Laud |
| C. | William Shakespeare |
| D. | William Tyndale |
| Answer» C. William Shakespeare | |
| 263. |
What happened in 1707 that would forever alter the relationship between England, Wales, and Scotland ? |
| A. | the trial and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots |
| B. | the Toleration Act |
| C. | the failed invasion of the Spanish Armada |
| D. | the Act of Union |
| Answer» E. | |
| 264. |
What event resulted from the premature death of Henry V ? |
| A. | the Battle of Agincourt |
| B. | the Battle of Hastings |
| C. | the Norman Conquest |
| D. | the War of the Roses |
| Answer» E. | |
| 265. |
What factors contributed to the increased popularity of nonfiction prose ? |
| A. | a new market position for nonfiction writing and an exalted sense of the didactic function of the writer |
| B. | a Puritanical distrust of fictions and a thirst for trivia |
| C. | the forbiddingly high cost of threevolume novels and the difficulty of finding poetry in bookshops outside of London |
| D. | the deconstruction of the truth-fiction dichotomy and an accompanying relativistic sense that every opinion was of equal value |
| Answer» B. a Puritanical distrust of fictions and a thirst for trivia | |
| 266. |
What event allowed mainstream theater companies to commission and perform work that was politically, socially, and sexually controversial without fear of censorship ? |
| A. | the abolition of the Lord Chamberlain’s office in 1968 |
| B. | the illegal performance of work by Howard Brenton and Edward Bond |
| C. | the collapse of liberal humanist consensus in the late 1960s |
| D. | the foundation of the Field Day Theater Company in 1980 |
| Answer» B. the illegal performance of work by Howard Brenton and Edward Bond | |
| 267. |
What drove William Cowper to break down and become a recluse ? |
| A. | the conviction that he was damned forever |
| B. | the loss of his fortune in the /South Sea Bubble/ |
| C. | the vindication of Newtonian physics |
| D. | condemnation of his work by Jeremy Collier |
| Answer» B. the loss of his fortune in the /South Sea Bubble/ | |
| 268. |
What does the phrase “White Man’s Burden,” coined by Kipling, refer to ? |
| A. | Britain’s manifest destiny to colonize the world |
| B. | the moral responsibility to bring civilization and Christianity to the peoples of the world |
| C. | the British need to improve technology and transportation in other parts of the world |
| D. | the importance of solving economic and social problems in England before tackling the world’s problems |
| Answer» C. the British need to improve technology and transportation in other parts of the world | |
| 269. |
What does the phrase White Man’s Burden, coined by Kipling, refer to ? |
| A. | Britain’s manifest destiny to colonize the world |
| B. | the moral responsibility to bring civilization and Christianity to the peoples of the world |
| C. | the British need to improve technology and transportation in other parts of the world |
| D. | the importance of solving economic and social problems in England before tackling the world’s problems |
| Answer» C. the British need to improve technology and transportation in other parts of the world | |
| 270. |
What did Victorian journalists mean by terming certain women surplusor _x005F_x000D_edundant ? |
| A. | They remained unmarried due to a population imbalance between the sexes. |
| B. | Their willingness to work for low wages resulted in a surplus of textiles, causing them to drop in price. |
| C. | They were women writers who wrote frequently about similar topics. |
| D. | They prostituted themselves as a way to make money in a market economy that didn’t provide extensive job opportunities to women. |
| Answer» B. Their willingness to work for low wages resulted in a surplus of textiles, causing them to drop in price. | |
| 271. |
What did Thomas Carlyle mean by “Close thy Byron; open thy Goethe” ? |
| A. | Britain’s preeminence as a global power will depend on mastery of foreign languages. |
| B. | Even a foreign author is better than a homegrown scoundrel. |
| C. | Abandon the introspection of the Romantics and turn to the higher moral purpose found in Goethe. |
| D. | In a carefully veiled critique of the monarchy, Byron and Goethe stand in symbolically for Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin respectively. |
| Answer» E. | |
| 272. |
What did Thomas Carlyle mean by Close thy Byron; open thy Goethe ? |
| A. | Britain’s preeminence as a global power will depend on mastery of foreign languages. |
| B. | Even a foreign author is better than a homegrown scoundrel. |
| C. | Abandon the introspection of the Romantics and turn to the higher moral purpose found in Goethe. |
| D. | In a carefully veiled critique of the monarchy, Byron and Goethe stand in symbolically for Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin respectively. |
| Answer» D. In a carefully veiled critique of the monarchy, Byron and Goethe stand in symbolically for Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin respectively. | |
| 273. |
What did T. S. Eliot attempt to combine, though not very successfully, in his plays Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party ? |
| A. | regional dialect and political critique |
| B. | religious symbolism and society comedy |
| C. | iambic pentameter and sexual innuendo |
| D. | witty paradoxes and feminist diatribe |
| Answer» C. iambic pentameter and sexual innuendo | |
| 274. |
What did Henry James describe as loose baggy monsters ? |
| A. | novels |
| B. | plays |
| C. | the English |
| D. | publishers |
| Answer» B. plays | |
| 275. |
What did Byron deride with his scathing reference to ’Peddlers,’ and ’Boats,’ and ’Wagons’! ? |
| A. | the neo-classical influence of Pope and Dryden |
| B. | the clumsiness of Shakespeare’s plots |
| C. | the Orientalist fantasies of Coleridge |
| D. | Wordsworth’s devotion to the ordinary and everyday |
| Answer» E. | |
| 276. |
What did Byron deride with his scathing reference to “’Peddlers,’ and ’Boats,’ and ’Wagons’!” ? |
| A. | the neo-classical influence of Pope and Dryden |
| B. | the clumsiness of Shakespeare’s plots |
| C. | the Orientalist fantasies of Coleridge |
| D. | Wordsworth’s devotion to the ordinary and everyday |
| Answer» E. | |
| 277. |
what did Chaucer’s wife use to do ? |
| A. | lady-in-waiting to Queen Philip pa of Hainaut |
| B. | nurse of royal court |
| C. | governess to Henry IV |
| D. | none of the above |
| Answer» B. nurse of royal court | |
| 278. |
What did Henry James describe as “loose baggy monsters” ? |
| A. | novels |
| B. | plays |
| C. | the English |
| D. | publishers |
| Answer» B. plays | |
| 279. |
What church did Elizabeth I establish or re-establish by law in England during her reign ? |
| A. | The Anglican Church |
| B. | The Roman Catholic Church |
| C. | Calvinism |
| D. | The Lutheran Church |
| Answer» B. The Roman Catholic Church | |
| 280. |
What characteristics of seventeenthcentury Metaphysical poetry sparked the enthusiasm of modernist poets and critics ? |
| A. | its intellectual complexity |
| B. | its union of thought and passion |
| C. | its uncompromising engagement with politics |
| D. | A and B |
| Answer» E. | |
| 281. |
What characteristics of seventeenth century Metaphysical poetry sparked the enthusiasm of modernist poets and critics ? |
| A. | its intellectual complexity |
| B. | its union of thought and passion |
| C. | its uncompromising engagement with politics |
| D. | A and B |
| Answer» E. | |
| 282. |
What best describes the subject of most Victorian novels? |
| A. | the representation of a large and comprehensive socialworld in realistic detail |
| B. | a surrealist exploration of alternate states ofconsciousness |
| C. | a mythic dream world |
| D. | the attempt of a protagonist to define his or her placein society |
| E. | a and d |
| Answer» F. | |
| 283. |
What best describes the subject of most Victorian novels ? |
| A. | the representation of a large and comprehensive social world in realistic detail |
| B. | a surrealist exploration of alternate states of consciousness |
| C. | the attempt of a protagonist to define his or her place in society |
| D. | A and C |
| Answer» E. | |
| 284. |
What are the names of the two feuding families in Romeo and Juliet ? |
| A. | Capulet And Montague |
| B. | Breslow and Felsher |
| C. | Fuech and Goodside |
| D. | Dawson and Hurley |
| Answer» B. Breslow and Felsher | |
| 285. |
What are the beginning and ending dates of the reign of James I ? |
| A. | 1592-1608 |
| B. | 1603-1625 |
| C. | 1607-1627 |
| D. | 1608-1639 |
| Answer» C. 1607-1627 | |
| 286. |
What are the beginning and ending dates of the Elizabethan era ? |
| A. | 1558-1603 |
| B. | 1500-1520 |
| C. | 1560-1570 |
| D. | 1575-1600 |
| Answer» B. 1500-1520 | |
| 287. |
Vanity Fair is a novel by_______________? |
| A. | Jane Austin |
| B. | Dickens |
| C. | Emily Bronte |
| D. | Thackery |
| Answer» E. | |
| 288. |
Utopia was written by_____________? |
| A. | Cervantes |
| B. | Machiavelli |
| C. | Poliziano |
| D. | Thomas More |
| Answer» E. | |
| 289. |
Toward the close of which century did English replace French as the language of conducting business in Parliament and in court of law ? |
| A. | tenth |
| B. | eleventh |
| C. | twelfth |
| D. | fourteenth |
| Answer» E. | |
| 290. |
To whom did the Reform Bill of 1832 extend the vote on parliamentary representation ? |
| A. | the working classes |
| B. | women |
| C. | the lower middle classes |
| D. | slaves |
| Answer» D. slaves | |
| 291. |
To what subgenre did the Senecan influence give rise, as evidenced in the first English tragedy Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex ? |
| A. | villain tragedy |
| B. | poetic tragedy |
| C. | heroic tragedy |
| D. | revenge tragedy |
| Answer» E. | |
| 292. |
To what does the phrase the stigma of print refer ? |
| A. | lead poisoning contracted from handling printer’s ink |
| B. | the brutal punishment for printing without a license |
| C. | the pre-Reformation ban on printing the Bible in English |
| D. | the perception among court poets that printed verses were less exclusive |
| Answer» E. | |
| 293. |
To what did the word the roman, from which the genre of “romance”emerged, initially apply ? |
| A. | a work derived from a Latin text of the Roman Empire |
| B. | a story about love and adventure |
| C. | a Roman official |
| D. | a work written in the French vernacular |
| Answer» E. | |
| 294. |
To what did the word the roman, from which the genre of romance emerged, initially apply ? |
| A. | a work derived from a Latin text of the Roman Empire |
| B. | a story about love and adventure |
| C. | a Roman official |
| D. | a work written in the French vernacular |
| Answer» E. | |
| 295. |
Thomas More’s Utopia placed the blame for society’s problems on_______________? |
| A. | human nature |
| B. | God’s will |
| C. | society itself |
| D. | the Church |
| Answer» D. the Church | |
| 296. |
Thomas and Henrietta Bowdler’s edition of The Family Shakespeare gave rise to the verb 'bowdlerize.'What does it mean ? |
| A. | the expurgation of indelicate language |
| B. | the modernization of archaic vocabulary |
| C. | the insertion of bawdy songs |
| D. | the misspelling of simple words like 'the'and 'and' |
| Answer» B. the modernization of archaic vocabulary | |
| 297. |
This famous neoclassical poet wrote on profound themes such as death, but he also had a lighter side. He once wrote an ode to a cat drowned in a tub of gold fishes ? |
| A. | Alexander Pope |
| B. | William Collins |
| C. | Thomas Gray |
| D. | Ben Jonson |
| Answer» D. Ben Jonson | |
| 298. |
The word “Jacobean” is derived from the ___________ name Jacob, which is the original form of the English name James? |
| A. | Samaritan Hebrew language |
| B. | Biblical Hebrew |
| C. | Mishnaic Hebrew |
| D. | Hebrew language |
| Answer» E. | |
| 299. |
the word renaissance means______________? |
| A. | the rebirth of learning or knowledge |
| B. | reading of books |
| C. | the time of astronauts |
| D. | the study of art |
| Answer» B. reading of books | |
| 300. |
The use of “whale-road”for sea and “lifehouse” for body are examples of what literary technique, popular in Old English poetry ? |
| A. | symbolism |
| B. | simile |
| C. | metonymy |
| D. | kenning |
| Answer» E. | |