MCQOPTIONS
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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.
| 401. |
He wrote both religious and secular poetry. One of his poems urged virgins to make the most of their time ? |
| A. | Ben Jonson |
| B. | Alexander Pope |
| C. | Robert Herrick |
| D. | John Dryden |
| Answer» D. John Dryden | |
| 402. |
Given the popularity of the Gothic novel and the novel of purpose, which of the following novelists wrote fiction that is closer in subject matter to the novel of manners than it is to the writing of her own era ? |
| A. | Fanny Burney |
| B. | Mary Wollstonecraft |
| C. | Anna Letitia Barbauld |
| D. | Jane Austen |
| Answer» E. | |
| 403. |
George Eliot’s novel Romola is a________________? |
| A. | Gothic novel |
| B. | Autobiographical novel |
| C. | Historical novel |
| D. | Picaresque novel |
| Answer» D. Picaresque novel | |
| 404. |
’George Eliot’ was the pen-name of______________? |
| A. | Mary Collins |
| B. | Marian Evans |
| C. | Lara Evans |
| D. | Clare Reeve |
| Answer» C. Lara Evans | |
| 405. |
From which of the following Italian texts might Tudor courtiers have learned the art of intrigue and the keys to gaining and keeping power ? |
| A. | Castiglione’s The Courtier |
| B. | Dante’s Divine Comedy |
| C. | Boccaccio’s Decameron |
| D. | Machiavelli’s The Prince |
| Answer» E. | |
| 406. |
From where Matthew Arnold took the story for his Sohras and Rustam ? |
| A. | Arabian Nights |
| B. | Canterbury Tales |
| C. | Shah Namah |
| D. | Pilgrims Progress |
| Answer» D. Pilgrims Progress | |
| 407. |
For what do Matthew Arnold’s moral investment in nonfiction and Walter Pater’s aesthetic investment together pave the way ? |
| A. | a renewed secularism in the twentieth century |
| B. | modern literary criticism |
| C. | late nineteenth-century and earlytwentieth- century satirical drama |
| D. | the surrealist movement |
| Answer» C. late nineteenth-century and earlytwentieth- century satirical drama | |
| 408. |
Fill in the blanks from Tennyson’s The Princess. Man for the field and woman for the …..: Man for the sword and for the ___________ she: Man with the head and woman with the __________Man to command and woman to _____________? |
| A. | crop; scabbard; foot; agree |
| B. | throne; scepter; soul; decree |
| C. | school; scalpel; pen; set free |
| D. | hearth; needle; heart; obey |
| Answer» E. | |
| 409. |
Fill in the blanks from Tennyson’s The Princess. Man for the field and woman for the _________ Man for the sword and for the ____________ she: Man with the head and woman with the …..: Man to command and woman to ____________? |
| A. | crop; scabbard; foot; agree |
| B. | throne; scepter; soul; decree |
| C. | school; scalpel; pen; set free |
| D. | hearth; needle; heart; obey |
| Answer» E. | |
| 410. |
Famous satiric drama,Volpone,is written by ? |
| A. | Sir Walter Scot |
| B. | Christopher Marlow |
| C. | Ben Johnson |
| D. | George Herbert |
| Answer» D. George Herbert | |
| 411. |
Expressed in Elizabethan poetry as well as court rituals and events, a cult of_________formed around Elizabeth and dictated the nature of relations between herself and her court ? |
| A. | ignominy |
| B. | unwarranted abuse |
| C. | odium |
| D. | love |
| Answer» E. | |
| 412. |
Experimentation in which of the following areas of poetic expression characterize Victorian poetry and allow Victorian poets to represent psychology in a different way ? |
| A. | the use of pictorial description to construct visual images to represent the emotion or situation of the poem |
| B. | sound as a means to express meaning |
| C. | perspective, as in the dramatic monologue |
| D. | all of the above |
| Answer» E. | |
| 413. |
Everyone in Elizabethan England was born into a social class. Peasants were the unluckiest of the lot: they were denied basic comforts, security, and even the chance to dress well. Yep, the Statutes of Apparel outlined the clothes one could legally wear based on rank. Which of the following could the poor wear ? |
| A. | Purple silk dresses |
| B. | Woolen underwear |
| C. | Sable-lined cloaks |
| D. | Velvet coats |
| Answer» C. Sable-lined cloaks | |
| 414. |
Elizabeth’s reign was longer than that of any other Tudor. When she died at the age of 69 in 1603, how many years had she reigned ? |
| A. | 35 |
| B. | 40 |
| C. | 45 |
| D. | 50 |
| Answer» D. 50 | |
| 415. |
Elizabethans were notoriously superstitious. They feared witches, believed in magical animals, and sought good luck charms. What “science” did they utilize in trying to predict and control the future ? |
| A. | Alchemy |
| B. | Metallurgy |
| C. | Geocentricity |
| D. | Astrology |
| Answer» E. | |
| 416. |
Elizabethans had many occupational choices. One could become an apothecary, clerk, physician, or even court jester. Though there seemed to be a myriad of careers to choose from, most people still ended up being very poor. In order to survive, what illegal activity did a large number of citizens pursue ? |
| A. | Begging |
| B. | Money lending |
| C. | Fortune-telling |
| D. | Wine bottling |
| Answer» B. Money lending | |
| 417. |
Elizabethan England was largely rural, with the majority of its population living in the verdant countryside. Towns and cities, however, were growing–and the most prominent of all was London. While Londoners were considered wealthy and arrogant, the city was begrimed, filthy, and infested with vermin. Where did people primarily dispose of their trash and wastes ? |
| A. | Dump sites in the nearby country |
| B. | The streets |
| C. | The underground drains |
| D. | Designated “trash” areas |
| Answer» C. The underground drains | |
| 418. |
Elizabeth Barrett’s poem The Cry of the Children is concerned with which major issue attendant on the Time of Troubles during the 1830s and 1840s ? |
| A. | women’s rights and suffrage |
| B. | child labor |
| C. | Chartism |
| D. | the prudishness and old-fashioned ideals of her fellow Victorians |
| Answer» C. Chartism | |
| 419. |
Elizabeth and Mary I belonged to what royal family ? |
| A. | Windsor |
| B. | Stuart |
| C. | Tudor |
| D. | Plantagenet |
| Answer» D. Plantagenet | |
| 420. |
Edward King, a minor poet and a contemporary of Milton’s at Cambridge, was drowned at sea in 1637. Milton wrote an elegy for him. What was the title of this poem ? |
| A. | lycidas |
| B. | Paradise Lost |
| C. | II penseroso |
| D. | none of the above |
| Answer» B. Paradise Lost | |
| 421. |
Dunstan is a character from the novel________________? |
| A. | Silas Marner |
| B. | Emma |
| C. | Hard Times |
| D. | Adam Bede |
| Answer» B. Emma | |
| 422. |
Crime was ardently followed by punishment. Elizabethans had devised various ways to fine, humiliate, torture, and kill offenders. Which crime was punishable by death ? |
| A. | Skipping church on Sunday |
| B. | A woman screaming at her husband in public |
| C. | Stealing a horse |
| D. | Public drunkenness |
| Answer» D. Public drunkenness | |
| 423. |
Complete this famous quote by John Dryden: “Who think too little, and who talk too __________” ? |
| A. | often |
| B. | long |
| C. | much |
| D. | fast |
| Answer» D. fast | |
| 424. |
Cocktown is an imaginary industrial town in the novelfirst_____________? |
| A. | Cranford |
| B. | Hard Times |
| C. | Ruth |
| D. | Vanity Fair |
| Answer» C. Ruth | |
| 425. |
Christian writers like the Beowulf poet looked back on their pagan ancestors with_______________? |
| A. | nostalgia and ill-concealed envy. |
| B. | bewilderment and visceral loathing. |
| C. | admiration and elegiac sympathy. |
| D. | bigotry and shallow triumphalism. |
| Answer» D. bigotry and shallow triumphalism. | |
| 426. |
Christian writers like the Beowulf poet looked back on their pagan ancestors with____________? |
| A. | nostalgia and ill-concealed envy. |
| B. | bewilderment and visceral loathing. |
| C. | admiration and elegiac sympathy. |
| D. | bigotry and shallow triumphalism. |
| Answer» D. bigotry and shallow triumphalism. | |
| 427. |
Chaucer was released from legal action by____________in a deed of May 1, 1380 from rape and abduction ? |
| A. | Miss Cecily Chaumpaigne |
| B. | Philippa de Roet of Flanders |
| C. | Agnes de Copton |
| D. | none of the above |
| Answer» B. Philippa de Roet of Flanders | |
| 428. |
Chaucer was made in-charge of many palaces, which of these was not in his charge ? |
| A. | Westminster Palace |
| B. | Tower of London |
| C. | St. George’s chapel at Windsor |
| D. | Buckingham Palace |
| Answer» E. | |
| 429. |
chaucer was fined in 1367 or 1366 for_______________________? |
| A. | beating a friar in a London street |
| B. | for writing poetry against the church |
| C. | for crossing the border of Great Britain |
| D. | none of the above |
| Answer» B. for writing poetry against the church | |
| 430. |
Chaucer buried in a corner of Westminster, which came to know as______________? |
| A. | Chaucer’s corner |
| B. | poet’s corner |
| C. | legend’s corner |
| D. | none of the above |
| Answer» C. legend’s corner | |
| 431. |
Chaucer became a member of Parliament in_______________? |
| A. | 1386 |
| B. | 1300 |
| C. | 1343 |
| D. | none of the above |
| Answer» B. 1300 | |
| 432. |
Chaucer acted as a controller of custom during_______________? |
| A. | 1374 to 1385 |
| B. | 1350 to 1360 |
| C. | 1360 to 1400 |
| D. | none of the above |
| Answer» B. 1350 to 1360 | |
| 433. |
By 1890, what percentage of the earth’s population was subject to Queen Victoria ? |
| A. | 1% |
| B. | 10% |
| C. | 15% |
| D. | 25% |
| Answer» E. | |
| 434. |
Between 1520 and 1550, the population of London_______________? |
| A. | remained constant. |
| B. | fell from 375,00 to barely 100,000. |
| C. | doubled from 60,000 to 120,000. |
| D. | doubled from 600,000 to 1,200,000 |
| Answer» D. doubled from 600,000 to 1,200,000 | |
| 435. |
Becky sharp was the heroine in which novel ? |
| A. | Vanity Fair |
| B. | Sense and Sensibility |
| C. | Pride and Prejudice |
| D. | Mansfield Park |
| Answer» B. Sense and Sensibility | |
| 436. |
As well as poetry, Milton published extensively on politics, philosophy and religion. Which of the following was NOT one of his works ? |
| A. | Of Prelatical Episcopacy |
| B. | The Likeliest Means to Remove Hirelings from the Church |
| C. | Of Practical Exorcisme |
| D. | Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce |
| Answer» D. Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce | |
| 437. |
Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy deals with the subject of_____________? |
| A. | Religion |
| B. | Civilization |
| C. | Tehology |
| D. | Education |
| Answer» E. | |
| 438. |
Ancrene Riwle is a manual of instruction for_______________? |
| A. | courtiers entering the service of Richard II |
| B. | translators of French romances |
| C. | women who have chosen to live as religious recluses |
| D. | knights preparing for their first tournament |
| Answer» D. knights preparing for their first tournament | |
| 439. |
Ancrene Riwle is a manual of instruction for________________? |
| A. | courtiers entering the service of Richard II |
| B. | translators of French romances |
| C. | women who have chosen to live as religious recluses |
| D. | knights preparing for their first tournament |
| Answer» D. knights preparing for their first tournament | |
| 440. |
An important feature of the Renaissance was an emphasis on________________? |
| A. | alchemy and magic |
| B. | the literature of Greece and Rome |
| C. | chivalry of the Middle Ages |
| D. | the teaching of St. Thomas Acquinas |
| Answer» C. chivalry of the Middle Ages | |
| 441. |
Alexander Pope coined many a modern day cliché. Which of the following did not originate with him ? |
| A. | To err is human, to forgive divine |
| B. | Let not the sun go down upon your wrath |
| C. | A little learning is a dangerous thing |
| D. | Fools rush in where angels fear to tread |
| Answer» C. A little learning is a dangerous thing | |
| 442. |
Against which of the following principles did Jonathan Swift inveigh ? |
| A. | theoretical science |
| B. | metaphysics |
| C. | abstract logical deductions |
| D. | A, B, and C |
| Answer» E. | |
| 443. |
According to Samuel Johnson, No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for_____________? |
| A. | love. |
| B. | honor. |
| C. | money. |
| D. | his party. |
| Answer» D. his party. | |
| 444. |
According to Samuel Johnson, “No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for_____________? |
| A. | love.” |
| B. | honor.” |
| C. | money.” |
| D. | his party.” |
| Answer» D. his party.” | |
| 445. |
According to a theater licensing act, repealed in 1843, what was meant by “legitimate” drama ? |
| A. | The dramaturge and playwright had to be related. |
| B. | All of the actors were male. |
| C. | All of the actors were British. |
| D. | The play was spoken. |
| Answer» E. | |
| 446. |
According to a theater licensing act, repealed in 1843, what was meant by legitimate drama ? |
| A. | The dramaturge and playwright had to be related. |
| B. | All of the actors were male. |
| C. | All of the actors were British. |
| D. | The play was spoken. |
| Answer» E. | |
| 447. |
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens involves which two cities ? |
| A. | London and Rome |
| B. | Paris and Rome |
| C. | London and Paris |
| D. | Berlin and London |
| Answer» D. Berlin and London | |
| 448. |
A side note: Which drug/substance was Samuel Taylor Coleridge addicted to ? |
| A. | Heroine |
| B. | Cocaine |
| C. | Alcohol |
| D. | Opium |
| Answer» E. | |
| 449. |
A poem that deals in an idealized way with Shepherds and rustic life is known as____________? |
| A. | A Protestant Poem |
| B. | A Petrarchan Sonnet |
| C. | An extended metaphor |
| D. | A pastoral poem |
| Answer» E. | |
| 450. |
A “classic” book is usually one that possesses what quality ? |
| A. | It has universal appeal. |
| B. | It can stand the test of time. |
| C. | It makes connections. |
| D. | All of the above. |
| Answer» E. | |