Explore topic-wise MCQs in English Literature .

This section includes 95 Mcqs, each offering curated multiple-choice questions to sharpen your English Literature knowledge and support exam preparation. Choose a topic below to get started.

51.

Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language most reflects an 18thcentury interest in which of the following ?

A. Classification, order, and judgment
B. Romantic origins
C. Linguistic indeterminacy
D. Subjective experience
Answer» B. Romantic origins
Discussion
52.

Robinson Crusoe’s isolation on a deserted island allows Defoe to explore his development in which of the following ways ?

A. His relationship to God and Christianity
B. His understanding of the basis of economics
C. His ability to identify with the slaves he has sold
D. Both A and B
Answer» E.
Discussion
53.

Radcliffe’s version of the Gothic differs most from Walpole’s in its use of which of the following ?

A. The sublime
B. The explained supernatural
C. Its medieval settings
D. Its use of mysterious events to spur readers’ interests and emotional responses
Answer» C. Its medieval settings
Discussion
54.

Pope’s comment that “Know, then, thyself, presume God not to scan;/The proper study of mankind is man” in his “Essay on Man” is indicative of all of the following EXCEPT______________?

A. his use of the heroic couplet.
B. an Enlightenment focus on useful knowledge.
C. a neoclassical emphasis on propriety and knowing limitations.
D. a radical questioning of revealed religion
Answer» E.
Discussion
55.

“O my death mother! I am miserable, truly miserable! But yet, don’t be frightened, I am honest! God, of his goodness, keep me so!” These lines characterize Samuel Richardson’s Pamela in all of the following ways EXCEPT ______________?

A. through the personal, direct appeal enabled by his epistolary form.
B. by emphasizing the character’s fright.
C. by emphasizing sexual morality.
D. through the sentimental attempt to make readers strongly identify with the character’s feelings.
Answer» C. by emphasizing sexual morality.
Discussion
56.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein most reflects which central romantic themes or concerns ?

A. Nature as mirroring the human mind and its imagination
B. The limits of scientific attempts to understand and control the world
C. The poet as special interpreter of the world
D. The centrality of subjective experience to apprehending the world
Answer» C. The poet as special interpreter of the world
Discussion
57.

Jonathan Swift’s suggestion in “A Modest Proposal” that the Irish eat their children exemplifies the characteristics of a satire in all of the following ways EXCEPT_______________?

A. its mocking tone.
B. its absurd response to a real issue.
C. its sentimental plea to its audience.
D. its attempt to shock readers into acting.
Answer» D. its attempt to shock readers into acting.
Discussion
58.

John Locke is known for advocating all of the following ideas EXCEPT________________?

A. social contract theory of government.
B. blank slate or tabula rasa.
C. divine authority of kings.
D. natural political rights.
Answer» D. natural political rights.
Discussion
59.

John Dryden’s poem “Annus Mirabilis” emphasizes the solution to which of the following important Restoration problems or events ?

A. England’s power to overcome the recent plague and the great fire of London
B. The monarch’s ability to squelch continuing Puritan resistance
C. The church’s potential to unify the populace after the English revolution
D. Parliament’s ability to restrain the power of the King
Answer» B. The monarch’s ability to squelch continuing Puritan resistance
Discussion
60.

In which of the following ways does Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho combine the features of the Gothic and the sentimental ?

A. It emphasizes emotion over reason.
B. It has a didactic moral focus.
C. There is a focus on a central love story.
D. All of these answers
Answer» E.
Discussion
61.

In which of the following ways did Hopkins revolutionize poetry ?

A. He created a radically new form.
B. He used unusual, arcane words.
C. He made obscure allusions.
D. All of these answers
Answer» E.
Discussion
62.

In The Way of the World, Congreve satirizes which of the following ?

A. Ideas about chastity
B. The institution of marriage
C. The aristocracy
D. All of these answers
Answer» E.
Discussion
63.

In The Rape of the Lock, Pope satirizes which of the following social institutions ?

A. The government
B. Marriage
C. Organized religion
D. All of these answers
Answer» E.
Discussion
64.

In Pamela, how does the epistolary style enhance the sentimental aspects of the novel ?

A. It provides access to the heroine’s innermost reactions.
B. It does not cloud the novel with authorial intrusion that confuses the emotions.
C. It provides a sense of immediacy because the letters are written in the thick of the action.
D. All of these answers
Answer» E.
Discussion
65.

In “Ode to the West Wind,” why does Shelley ask the wind to “make me thy lyre” ?

A. To help drive his ideas across the universe
B. To help him reach the afterlife
C. To help him hear nature’s music
D. To help him start a new revolutionary war
Answer» B. To help him reach the afterlife
Discussion
66.

In Matthew Arnold’s poem “Dover Beach,” the speaker refers to the “melancholy, long, withdrawing roar” of “The Sea of Faith.” This reference alludes to which of the following ?

A. The Protestant Reformation
B. Religious interpretations of changes to the oceans
C. The decline of religion’s importance in the modern West
D. His lover’s betrayal
Answer» D. His lover’s betrayal
Discussion
67.

In Linton’s The Girl of the Period, what course of behavior does the author recommend for women ?

A. Women should wear more makeup in order to attract husbands.
B. Women should make sure to receive an education in order to secure their own futures.
C. Women should take pains to remain generous, modest, and capable.
D. Women should be given the right to vote immediately.
Answer» D. Women should be given the right to vote immediately.
Discussion
68.

How was the philosophical and popular emphasis on sensibility in the 18th century related to the development of the novel ?

A. Like the novel, it focused on romantic relationships.
B. Like the novel, it foregrounded abstract reason over experience and emotion.
C. Like the novel, it emphasized the importance of sympathy and individual feelings.
D. Like the novel, it demonized the aristocracy.
Answer» D. Like the novel, it demonized the aristocracy.
Discussion
69.

How does this quotation from Behn’s Oroonoko most suggest its status as an early novel: “I do not pretend, in giving you the history of this Royal Slave, to entertain my reader with adventures of a feigned hero, whose life and fortunes fancy may manage at the poet’s pleasure.” ?

A. It focuses on a royal hero.
B. It denies being imagined in favor of claims of realism.
C. It focuses on adventures.
D. It connects to poetry.
Answer» C. It focuses on adventures.
Discussion
70.

How does the following representative quotation from Brontë’s Jane Eyre reflect on Victorian social conventions? “You have nothing to do with the master of Thornfield, further than to receive the salary he gives you for teaching his protégée, and to be grateful for such respectful and kind treatment as, if you do your duty, you have a right to expect at his hands” ?

A. It reiterates the class divisions that kept both men and women from social mobility.
B. It suggests that women were increasingly accepted as professionals.
C. It indicates that British society had become much more egalitarian.
D. It reveals the stern consequences of the Industrial Revolution.
Answer» B. It suggests that women were increasingly accepted as professionals.
Discussion
71.

How does the Encyclopédie best epitomize the mission of the Enlightenment ?

A. By dismissing all knowledge from outside Europe
B. By questioning the nature of scientific method
C. By rejecting the divine right of kings
D. By emphasizing the idea that gathering knowledge together can lead to human improvement
Answer» E.
Discussion
72.

How did ideas about the spread of the British Empire start to shift in the Victorian Period ?

A. Competition between European rivals forced the British to find new trading partners.
B. Colonizers were no longer necessarily interested in reforming indigenous populations.
C. People found ways to justify expansion by claiming national superiority.
D. All of these answers
Answer» E.
Discussion
73.

For I have learned/To look on nature, not as in the hour/Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes/The sad, still music of humanity” ?

A. The poet’s changing relationship to nature as fount of meaning and significance
B. The falsity of human art as opposed to the immediate truth of nature
C. The failure of the poet when a youth to imagine his future
D. The utter rejection of youthful folly in favor of mature rationality
Answer» B. The falsity of human art as opposed to the immediate truth of nature
Discussion
74.

“Do we now live in an enlightened age? The answer is, ‘no,’ but we do live in an age of enlightenment.” ?

A. Immanuel Kant
B. John Locke
C. David Hume
D. Denis Diderot
Answer» B. John Locke
Discussion
75.

Complete the following sentence. Unlike many Enlightenment thinkers, Adam Smith and Rousseau_____________?

A. traveled to America.
B. believed in God.
C. emphasized the importance of human emotions as guiding behavior.
D. rejected Newton’s view of the universe.
Answer» D. rejected Newton’s view of the universe.
Discussion
76.

Complete the following sentence. Wordsworth’s advocacy of poets drawing on the “language really used by men” in his preface to Lyrical Ballads represents______________?

A. a radical break with 18th-century rules on elevated diction.
B. a continuity with poets such as Alexander Pope.
C. a rejection of nature in favor of society.
D. a defense of the use of elaborate figurative language.
Answer» B. a continuity with poets such as Alexander Pope.
Discussion
77.

Complete the following sentence. Wordsworth conceives of himself as a “chosen son” primarily because_____________?

A. his brothers died in their youth.
B. he was endowed with a great poetic talent.
C. he was given special educational opportunities.
D. he feels especially connected to nature due to his experience as a youth.
Answer» E.
Discussion
78.

Complete the following sentence. We can best understand the medieval setting of Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto as______________?

A. revealing his interest in Chaucer.
B. enabling his 18th-century readers access to a world they would see as less rational.
C. promoting the rise of museums.
D. commenting on the French and Indian War.
Answer» C. promoting the rise of museums.
Discussion
79.

Complete the following sentence. The scientific revolution paralleled Enlightenment political thought and political revolutions through its similar______________?

A. devotion to traditional authority in political and theoretical matters.
B. emphasis on the world being governed by laws that could be discerned through rational exploration.
C. reliance on classical scholarship.
D. defense of violent emotions as natural.
Answer» C. reliance on classical scholarship.
Discussion
80.

Complete the following sentence. The Romantic movement is least closely related to______________?

A. folklore.
B. nationalism.
C. parody.
D. exoticism
Answer» D. exoticism
Discussion
81.

Complete the following sentence. The politics of Radcliffe’s medieval settings______________?

A. indicates her longing for the older aristocracy.
B. suggests her commitment to the Catholic Church.
C. is at odds with her explicit socialist politics.
D. implies that contemporary British society has overcome the institutions leading to the horrors its characters experience.
Answer» E.
Discussion
82.

Complete the following sentence. The opening frame narrative of Frankenstein comes from_______________?

A. Walton, a failed poet who is attempting to discover the North Pole.
B. the creature, after he has killed Victor Frankenstein.
C. Victor Frankenstein’s diary.
D. Mrs. Saville, Frankenstein’s cousin.
Answer» B. the creature, after he has killed Victor Frankenstein.
Discussion
83.

Complete the following sentence. The Byronic hero is characterized as________________?

A. always fighting for good against evil.
B. fortunate in always coming out victorious.
C. nearly superhuman in his powers but tortured by a psychological weight.
D. devoted to religion above all things
Answer» D. devoted to religion above all things
Discussion
84.

Complete the following sentence. Tennyson’s In Memoriam and Browning’s dramatic monologues can best be seen as combining neoclassicism with romanticism through their ?

A. neoclassical emphasis on traditional form and romantic subjectivism.
B. romantic rejection of science and neoclassical use of mythology.
C. romantic emphasis on personal feelings combined with a neoclassical focus on social context.
D. romantic critique of industrialization and neoclassical use of satire.
Answer» D. romantic critique of industrialization and neoclassical use of satire.
Discussion
85.

Complete the following sentence. Shelley’s “Ozymandias” can be linked to his “Defence of Poetry” through its_______________?

A. rejection of traditional form.
B. portrayal of the power of art to speak truth.
C. rejection of art’s political role.
D. attempt to link poetry with music.
Answer» C. rejection of art’s political role.
Discussion
86.

Complete the following sentence. Robert Browning’s poem “Porphyria’s Lover” is_______________?

A. a sonnet expressing his devotion to his wife.
B. a dramatic monologue spoken by a murderer.
C. a dramatic monologue spoken by Browning.
D. an epic describing a great romance.
Answer» C. a dramatic monologue spoken by Browning.
Discussion
87.

Complete the following sentence. Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale” is characteristically Romantic because of_____________?

A. its focus on his lost love.
B. its rejection of scientific progress.
C. its elaboration of the intersecting importance of nature and the imagination.
D. its development of elements from national folklore.
Answer» D. its development of elements from national folklore.
Discussion
88.

Complete the following sentence. Neoclassicism most paralleled Enlightenment thought in its_______________?

A. rejection of Renaissance optimism.
B. rejection of traditional models.
C. emphasis on order, logic, and universal truths.
D. emphasis on the corrupt nature of the aristocracy.
Answer» D. emphasis on the corrupt nature of the aristocracy.
Discussion
89.

Complete the following sentence. Keats’s idea of “negative capability” refers to the idea that______________?

A. certain people are simply incapable of understanding poetry.
B. the true poet must be comfortable with balancing conflicting ideas.
C. the poet cannot express anything beyond his own experience.
D. it is only in the absence of experience that true poetry can emerge.
Answer» C. the poet cannot express anything beyond his own experience.
Discussion
90.

Complete the following sentence. John Dryden’s “Mac Flecknoe” reflects a commitment to neoclassical aesthetics through_______________?

A. its references to Shakespeare.
B. its commitment to an elevated taste, its use of classical imagery, and its evocation of classic forms.
C. its scientific ethos and setting in London.
D. its refusal to mention Shadwell directly.
Answer» C. its scientific ethos and setting in London.
Discussion
91.

Complete the following sentence. In the opening lines of Gerard Manley Hopkins’s “The Windhover,” the words “daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon” ?

A. are an example of antithesis to suggest the falcon’s contradictory nature.
B. use alliterative language to draw attention to the falcon’s importance as a symbol of Christ.
C. refer to the speaker’s heart.
D. indicate the speaker’s lack of faith.
Answer» C. refer to the speaker’s heart.
Discussion
92.

Complete the following sentence. In Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, elevated language functions primarily to______________?

A. demonstrate the importance of the topic.
B. set up the parody of the pretensions of the characters and their concerns.
C. reveal the learnedness of the characters.
D. elicit the sympathy of elite readers
Answer» C. reveal the learnedness of the characters.
Discussion
93.

Complete the following sentence. According to Edmund Burke, the French Revolution was________________?

A. the ultimate expression of humankind’s ability to control its own destiny.
B. a misguided attempt to overthrow human nature by rejecting tradition.
C. a necessary change that was beginning to go astray.
D. an event that had little consequence to England
Answer» C. a necessary change that was beginning to go astray.
Discussion
94.

Both the Gothic and sentimental fiction emphasize which of the following ?

A. Reason over emotions
B. The necessity for an aristocracy
C. The power of feelings
D. A sense of adventure
Answer» D. A sense of adventure
Discussion
95.

Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko is a transitional text in all of the following ways EXCEPT________________?

A. like a romance, it focuses on an aristocratic character considered superior to average individuals.
B. like a novel, it tells its story with an emphasis on realistic detail and the everyday passage of time.
C. like an epic, it involves gods and goddesses.
D. like a novel, it makes claims to historical realism.
Answer» D. like a novel, it makes claims to historical realism.
Discussion