Critical commentary on Ode to Autumn by John Keats

 John Keats' *To Autumn* is one of his most celebrated odes, composed in 1819, and demonstrates complete mastery over the materials of the Romantic tradition. It is a richly sensory and deeply reflective ode to autumn. The following is a critical interpretation of the poem, focused on its themes, structure, language, and philosophical undercurrents.

### **Celebration of Autumn and the Natural World**

Keats's To Autumn is a meditation on the season as the moment of ripeness, completion, and the gentle transition into another season. While other poems describe spring or summer as the pinnacle of natural beauty, Keats attests to autumn's less showy, more mature phase in the cycle. For him, there is no rot but rather the absolute fullness of nature.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness," the poem starts, immediately grounding the reader in an atmosphere of richness and fulfillment. The fruits are heavy with ripeness, the fields full of harvested grain, and even the small creatures like bees are intoxicated by the late-blooming flowers. In this way, *To Autumn* is a hymn to the fullness and fruitfulness of nature: tasting the ripeness of life before it falls into decline in winter.

### Themes of Time and Transience

Behind Keats' paean to autumn lies a consciousness of time and evanescence. The season of ripeness marks also the end of the growing season, foreshadowing the advent of winter. However, Keats does not pessimistically stay in decay; instead, he sees beauty in the cyclical pattern of life. Autumn ripeness, after all does yield to decline; but Keats has that turn toward decay into a positive direction: change and transition as elements within life's eternal cycle.

This acknowledgment of transience aligns with Keats' broader philosophical vision, sometimes described using the term "negative capability"—his belief in his ability to bear uncertainty and mystery and not to be overmuch resolved into convictions of what is right or wrong. *In To Autumn*, Keats celebrates the ephemeral beauty of the season, in full awareness of its impermanence, but finds pleasure in this perfect moment of its being.

### **Imagery and Sensory Experience**

Poem *To Autumn* has many characteristics; one is its rich, sensory imagery. Keats engages all the senses while describing the visible images of the season. All are involved: the sights and sounds, even the feel of the season, in his rich vocabulary and keen detail to draw pictures of the fruit, the gourds swollen with ripeness, and the "budding more" that stretches out the bees' life. This first stanza is especially focused on aspects of sight and touch, portrayals of the natural world at its prime.

Keats becomes more centered upon sound as the poem progresses. In the second stanza, autumn is personified as a figure lying or laboring in the fields, and, in the third, he introduces the "music" of autumn, that is, the soft, mournful sounds of the season: the "wailful choir" of gnats, the bleating lambs, and the singing crickets. This sense chronology illustrates the languid draining of the season, as summer's mad energies give up to autumn's more sedate and contemplative rhythm.

### Anthropomorphism of Autumn

Keats anthropomorphizes autumn in the second stanza quite dramatically. He represents this season as an "out-door laborer,/ Sitting careless on a granary floor," resting after a long season of labor, or lying asleep in a field in which he has gathered in the harvest. Keats has given human-like qualities to the autumn season, thus breathing life and personality into it. Therefore, autumn was not only a natural phenomenon; it is that can be felt and viewed intimately, almost as an acquaintance.

This personification also evokes the sense that autumn is, like a man, experiencing his cycles of work, repose, and a silent, slow existence. This adds layers to Keats' description of the season as being more than a simple phase of the year but as metaphorical expression for life's rhythms of action and repose.

### Structure and Form

*To Autumn* consists of three stanzas with eleven lines each. In this regard it is a poetically balanced and controlled piece that mirrors the poem's calm and well-balanced mood. The rhyme scheme - ABAB CDE DCCE enhances this further sense of harmony and order. Keats' exactly controlled form very much reflects the completeness and fulfillment of the season of autumn. The stanzaic structure mirrors the natural cycles and rhythms of life that Keats celebrates.

### **Philosophical Implication**

More profoundly, *To Autumn* is a meditation in mortality or the embracing of impermanence. As autumn commemorates winter's approach and the end of the year is at hand, Keats does not treat it with something melancholy or regretful. He rather evokes the beauty of it in its own self. This reflects a bigger concern with the fleeting nature of human existence involved in the search for meaning and beauty within that transience.

Therefore, the poem is often viewed as mature reflection on life and death. Rather than lamenting the lost time, Keats holds some peace in the cycle of life in which every existence comes to be, grows, and then declines. The quiet and reflective rhythm of the poem underscores acceptance of this natural process and even an element of satisfaction in the knowledge that just as autumn stands still, so too does life.

### **Conclusion**

*To Autumn* is a rich, textured poem that catches the whole warmth and beauty of the season. Deeply and vividly using sensory imagery, the poem reflects on life and time with reverberations of personification and philosophical undertones in this fruitfulness of time and inevitable passage of life. Keats's ode is finally an ode to the existing moment, urging the reader to revel in the richness of the world even as it readies itself for its disappearance. It is his acceptance of transience and ability to find beauty within the mundane aspects of nature that form the words of the lovely lines, which make this a profound and most long-lasting piece of work.

compare and contrast between the poem Ulysses by Tennyson and the novel Ulysses by James Joyce

 While both Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Ulysses by James Joyce share the same title and draw inspiration from the mythological figure of Odysseus/Ulysses, they differ significantly in their content, style, and thematic concerns.

1. Style and Structure:

Tennyson's poem follows a traditional and formal poetic structure, utilizing blank verse and a consistent rhyme scheme. The language is elevated and lyrical, with a clear narrative structure and a focus on the inner thoughts and aspirations of Ulysses. In contrast, Joyce's Ulysses is a modernist novel characterized by its experimental narrative techniques and stream-of-consciousness writing. The novel is divided into 18 chapters, each employing a distinct narrative style and exploring the thoughts, experiences, and perspectives of various characters over the course of a single day.

2. Perspective and Characterization:

Tennyson's Ulysses presents a heroic and mythological figure. Ulysses is depicted as a restless adventurer yearning for new experiences, symbolizing the spirit of exploration and individualism. The poem primarily focuses on Ulysses' perspective and portrays him as a heroic protagonist. In contrast, Joyce's Ulysses presents a more complex and realistic portrayal of everyday life in early 20th-century Dublin. The novel features multiple characters, including Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, and Molly Bloom, and delves into their mundane routines, desires, and inner thoughts. The characters in Joyce's novel are flawed, ordinary individuals, offering a more nuanced and relatable portrayal of humanity.

3. Themes and Concerns:

Tennyson's Ulysses explores themes of adventure, nostalgia, the passage of time, and individualism. It reflects the Victorian fascination with progress, exploration, and the longing for a romanticized past. The poem celebrates the pursuit of personal fulfillment and the desire to break away from societal expectations. On the other hand, Joyce's Ulysses delves into themes of identity, sexuality, religion, politics, and the complexities of human relationships. It provides a critical and satirical commentary on Dublin society and engages with modernist concerns, such as fragmentation, uncertainty, and the exploration of the human psyche.

4. Reception and Influence:

Tennyson's Ulysses was well-received during the Victorian era and has remained a celebrated poem in English literature. It has influenced subsequent works and has been quoted and referenced in various contexts. Joyce's Ulysses, on the other hand, initially faced controversy and censorship due to its explicit content and experimental style. However, it has since become recognized as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Joyce's novel revolutionized the form of the novel and has had a profound impact on modernist literature and narrative experimentation.

In conclusion, while both works bear the name Ulysses and draw inspiration from the same mythological figure, they diverge significantly in their style, structure, perspective, themes, and reception. Tennyson's poem is a lyrical celebration of adventure and individualism, while Joyce's novel is an experimental exploration of everyday life and human consciousness. Both works, however, demonstrate the enduring fascination with the mythological figure of Ulysses and his relevance as a symbol of human desires, struggles, and aspirations.

Critical comment on Ulysses by Tennyson in the Victorian Age

 Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson is undoubtedly a celebrated and influential poem in the realm of English literature. However, it is not immune to critical examination. While the poem displays Tennyson's skillful craftsmanship and eloquent use of language, there are certain aspects that warrant a critical comment.

One notable critique of Ulysses is its portrayal of the titular character. Ulysses, or Odysseus as he is known in Greek mythology, is depicted as a heroic figure seeking new adventures and yearning for the excitement of his youth. Tennyson's Ulysses is presented as restless and dissatisfied with the mundane responsibilities of ruling his kingdom. While this portrayal may be seen as a romanticized and poetic interpretation, it can also be seen as a glorification of a selfish and reckless character.

Furthermore, the poem seems to downplay the importance of Ulysses' responsibilities as a leader and a king. His desire to abandon his kingdom and set sail once again is presented as a noble pursuit of personal fulfillment. This neglects the responsibilities and duties that come with leadership and may undermine the importance of stability and governance.

Another critical point to consider is the poem's tone, which is often viewed as overly idealistic. Ulysses' determination to pursue new experiences at any cost can be interpreted as an endorsement of an individualistic and self-centered mindset. This romanticized perspective neglects the potential consequences of such actions, both for Ulysses himself and for those he leaves behind.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that Ulysses is often criticized for its lack of diversity and limited perspective. The poem revolves around the thoughts and aspirations of an aging white male protagonist, failing to explore other voices and experiences. This narrow focus can limit the poem's relevance and exclude the perspectives of marginalized groups.

In conclusion, while Ulysses by Tennyson is undeniably a masterpiece of Victorian poetry, it is not immune to criticism. The glorification of a restless and selfish character, the downplaying of leadership responsibilities, the idealistic tone, and the limited perspective all invite critical examination. By engaging with these aspects, we can better understand the poem's limitations and appreciate its strengths in a more nuanced manner.

Tennyson's Poem Ulysses teaching Presentation from Victorian Age

 Title: Tennyson's "Ulysses" - Teaching Demo Presentation

Slide 1: Introduction

- Welcome the audience and introduce the topic: Tennyson's poem "Ulysses."

- Provide a brief overview of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, one of the most prominent Victorian poets.

- Explain that "Ulysses" is a dramatic monologue where the aging Greek hero Ulysses reflects on his life.

Slide 2: Background Information

- Provide historical context: Tennyson wrote "Ulysses" in 1833, during the Victorian era.

- Discuss the influence of Greek mythology on Tennyson's work, particularly the character of Ulysses (Odysseus in Greek mythology).

- Mention that "Ulysses" was published as part of Tennyson's collection "Poems" in 1842.

Slide 3: Poem Analysis - Structure and Form

- Explain that "Ulysses" follows a regular metrical pattern of iambic pentameter (ten syllables per line) throughout the poem.

- Discuss the poem's structure: It consists of a single, continuous stanza of blank verse, comprising 70 lines.

- Emphasize that the use of a dramatic monologue allows readers to gain insights into Ulysses' character and mindset.

Slide 4: Ulysses' Character

- Describe Ulysses as a complex and multifaceted character.

- Highlight his yearning for new experiences and his restlessness despite his old age.

- Discuss his desire for adventure, his sense of duty, and his refusal to settle into a quiet life of retirement.

Slide 5: Themes and Motifs

- Explore the recurring themes in "Ulysses":

   - The pursuit of personal fulfillment and a longing for adventure.

   - The tension between the desire for exploration and the responsibilities of home and family.

   - The fleeting nature of human life and the inevitability of mortality.

- Discuss the motif of the sea as a symbol of freedom, exploration, and the unknown.

Slide 6: Language and Imagery

- Analyze Tennyson's use of language and imagery in "Ulysses."

- Highlight the rich descriptive language that captures the spirit of adventure.

- Discuss the extended metaphor of the "untraveled world" and Ulysses' metaphorical journey towards self-discovery.

Slide 7: Influence and Impact

- Explain the poem's lasting impact and its resonance with readers.

- Discuss how "Ulysses" reflects the spirit of the Victorian era and its ideals of progress, ambition, and individualism.

- Mention that the poem has inspired numerous adaptations in literature, music, and other art forms.

Slide 8: Conclusion

- Summarize the key points discussed in the presentation.

- Reiterate the significance of Tennyson's "Ulysses" as a powerful exploration of human nature, aspirations, and the quest for meaning.

- Encourage the audience to read and engage with the poem personally.

Slide 9: Questions and Discussion

- Open the floor for questions, comments, or further discussion on "Ulysses" or Tennyson's works in general.

- Provide additional insights and clarifications as needed.

Slide 10: Thank You

- Express gratitude to the audience for their participation and attention.

- Provide contact information for further inquiries or follow-up discussions.

- Display any additional relevant resources or recommended readings related to Tennyson or "Ulysses."

Crack the NTA NET English Literature Exam with Our Mock Test: Prepare for Success!

Mock test on English literature for NTA NET:

1. Who is considered the father of English literature?

a) William Shakespeare

b) Geoffrey Chaucer

c) John Milton

d) Samuel Taylor Coleridge

2. Which novel is considered a key work of the Victorian era and explores themes of social class and gender roles?

a) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

b) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

c) Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

d) Middlemarch by George Eliot

3. Who is the author of the play "The Importance of Being Earnest"?

a) Oscar Wilde

b) George Bernard Shaw

c) Samuel Beckett

d) T.S. Eliot

4. Which poet is associated with the Romantic movement and wrote "Ode to a Nightingale"?

a) John Keats

b) Lord Byron

c) William Wordsworth

d) Percy Bysshe Shelley

5. Who is the author of the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

a) Harper Lee

b) F. Scott Fitzgerald

c) Ernest Hemingway

d) Mark Twain

6. Which poet is known for his metaphysical poetry and wrote "The Flea" and "To His Coy Mistress"?

a) John Donne

b) Andrew Marvell

c) John Milton

d) Alexander Pope

7. Who is the author of the play "Hamlet"?

a) William Shakespeare

b) Christopher Marlowe

c) Ben Jonson

d) Thomas Middleton

8. Which American author wrote the novel "Moby-Dick"?

a) Nathaniel Hawthorne

b) Mark Twain

c) Herman Melville

d) Emily Dickinson

9. Who is the author of the poem "The Waste Land"?

a) T.S. Eliot

b) W.B. Yeats

c) Robert Frost

d) Langston Hughes

10. Which literary movement emerged in the 20th century and focused on the inner thoughts and experiences of characters?

a) Modernism

b) Romanticism

c) Realism

d) Postmodernism

Answers:

1. b) Geoffrey Chaucer

2. a) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

3. a) Oscar Wilde

4. a) John Keats

5. a) Harper Lee

6. b) Andrew Marvell

7. a) William Shakespeare

8. c) Herman Melville

9. a) T.S. Eliot

10. a) Modernism

Critical Note S.T. Coleridge as a Romantic poet

 Samuel Taylor Coleridge was one of the most influential British Romantic poets of all time. He wrote a countless number of classic poems and works that are still widely deemed important to this day, making him an exemplary model for other contemporary writers.

Coleridge’s unique writing style set him apart from others in his own time period; he had a penchant for incorporating elements native only to outlying countries such as exotic mythology, foreign philosophy and literature—all aspects which deviated from traditional protocols at the time . His language too has been described be modern critics alternatively fluid yet highly descriptive, mesmerizing readers with flowery romanticism rather than technicality and formality commonly associated poetry during the age.. This eschewing of convention is perhaps what motivates so many people today to continue exploring The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner despite its ancient roots: it legitimately paints imagery within our minds beyond simply being read off paper or memorized verbatim like much older literary texts before it.

From human fear & grief we sense envy his dedication even when creating lyrical ballads on foolish wagers given by carefree friends – often reflecting biblical plagues as metaphors while using nature & folktales justly picked up through untrained eyes open wide! While these present who he sublimely was highlights humble themes folks may face similarily now-a -days whether incarcerated swordsmen laments or rising dead raptures pleasing listeners each way In many respects his timelessness does preserve those memories sent… Whilst imagination moves ours quite more profoundly shared piers drown us nigh held firmly past eternity's threshold defiant throughout universe far flung----much due Colridge expressing tyrants masterful courage along fatefully life swells soaring largely Even middle ages differently designed gardens musically sung grow outright secrets penned supremely roars blending fragile edge between brave kings Divine Right even distant heavens' magical hides featuring glorious insight unseen any watchful eye ever discovered lost odes sealed long ago await awaited seekers come hereafter seize leading times cheery waves anew offers diverse ultimate panoramas fully defying pallid written histories reigned near certain collapsing tunnels universal gleaners tap knowledge deep greater reasons they stand why remarkable poet ST Colridge striding diffently deserved memorial kept alive centuries later here---Eyes truly flooding gentle tears upon recollecting every Epic story heard grown very tall indeed hintetnally Never forgotten sir Samuel blesses beloved rhapsodies chosen remain instant Classical Favorites absolute best Moments singing standing ovation thunderclapping grandeur lasting effect though…… That Gentleman shall legacy live always daily masterpiece sublime elegance sustained finds breathtaking lovers adore well done English romantics everywhere i weep fond fans seek living spirit beseechings pass….

Note on William Wordsworth as a Romantic Critic in English literature

  William Wordsworth, a prominent figure in the Romantic movement, was also a noted literary critic. He believed that poetry should be simple and express the emotions and thoughts of common people. He rejected the highly structured and artificial forms of poetry popular in his time, and instead championed a style that was natural and based on personal experience.

In his famous work, "Preface to Lyrical Ballads" (1798), Wordsworth laid out his literary philosophy. He argued that poetry should be written in the language of the common man, rather than in the elevated and artificial language of the poets of his time. This emphasis on simplicity and naturalness was a key aspect of Wordsworth's romanticism. He believed that poetry should be a reflection of the natural world and the emotions of the individual.

Wordsworth also believed that poetry should be rooted in personal experience. He believed that a poet should draw on their own emotions and observations, rather than trying to imitate the work of others. This emphasis on originality and authenticity was another key aspect of Wordsworth's romanticism.

In addition to his literary philosophy, Wordsworth was also a noted critic of the literary establishment of his time. He rejected the neoclassical conventions of his time and instead championed a more natural and emotional style of poetry. This critique of the literary establishment was another important aspect of Wordsworth's romanticism.

In conclusion, William Wordsworth was a prominent literary figure of the Romantic movement and his work as a poet and critic had a significant influence on the literary world of his time. His emphasis on simplicity, naturalness, originality, and authenticity, as well as his critique of the literary establishment, were all key aspects of his romanticism.

Introduction to Lucy Poems by Wordsworth and Analysis of SHE DWELT AMONG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS

 Introduction to Lucy Poems by Wordsworth and Analysis of SHE DWELT AMONG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS

Introduction on Lucy Poems

The five short poems known as 'lucy poems' were written by Wordsworth during his brief stay in

Germany or shortly thereafter. "Three years she grew in sun and shower" was composed in the

Hartz Forest in 1798."A slumber did my spirit seal" was also written in Germany sometime in

1798 it was this poem which Wordsworth sent to Coleridge and Coleridge remarked on this

poem--"some months ago Wordsworth transmitted to me a most sublime epitaph".

The sequence of Lucy poem according to the the date of composition

1. Strange fits of passion I have known. 2. She dwelt among the untrodden ways. 3. Three years she grew in the sun and shower. 4. A slumber did my spirit seal. 5. I travelled among unknown men.

Who is lucy

The real identity of Lucy has never been unraveled in Lucy series. Lucy may or may not

be based off a real life inspiration. No body knows who Lucy was. Although there has

been controversy among many critics that Dorothy maybe Lucy or perhaps his wife, Mary but it seems more probable to us that Lucy is just a product of his poetic

imagination , she is likely a fictional, idealised English girl, a literary device used to

convey his themes of Lucy poems. She is fantasy and dream, an imagined ideal who

cannot exit in the real world. The name 'Lucy' works as poetic muse to Wordsworth's Lucy series.

                              She dwelt among the untrodden ways

This poem was a three stanza poem written by English romantic port

William Wordsworth in 1798 when he was 28 years old. The verse was first

printed in Lyrical Ballads, in 1800. It was described about women feelings

of loneliness and loss, and describe the beauty and dignity of an idealised

women who lived unnoticed by all others. She dwelt among the untrodden ways --> Line 1 a

 She-->Lucy, Lucy lived such a place which is never visited by

someone. Untrodden means untouched and that signifies Lucy is

virgin, no body touched her.

Beside the spring of dove--> line 2 b

 Springs-->origin, Lucy lived decide the prince of dove or hear the place

in the English countryside (Specifically, the Midlands, a rural area

south of Manchester) where the Dove river rises from the earth and

begins its flow. 

A maid whome there were none to praise--> line 3 a

A maid is an an unmarried woman. It also means that woman is a a virgin, youth and innocent. The poet laments for Lucy because she is living

unvisited place, there were none to praise her.

 And very few to love -- line 4 (V.V.I) b

Lucy is practically ignored by others. No one praised her and hardly

anyone loved her. But the "very few" implies that the poet or the speaker

was one of those few. It also denotes that Lucy was loving one to the

speaker, poet. 

A Violet by a mossy stone -->line 5 (V.V.I) c

The word 'violet' in that line is comparison between Lucy and violet. A

'violet' is a beautiful flower and when compared to Lucy, and

automatically it described that her beauty was blocked by moss or by the

luck of freedom to show hard beauties. 

Half hidden from the eye! -->line 6 d

The word half hidden means that Lucy was unexplored women. Because

no one was interested in her. She was unnoticed, untouched, and

overlooked. However, not just in a a physical sense but also in an

emotional one as well. Lucy was depressed in herself because of that.

Fair as star, when only one -->line 7 c

Is shining in the sky-->line 8(V.V.I) d

Her fairness looks like a star, here the poet apparently denotes that he

used the word 'star' as a smile, which is actually "Venus" . Because we

know Venus appears and shines in the sky alone. And we also know

Venus is the brightest star in the sky. And Venus is compared to Lucy's

fairness.

She lived unknown, and few could know--> line 9 e

When Lucy ceased to be ; line 10 f

Line 9--> begins with the phrase "she lived unknown" that simply repeated

the message to the readers deepen the speaker's portrait of Lucy as a

young woman who lived alone and unappreciated. Ceased to be-->died, Lucy " lived unknown" and the reason the speaker says there is few had the

capacity to know the news about Lucy's death, hardly anyone knew the

news "few could know" the speaker was one of those few. Poet used

"ceased to be" to avoid painful language.

But she is in her grave, and, oh --> line 11e

The difference to me! -->line 12 (V.V.I) f

In the poem's final line, keeping aside all hesitations from the reader's

mind, the poet firmly acknowledges Lucy's death by using the line "she is

in her grave". The effect of Lucy's death is different one to the poet

because Lucy was the loving one to him here the employment of the

exclamation at the end of poem the signifies the melancholy of the poet's

heart. (Whereas line 10 evades the fact of lucy's death the poet used "ceased to

be" to avoid death's painful languages but line11 acknowledges it firmly

"she is in her grave".)

                    Figure of speech from the poem

"She dwelt among the untrodden ways" 1. "Beside the spring of Dove" (Allusion)

2. A violet by a mossy stone (Metaphor

Explanation--> here Lucy is compared to a violet flower and also

Lucy compared to a mossy stone. 3. Fair as a star (smile)

4. Fair as a star, when only one is shining in the sky (Allusion)

Explanation-->this line implicitly refers to "Venus" , the Roman

goddess of love, beauty, fertility and sex. 5. She lived unknown and few could know (Polyptoton)

Geofreey Chaucer - Father of English poetry and his Canterbury tales

  Geofreey Chaucer 1340-1400)


Poet, the son of John Chaucer, a London wine merchant, is better known as Father of English poetry. There are uncertain details about his life and his age covers the period from
1340 to 1400. As a youth, he was a page in the Royal household. He held various diplomatic
and civil posts, and in king’s service, he travelled abroad on numerous diplomatic missions.
He got married with Philippa Roet, a sister of John of Gaunt’s third wife due to which he
became a powerful man and also enjoyed royal favors. Visited Italy and made his first
acquaintance with Italian literature and may have met Petrarch and Boccaccio, the two
greatest living Italian men of letters along with Dante who influenced a lot on the growth of
Chaucer’s work. His last official position was that of deputy forester in the King’s Forest at
North Petherton in Somerset. He was buried at the entrance to the Chapel of St Benedict in
Westminster Abbey, where a monument was erected to him in 1556: this was the origin of
Poet’s Corner.
Chaucer's Style: In the Tales Chaucer abandons the English irregular lines of alliterative
verse – "rim, ram, roff" as he calls it and adopts the French method of regular meter.
Under his influence rhyme gradually displaced alliteration in English poetry & his style is
narrative. He used the ten syllabic lines rhyming in couplet – called the Heroic couplet
which was perfected by Pope. "The Canterbury Tales" is Chaucer’s magnificent
unfinished opus in which he finally drew the various strands of his genius together.
However, Chaucer’s humor, satire, irony are all pervasive in this work.
To William Caxton, England's first printer, Geoffrey Chaucer was "the worshipful
father and first founder and embellisher of ornate eloquence in our English." Perceptive as
this accolade was in its time, today Chaucer is acclaimed not only as "the father of English
poetry" but also as the father of the modern short story and novel— in short, as the father of
English literature. In addition, we are indebted to him for the most vivid contemporary
description of fourteenth-century England.
A man of affairs as well as a man of letters, Chaucer's development as the one was
closely paralleled by his development as the other. Born into a family which belonged to the
rising middle class, he obtained through his father, a successful wine merchant, a position as
page in a household which was closely associated with the court of King Edward III. His
mastery of Latin, French, and Italian, in addition to equipping him for diplomatic and civil
service, also enabled him to translate literary works in all three languages, an important factor
in his development as a writer.
A court favorite, Chaucer rose quickly in the world. Before he was twenty he served
as a soldier in France and, upon being captured, was ransomed by his king. Thereafter,
throughout his life, he served his country loyally—as courtier, diplomat, civil administrator,
and translator. Entrusted with important and delicate diplomatic missions, he traveled on
several occasions to France and Italy, and his journeys abroad played an important role in his
literary and intellectual development. Subsequently, he served as Comptroller of Customs for
the Port of London; Member of Parliament; Justice of the Peace; Clerk of the Works at
Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, and elsewhere; and finally as a sub-forester of one of the king's forests. He was, in fact, a highly valued public servant and was fortunate to enjoy
for most of his life the patronage of the influential John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and uncle
of King Richard II, During his long public career, he became acquainted with the most
important men of his day—diplomats and rulers as well as writers. At his death, his
reputation as a man of affairs and his genius as a poet well established, he was buried in
Westminster Abbey. Today, in the history of English literature, Chaucer's name stands
second only to that of Shakespeare.
From the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
When April with his showers hath pierced the drought
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
Of March with sweetness to the very root.


Chaucer’s Portrayal of the Knight:
Chaucer portrays the Knight as a person who is both chivalrous as well as wise. His
numerous qualities are listed by Chaucer in the Prologue. He is also portrayed as being a
crusader and a very well travelled individual. The characteristics of bravery and gentleness
are also dwelt on considerably. However, in contrast his appearance is not as grand as his
qualities. He is dressed in rough, stained garments having just returned from a voyage.
Chaucer’s Knight is a representative of the old chivalry of the middle ages, which
was fast dying out. The Knight was a worthy, widely travelled, and brave valiant. He
loved chivalric ideas like truth, honor, freedom and courtesy. He was highly respected for his
goodness and bravery. He participated in fifteen mortal battles and had three times fought
for Christian faith. His pursuits always ended with the death of his enemy. In his behavior he
was soft spoken and as gentle as a maid.
A KNIGHT there was, and that a noble man,
Who from the earliest time when he began
To ride forth, loved the way of chivalry,
Honor and faith and generosity. (2)
The Squire- The squire is the son of the Knight. He was in habit of carving in front of his
father to eat. He knows singing, composing, drawing and writing.
With him there went a SQUIRE, that was his son,
A lover and soldier, full of life and fun,
With locks tight-curled, as if just out of press;
His age in years was twenty, I should guess.

The Yeoman –He is the person who has been given the function of a forester. In the 15th
century it was known as a small land owner. He used to wear green color hood of hunter. He used to handle the weapons perfectly. His hair was cut very short and his face was brown. A
silver medal of St. Christopher he had. A tale of Gamelyn is found in some manuscripts of
Canterbury tales, was intended by Chaucer when x- written. This plan was assigned to
Yeoman and so he tells no stories.
He had a YEOMAN there, and none beside
In service, for it pleased him so to ride;
And he was clad in coat and hood of green.
He bore a sheaf of arrows, bright and keen,
And wings of peacock feathers edged the wood.

Wife of Bath:
Chaucer has portrayed her as, strong willed, opinionated, highly sexed, frank,
humorous and masterful. Her account "of five husbands and arguments against chastity"
presents her character at once. She was an expert and well to do West Country cloth maker.
She was independent and there was no woman in her parish who dared go before her and
make offerings at the offertory (Church).
“In all the parish wif ne was ther noon;
That to the offering before hir sholde goon. ”
The handkerchief upon her on a Sunday, weighed as much as ten pounds. The Wife
of Bath is concerned with not only defending the active use of sex in marriage but also to
insist that married happiness is possible if the husband yield the “maistye” to his wife. Yet,
she was a worthy woman and had married five husbands besides other company in her
youth.
“She was a worthy woman al her lyfe:
Housbonds at chirche dore she hadde five”
Her coverchiefs were woven close of ground,
And weighed, I lay an oath, at least ten pound
----------------------------
----------------------------
She was a worthy woman all her life;
Five times at church door had she been a wife,
Not counting other company in youth (14)

The  Parson-The parson exhibits virtue in ecclesiastical world where as the Knight
represents virtue in secular world.
There was a PARSON, too, that had his cure
In a small town, a good man and a poor;
But rich he was in holy thought and work.


The Plowman – It was done deliberately to present brotherhood relationship. These people
represent the virtue of their respective occupation. He was very devoted to God. He used a
life with happiness in spite of being poor. He used to help the needy and regards his friends
very much.
With him his brother, a simple PLOWMAN, rode,
That in his time had carted many a load
Of dung; true toiler and a good was he,
Living in peace and perfect charity.

Neo - classical age in English literature (1660-1798)

Neo - classical age in English literature (1660-1798)......

Neoclassical age reached after the decaying of Commonwealth period. During This period monarchy system continued again  all over England .the writers of this period tried to imitate the style of Roman and Greeks. The combination of the term "neo " which means new and another "classical "as in the day of Roman and Greek classics. There was the era of enlightenment which emphasised logic and reason. This period was preceded by renaissance period and followed by romantic era. Before renaissance life and literature was mainly dictated by the church, however during renaissance science and innovation was given maim emphasises. In neo classical era a vast difference between the two ideologies can be witnessed. There are confusion and contrary depiction too. Neo classical period ended in 1798 when Wordsworth published the romantic lyrical ballad.
**this age can be divided into three small periods**....
1) restoration period or the age of Dryden (1660-1700) 
2) the age of Pope or Augustan age (1700-1750)
3) the age of Johnson (1750-1798)

*** characterization of neo classical age **
It was the time of comfortableness in England. It was the beginning of the British tradition drinking tea and it was the starting point of middle class .for this reason more people were literate. It was the same time when eight monarchy took throne.

*** the effect of epic poetry ,novels and criticism swept all over Europe during this period. The rape of the lock by Alexander pope , an essay on dramatic criticism and other novels were popular too.

** drama began to decline during this period. This was the age of  theatre  so people became  attracted too much towards actor and actresses rather than playwrights. They were losing their interest in plays and playwrights which were being produced ever. The rise of the novel displaced the drama. Novels appeared as better way to depict life, manners and ideas.
**Revival of old plays hindered the creation of new plays .the plays of Shakespeare ,beauomont and Fletcher were revived. Shakespeare like Romeo Juliet, king Lear were given happy endings.
**the drama of the age failed to receive the support of king. William 3 was no patron of the theatre, nor was queen Anne, nor was the first two Georges, without support of the king. It was difficult for the dramatists to put their influence over the public of the day.
** moral restraint was followed by the political restraint. As a result of freedom fielding and other attacked Walpole 'S government a licensing act was passed and censorship was appeared on the drama. According to the act dramatist couldn't produce plays.

**HEROIC DRAMA ***
Heroic tragedy was called heroic drama. Dryden main supporter of the tragedy called it heroic drama. Plays were written in the classical model of the rhyming couplet and later in blank verse tragedy. Theme was based on the struggle between love and honor. The hero and heroine were cast on grand scale and their dialogues consisted of elaborated speeches in rhymed 10 syallbaled couplets, full of emotions.

*** the place of sentimental and anti sentimental comedies **

sentimental comedies were famous.
1)colley cibber - love's last shift, provoked husband.
2)richard Steele was famous for periodical essays. The lying lover, the tender husband were famous.
3)hugh Kelly =false delicacy
4) Richard Cumberland = he wrote thirty plays. Most of them were tragedies. West Indian and the fashionable lover were his famous comedies.
5) Sheridan = school for scandal
6) Addison, goldsmith were famous too.

All age writers till post modern

Famous writes of English literature

0450 - 1066: Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period
Major Writers:

Beowulf (Anonymous)


1066 - 1500: Middle English Period
Major Writers:

Geoffrey Chaucer


1500 - 1600: The Renaissance (Early Modern) Period

1558 - 1603: Elizabethan Age

Major Writers:

Christopher Marlowe

Edmund Spenser

Francis Beaumont

John Fletcher

Sir Philip Sidney

Thomas Dekker

Thomas Wyatt

William Shakespeare


1603 - 1625: Jacobean Age

Major Writers:

Ben Jonson

John Webster

Thomas Kyd

George Chapman

John Donne

George Herbert

Emilia Lanyer


1625 - 1649: Caroline Age

Major Writers:

John Ford

John Milton


1649 - 1660: Commonwealth Period

Major Writers:

John Milton

Andrew Marvell

Thomas Hobbes


1660 - 1700: Restoration Period
Major Writers:

John Dryden


1700 - 1745: The Augustan Age
Major Writers:

Alexander Pope

Jonathan Swift

Samuel Johnson


1745 - 1783: The Age Of Sensibility

1785 - 1830: The Romantic Period

Major Writers:

William Wordsworth

S.T. Coleridge

Jane Austen

the Brontës


1832 - 1901: The Victorian Period
Major Writers:

Charles Dickens

George Eliot

Robert Browning

Alfred Lord Tennyson


1848 - 1860: The Pre-Raphaelites
Major Writers:

William Holman Hunt

John Everett Millais

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

William Michael Rossetti

James Collinson

Frederic George Stephens

Thomas Woolner


1880 - 1901: Aestheticism and Decadence


1901 - 1910: The Edwardian Period
Major Writers:

J. M. Barrie

Arnold Bennett

Joseph Conrad

E. M. Forster

John Galsworthy

Kenneth Grahame

Edith Nesbit

Beatrix Potter

Lucy Maud Montgomery

H. G. Wells

P. G. Wodehouse


1910 - 1914: The Georgian Period

Major Writers:

G.M. Hopkins

H.G. Wells

James Joyce

D.H. Lawrence

T.S. Eliot


1914 - 1945: The Modern Period

Major Writers:

Knut Hamsun

James Joyce

Mikhail Bulgakov

T. S. Eliot

Virginia Woolf

John Steinbeck

D. H. Lawrence

Ezra Pound

William Faulkner

Ernest Hemingway

Katherine Anne Porter

E. M. Forster

Franz Kafka

Joseph Conrad

W. B. Yeats

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Samuel Beckett

Robert Frost


1945 - Present: Post Modern Period

Major Writers:

Ted Hughes

Doris Lessing

John Fowles

Don DeLillo

A.S. Byatt

Important Works with subtitle

WORKS AND SUBTITLES

Decameron:Prince Galahout (Boccacio)
[ ] The Female Quixote: or, The Adventures of Arabella  - Charlotte Lennox - 1752
[ ] Don Quixote of La Mancha (Cervantes)
[ ] Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School - 1872 Thomas Hardy
[ ] Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character - (1886) Thomas Hardy
[ ] Animal Farm: A Fair Story (George Orwell)
[ ] Michael: A Pastoral Poem- (1800 Wordsworth)
[ ] The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling (1749 Henry Fielding)
[ ] Istanbul: A Memories and the City - Orhan Pamuk
[ ] The Ascent F6: A Tragedy in Two Acts - 1936- WH Auden
[ ] Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts - Samuel Beckett
[ ] Sons and Lovers - (original title) Paul Morel
[ ] Way of the World: A comedy(Congreve 1700)
[ ] All For Love, The World Well Lost (Dryden 1677)
[ ] She Stoops to Conquer: Mistakes of a night (Goldsmith)
[ ] Oliver Twist; The Parish Boy's Progress (pub by Richard Bently) by Dickens
[ ] Vanity Fair: A Novel Without Hero (Thackery)
[ ] The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale Supposed to be Written by Himself 1766 (Goldsmith)
[ ] Middlemarch, A provincial Life 1784 ( George Eliot)
[ ] Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death (1973 Edward Bond) [Shakespeare comes as a character]
[ ] Hardbreak House: A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes (1919 G.BShaw)
[ ] Silas Marner: The Weaver of the Raveloe (1861 George Eliot)
[ ] Felix Holt: The Radical (1866 George Eliot )
[ ] Importance of Being Earnest: a trivial comedy for Serious People - Oscar Wild
[ ] The Wheel of Fire; The Interpretation of Shakespearean tragedy. Wilson Knight
[ ] Pamela: Virtue Rewarded - Samuel Richardson
[ ] Joseph Andrews, or The History of Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr Abraham Adams - Henry Fielding
[ ] Andrea del Sarto: The Faultless Painter - Robert Browning
[ ] Tess of the D'Urbervilles:A Pure Woman - Hardy
Tess of D'URBERVILLES - The Daughter of the D'Urbervilles (original intended title)
[ ] Gorboduc or The Ferrex and Porrex - Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville
[ ] Holy Sonnets, or The Divine Meditations, or Divine Sonnets --John Done (1633)
[ ] Tottel's Micellany, Songs and Sonnets
[ ] Mac Flecknoe; A Satyr upon the True-Blew-Protestant Poet, T.S. - (Dryden)
[ ] The Wheel of Fire: Interpretations of Shakespearean Tragedy (Wilson Knight)
[ ] Endymion: The Man in the Moon (John Lyly)
[ ] The Mistress: Several Copies of Love Versus - Abraham Cowley
[ ] Hespiredes: The Works Both Humane and Divine of Robert Herrick (Robert Herrick-1648)
[ ] Elegy for John Donne - "An Elegy Upon the Death of St Paul's Dr John Donne"
[ ] Troilus and Cressida: Truth Found Too Late (opera) - Dryden
[ ] Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music (1697) - Dryden
[ ] Histeriomastix: The Players Scourge or Actors Tragedy (1633) - William Prynne
[ ] The Pilgrim's Progress - The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come; Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream - John Bunyan
[ ] Candide: All for the Best; or The Optimist; or Optimism
[ ] Roughing it in the Bush, Or, Forest Life in Canada (1852) - Susanna Strickland Moodie

Some important facts in Literature

Some important facts in Literature

1.     Mathew Prior’s Alma is an imitation of Hudibras.*
2.   Solomon is a long and serious poem by Addison.*

3.     Pope’s two translated works are Iliad and Odyssey.*

4.      Moral Essays was written by Pope.*

5.     Horace Walpole: Life is a comedy to those who think and a tragedy to those who feel.*

6.     Treasure Island is a famous moment of Stevenson.*

7.  Sheridan’s play The Rivals came out in 1775, his School for scandal came out in 1777.*

8.  Robinson Crusoe – Friday (Cannibal). The Vicar ofWakefield – Moses, Olivia, Sophia.*

9.   The first of the ‘robot’ books – Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley.*

10.      Don Quixote (a Picaresque novel) – Written by Cervantes, Moll Flanders (a picaresque novel) – written by Defoe.*


 11.  There are 18 books in Tom Jones. This novel by Fielding is dedicated to George Littleton.*

12.   Thomas Chesterton (1752-70), a poet of the Pre-Romantic period committed suicide at the age of 18.*

13.    Doer’s Lament has the constant refrain “that was lived through, so can this be” or in other words, “his sorrow passed away, so will mine”.*

14.       Ulysses (1922) a novel by James Joyce is set in a single day in Dublin, the hero is leopald Bloom.*

15.     Of Human Bondage (1915), the autobiographical novel of Somerset Maugham is a study in frustration.*

16.    Dylan Thomas' Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog(1940) is a collection of short stories.*

17. Robinson Crusoe an adventurous tale by Daniel Defoe (1659-1731) which appeared in 1719 was inspired to a slight extent by the adventures of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, whom Defoe had interviewed at Bristol.*

18. A Tale of Tub, a brilliant satire on roman Catholics and Calvinists, on critics and bad writers; The Battle of the books, a satiric by product of the Bentley controversy;Gulliver’s Travels – written by Swift.*

19. In 1740 Samuel Richardson published his novel Pamela. Fielding saw that it would be amusing to burlesque this novel by writing in a similar manner about a hero instead of about a heroine, and so upset Richardson’s prudential system of morality. Thus Fielding wrote Joseph Andrewsin 1742. It ran far beyond its original design of being a burlesque, and became a novel of life and manners.*

20.        The expedition of Humphrey Clinker (1771) is Smollett’s masterpiece as Tom Jones is Fielding’s. The novel is written in epistolary form. Bramble, Mrs. Tabitha and Lismahago are the best portraits in his gallery.*

21.  Smollett’s the Adventures of Roderick Random written in 1748 is largely, though not wholly autobiographical novel.It is especially excellent in its delineation of British tar.*

22.    In 1750 Johnson commences to publish The Rambler, a paper modeled up on The Spectator.*

23.   Johnson completed and published his Dictionary in 1775. It is considered best and he was thought to be a match, single handed, for the forty members of the French Academy.*

24.   She stoops to Conquer by Goldsmith is a splendid comedy of intrigue, introducing lively and farcical    incidents   and highly drawn pictures of eccentric characters.*

25. The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope (a mock-heroic epic written in 1772 & 1774) was written in a  fanciful and ingenious mock-heroic style based on a true story.*
 “WHAT dire Offence from am'rous Causes springs,
What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things,
I sing—This Verse to CARYL, Muse! is due;
This, ev'n Belinda may vouchfafe to view:
Slight is the Subject, but not so the Praise,
If She inspire, and He approve my Lays.”- *these are the famous lines from* *Alexander Pope's mock epic The Rape of the Lock canto I*

26. The first successful American political newspaper, theBoston News-Letter, was founded in 1704*

Important mcq questions on literature for Net Exam

Important mcq questions on literature for Net Exam

1 D.H.Lawrence called one of his novels Kangaroo as “Thought Adventure".

2 The phrase ‘religion of the blood' is associated with D.H.Lawrence.

3 A character in Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando changes his sex. Charles II is characterised in this novel.

4 A woman's search for a fittinOkOkg mate is the central theme of Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman.

5 ‘Chocolate cream hero' appears in Shaw’s Arms and the Man.

6 The phrase 'Don Juan in Hell' occurs in Shaw’s Man and Superman.

7 Prostitution is the central theme of Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession.

8 Labour and Capital conflict is the central theme of Galsworthy’s Strife.

9 "The law is what it is -a majestic edifice sheltering all of us, each stone of which rests on another." These lines occur in Galsworthy’s Justice.

10 Bernard Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1925.

11 Joseph Conrad's novels are generally set in the background of the sea.

12 .Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem “ If”

13 .The term 'Stream of consciousness' was first used by William James.

14 .The terms 'Inscape' and 'Instress' are associated with Hopkins.

15 .Sprung Rhythm' was originated by Hopkins.

16 .T .S. Eliot called 'Hamlet' an artistic failure.

17. World Within World is an autobiography of Stephen Spender.

18 .G. B. Shaw said, "For art's sake alone I would not face the toil of writing a single sentence”.

19 .Aldous Huxley borrowed the title ‘Brave New World’ from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

20 .William Morris is the author of The Earthly Paradise.

21 .T S Eliot was believed to be "a classicist in literature, royalist in politics and anglo-catholic in religion”.

22 .Virginia Woolf was the founder of the Bloomsbury Group, a literary club of England.

23 .George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty – Four and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World are prophetic novels.

Important mcq questions on literature for Net Exam


24 .Plato said, ‘Art is twice removed from reality'.

25 .Plato proposed in his Republic that poets should be banished from the ideal Republic.

26 .Five principal sources of Sublimity are there according to Longinus.

27 .In Dryden's Essay of Dramatic Poesy there are four speakers representing four different ideologies. Neander expresses Dryden's own views.

28 .Dr. Johnson called Dryden 'the father of English criticism'

29 .Shelley said, "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world”.

30 . Dr. Johnson preferred Shakespeare's comedies to his Tragedies.

31 .Coleridge said, "I write in metre because I am about to use a language different from that of prose."

32 .Heroic Couplet is a two-line stanza having two rhyming lines in Iambic Pentameter.

33 .Alexandrine is a line of six iambic feet occasionally used in a Heroic couplet.

34 .Terza Rima is a run-on three-line stanza with a fixed rhyme-scheme.

35 .Rhyme Royal stanza is a seven-line stanza in iambic pentameter.

36 .Ottawa Rima is an eight-line stanza in iambic pentameter with a fixed rhyme-scheme.

37 .Spenserian stanza is a nine-line stanza consisting of two quatrains in iambic pentameter, rounded off with an Alexandrine.

38 .Blank verse has a metre but no rhyme.

39 .Simile is a comparison between two things which have at least one point common.

40 .Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement for the sake of emphasis.

41 .The poem by Chaucer known to be the first attempt in English to use the Heroic Couplet is The Legend of Good Women.

42 .Chaucer introduced the Heroic couplet in English verse and invented Rhyme Royal.

43 .The invention of the genre, the Eclogues (pastoral poetry) is attributed to Alexander Barclay.

44 .Mort D' Arthur is the first book in English in poetic prose.

45 .First to use blank verse in English drama Thomas Sackville.

46 .The first English play house called The Theatre was founded in London, 1576.

47 .Thomas Wyatt introduced the sonnet form to England.

Important mcq questions on literature for Net Exam.

48 .Thomas Nash was the creator of the picaresque novel. ( The Unfortunate Traveler)

49 .Francis Bacon is the first great stylist in English prose.

50 .Marlowe wrote only tragedies.

51 .Sir Walter Raleigh wrote the introductory Sonnet

Important mcq questions on literature for Net Exam...


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English literature for all..

Important Literature mcq for Net exam

IMPORTANT MCQ SERIES ON ENGLISH LITERATURE FOR NET


1. The epigraph of The Waste Land is borrowed from?
(A) Virgil
(B) Fetronius
(C) Seneca
(D) Homer✔

2. Who called ‘The Waste Land ‘a music of ideas’?
(A) Allen Tate✔
(B) J. C. Ransom
(C) I. A. Richards
(D) F. R Leavis

3. T. S. Eliot has borrowed the term ‘Unreal City’ in the first and third
sections from?
(A) Baudelaire
(B) Irving Babbit
(C) Dante✔
(D) Laforgue

4. Which of the following myths does not figure in The Waste
Land?
(A) Oedipus
(B) Grail Legend of Fisher King
(C) Philomela
(D) Sysyphus✔

5. Joe Gargery is Pip’s?
(A) brother
(B) brother-in-Jaw
(C) guardian✔
(D) cousin

6. Estella is the daughter of?
(A) Joe Gargery✔
(B) Abel Magwitch .
(C) Miss Havisham
(D) Bentley Drumnile

7. Which book of John Ruskin influenced Mahatma Gandhi?
(A) Sesame and Lilies
(B) The Seven Lamps of Architecture
(C) Unto This Last✔
(D) Fors Clavigera

8. Graham Greene’s novels are marked by?
(A) Catholicism✔
(B) Protestantism
(C) Paganism
(D) Buddhism

9. One important feature of Jane Austen’s style is?
(A) boisterous humour
(B) humour and pathos✔
(C) subtlety of irony
(D) stream of consciousness

10. The title of the poem ‘The Second Coming’ is taken from?
(A) The Bible✔
(B) The Irish mythology
(C) The German mythology
(D) The Greek mythology

11. The main character in Paradise Lost Book I and Book II is?
(A God
(B) Satan✔
(C) Adam
(D) Eve

12. In Sons and Lovers, Paul Morel’s mother’s name is?
(A)Susan
(B)Jane
(C)Gertrude✔
(D) Emily

13. The twins in Lord of the Flies are?
(A)Ralph and Jack✔
(B) Simon and Eric
(C) Ralph and Eric
(D) Simon and Jack

14.Mr. Jaggers, in Great Expectations, is a
(A) lawyer✔
(B) postman
(C)Judge
(D) School teacher

15. What does ‘I’ stand for in the following line?
‘To Carthage then I came’
(A) Buddha
(B) Tiresias
(C) Smyrna Merchant
(D) Augustine✔

IMPORTANT MCQ SERIES ON ENGLISH LITERATURE FOR NET




16. The following lines are an example……… of image.
‘The river sweats
Oil and tar’
(A) visual
(B) kinetic
(C) erotic✔
(D) sensual

17. Which of the following novels has the sub-title ‘A Novel Without a Hero’?
(A) Vanity Fair✔
(B) Middlemarch
(C) Wuthering Heights
(D) Oliver Twist

18. In ‘Leda and the Swan’, who wooes Leda in guise of a swan?
(A) Mars
(B) Hercules
(C) Zeus
(D) Bacchus✔

19. Who invented the term ‘Sprung rhythm’?
(A)Hopkins✔
(B)Tennyson
(C)Browning
(D)Wordsworth

20.Who wrote the poem ‘Defence of Lucknow’?
(A) Browning
(B) Tennyson
(C) Swinburne✔
(D) Rossetti

21.Which of the following plays of Shakespeare has an epilogue?
(A) The Tempest✔
(B) Henry IV, Pt I
(C) Hamlet
(D) Twelfth Night

22. Hamlet’s famous speech ‘To be,or not to be; that is the question’
occurs in?
(A) Act II, Scene I
(B) Act III, Scene III
(C) Act IV, Scene III
(D) Act III, Scene I✔

23. Identify the character in The Tempest who is referred to as an honest old counselor
(A) Alonso
(B) Ariel
(C) Gonzalo✔
(D) Stephano

24. What is the sub-title of the play Twelfth Night?
(A) Or, What is you Will
(B) Or, What you Will✔
(C) Or, What you Like It
(D) Or, What you Think

25. Which of the following plays of Shakespeare, according to T. S.
Eliot, is ‘artistic failure’?
(A) The Tempest
(B) Hamlet✔
(C) Henry IV, Pt I
(D) Twelfth Night

26. Who is Thomas Percy in Henry IV, Pt I?
(A) Earl of Northumberland✔
(B) Earl of March
(C) Earl of Douglas
(D) Earl of Worcester

27. Paradise Lost was originally written in?
(A) ten books
(B) eleven books
(C) nine books
(D) eight books✔

28. In Pride and Prejudice, Lydia elopes with?
(A) Darcy
(B) Wickham✔
(C) William Collins
(D) Charles Bingley

29. Who coined the phrase ‘Egotistical Sublime’?
(A) William Wordsworth
(B) P.B.Shelley
(C) S. T. Coleridge✔
(D) John Keats

30. Who is commonly known as ‘Pip’ in Great Expectations?
(A) Philip Pirrip
(B) Filip Pirip
(C)Philip Pip✔
(D) Philips Pirip



31. The novel The Power and the Glory is set in?
(A)Mexico✔
(B) Italy
(C)France
(D) Germany

32. Which of the following is Golding’s first novel?
(A) The Inheritors
(B) Lord of the Flies✔
(C) Pincher Martin
(D) Pyramid

33.Identify the character who is a supporter of Women’s Rights in Sons and Lovers?
(A) Mrs. Morel✔
(B) Annie
(C) Miriam
(D) Clara Dawes

34. Vanity Fair is a novel by?
(A) Jane Austen
(B) Charles Dickens
(C) W. M. Thackeray✔
(D) Thomas Hardy

35. Shelley’s Adonais is an elegy on the death of?
(A) Milton
(B) Coleridge
(C) Keats✔
(D) Johnson

36. Which of the following is the first novel of D. H. Lawrence?
(A) The White Peacock✔
(B) The Trespasser
(C) Sons and Lovers
(D) Women in Love

37. In the poem ‘Tintern Abbey’, ‘dearest friend’ refers to?
(A) Nature
(B) Dorothy✔
(C) Coleridge
(D) Wye

38. Who, among the following, is not the second generation of British
Romantics?
(A) Keats
(B) Wordsworth✔
(C) Shelley
(D) Byron

39. Which of the following poems of Coleridge is a ballad?
(A) Work Without Hope
(B) Frost at Midnight
(C) The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner✔
(D) Youth and Age

40. Identify the writer who was expelled from Oxford for circulating a pamphlet—
(A) P. B. Shelley✔
(B) Charles Lamb
(C) Hazlitt
(D) Coleridge

IMPORTANT MCQ SERIES ON ENGLISH LITERATURE FOR NET



41. Keats’s Endymion is dedicated to?
(A) Leigh Hunt✔
(B) Milton
(C) Shakespeare
(D) Thomas Chatterton


42. The second series of Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb was published in?
(A) 1823
(B) 1826
(C) 1834
(D) 1833✔

43. Which of the following poets does not belong to the ‘Lake School’?
(A) Keats✔
(B) Coleridge
(C) Southey
(D) Wordsworth

44.Who, among the following writers, was not educated at Christ’s Hospital School,
London?
(A) Charles Lamb✔
(B) William Wordsworth
(C) Leigh Hunt
(D) S. T. Coleridge

45. Who derided Hazlitt as one of the members of the ‘Cockney School of Poetry’?
(A) Tennyson
(8) Charles Lamb
(C) Lockhart
(D) T. S. Eliot✔

46. Tennyson’s poem ‘In Memoriam’was written in memory of?
(A) A. H. Hallam✔
(B) Edward King
(C) Wellington
(D) P. B. Shelley


47. Who, among the following, is not connected with the Oxford Movement?
(A) Robert Browning✔
(B) John Keble
(C) E. B. Pusey
(D) J. H. Newman

48. Identify the work by Swinburne which begins “when the hounds of spring are on winter’s traces..”?
(A) Chastelard
(B) A Song of Italy
(C) Atalanta in Calydon✔
(D) Songs before Sunrise

49. Carlyle’s work On Heroes, HeroWorship and the Heroic in History is a course of?
(A) six lectures
(B) five lectures✔
(C) four lectures
(D) seven lectures

50. Who is praised as a hero by Carlyle in his lecture on the ‘Hero as King’?
(A) Johnson
(B) Cromwell✔
(C) Shakespeare
(D) Luther



51. Identify the work by Ruskin which began as a defence of contemporary landscape artist especially Turner?
(A) The Stones of Venice
(B) The Two Paths
(C) The Seven Lamps of Architecture
(D) Modem Painters✔

52. The term ‘the Palliser Novels’ is used to describe the political novels of?
(A) Charles Dickens
(B) Anthony Trollope
(C) W. H. White
(D) B. Disraeli✔

53.✳✳ Identify the poet, whom Queen Victoria, regarded as the perfect poet of ‘love and loss’—
(A) Tennyson
(B) Browning
(C) Swinburne
(D) D. G. Rossetti✔

54. A verse form using stanza of eight lines, each with eleven syllables, is known as?
(A) Spenserian Stanza
(B) Ballad
(C) OttavaRima✔
(D) Rhyme Royal

55. ✳✴Identify the writer who first used blank verse in English poetry?
(A) Sir Thomas Wyatt
(B) William Shakespeare
(C) Earl of Surrey✔
(D) Milton

56. The Aesthetic Movement which blossomed during the 1880s was not influenced by?
(A) The Pre-Raphaelites
(B) Ruskin
(C) Pater
(D) Matthew Arnold✔

57. Identify the rhetorical figure used in the following line of Tennyson “Faith un-faithful kept him falsely true.”
(A) Oxymoron✔
(B) Metaphor
(C) Simile
(D) Synecdoche

58. ✴✴W. B. Yeats used the phrase ‘the artifice of eternity’ in his poem?
(A) Sailing to Byzantium✔
(B) Byzantium
(C) The Second Coming
(D) Leda and the Swan

59. Who is Pip’s friend in London?
(A) Pumblechook
(B) Herbert Pocket
(C) Bentley Drummle
(D) Jaggers✔

60. Who is Mr. Tench in The Power and the Glory?
(A) A teacher
(B) A clerk
(C) A thief✔
(D) A dentist


IMPORTANT MCQ SERIES ON ENGLISH LITERATURE FOR NET



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Important Shakespearean quotes

Famous Shakespearean quotes

1. ‘To be, or not to be: that is the question’
(Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1)

2. ‘All the world ‘s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.’
(As You Like it Act 2, Scene 7)

3. ‘Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?’
(Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2)

4. ‘Now is the winter of our discontent’
(Richard III Act 1, Scene 1)

5. ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)

6. ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.’
(Twelfth Night Act 2, Scene 5)

7. ‘Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.’
(Julius Caesar Act 2, Scene 2)

8. ‘Full fathom five thy father lies, of his bones are coral made. Those are pearls that were his eyes. Nothing of him that doth fade, but doth suffer a sea-change into something rich and strange.’
(The Tempest Act 1, Scene 2)

9. ‘A man can die but once.’
(Henry IV, Part 2 Act 3, Part 2)

10. ‘How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!’
(King Lear Act 1, Scene 4)

11. ‘Frailty, thy name is woman.’
(Hamlet Act 1, Scene 2)

12. ‘If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?’
(The Merchant of Venice Act 3, Scene 1)

13. ‘I am one who loved not wisely but too well.’
(Othello Act 5, Scene 2)

14. ‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks’
(Hamlet Act 3, Scene 2)

15. ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.’
(The Tempest Act 4, Scene 1)

16. ‘Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’
(Macbeth Act 5, Scene 5)

17. ‘Beware the Ides of March.’
(Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2)

18. ‘Get thee to a nunnery.’
(Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1)

19. ‘If music be the food of love play on.’
(Twelfth Night Act 1, Scene 1)

20. ‘What’s in a name? A rose by any name would smell as sweet.’

(Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2)

21. ‘The better part of valor is discretion’
(Henry IV, Part 1 Act 5, Scene 4)

22. ‘To thine own self be true.’
(Hamlet Act 1, Scene 3)

23. ‘All that glisters is not gold.’
(The Merchant of Venice Act 2, Scene 7)

24. ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears: I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.’
(Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2)

25. ‘Nothing will come of nothing.’
(King Lear Act 1, Scene 1)

26. ‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 1, Scene 1)

27. ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be!’
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 1, Scene 1)

28. ‘Cry “havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war’
(Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 1)

29. ‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.’
(Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2)

30. ‘A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!’
(Richard III Act 5, Scene 4)

31. ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’
(Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5)

32. ‘Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.’
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 1, Scene 1)

33. ‘The fault, dear Brutus, lies not within the stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.’
(Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2)

34. ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’
(Sonnet 18)

35. ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.’
(Sonnet 116)

36. ‘The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interrèd with their bones.’
(Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2)

37. ‘But, for my own part, it was Greek to me.’
(Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2)

38. ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.’
(Hamlet Act 1, Scene 3)

39. ‘We know what we are, but know not what we may be.’
(Hamlet Act 4, Scene 5)

40. ‘Off with his head!’
(Richard III Act 3, Scene 4)

41. ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.’
(Henry IV, Part 2 Act 3, Scene 1)

42. ‘Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.’
(The Tempest Act 2, Scene 2)

43. ‘This is very midsummer madness.’
(Twelfth Night Act 3, Scene 4)

44. ‘Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.’
(Much Ado about Nothing Act 3, Scene 1)

45. ‘I cannot tell what the dickens his name is.’
(The Merry Wives of Windsor Act 3, Scene 2)

46. ‘We have seen better days.’
(Timon of Athens Act 4, Scene 2)

47. ‘I am a man more sinned against than sinning.’
(King Lear Act 3, Scene 2)

48. ‘Brevity is the soul of wit.’
(Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2)

49. ‘This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle… This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.’
(Richard II Act 2, Scene 1)

50. ‘What light through yonder
Window breaks
( Romeo Juliet Act 2 , scene 2)Famous Shakespeare's quotes


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A short note on Tragedy- Everything about the term Tragedy

A short note on Tragedy- Everything about the term Tragedy

Definition of Tragedy
A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language.
Elements of Tragedy
Aristotle lays out six elements of tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and song.
1) Plot – “the soul of a tragedy”.
The Plot is the most important part of a tragedy. The plot means ‘the arrangement of the incidents’. The plot moves from hamartia through anagnorisis and peripetiea to catastrophe.
2) Character – “that which reveals moral purpose”.
Characters are men and women who act. The hero and the heroine are two important figures among the characters.
3) Thought – “the faculty of saying what is possible and pertinent in given circumstances”.
The thought is expressed through their speeches and dialogues. It is a way of saying what is appropriate to a given circumstance or situation.
4) Diction – “the expression of meaning in words”.
Diction is the medium of language or expression through which the characters reveal their thoughts and feelings. The diction should be ‘embellished with each kind of artistic element’.
5) Song – which “holds the chief place among the embellishments”.
The song is one of these embellishments. In other words, it refers to what is generally known as choric commentary in tragedy.
6) Spectacle – which “depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet”
The Spectacle is theatrical effect presented on the stage. It heightens the emotional significance of an event in the drama.

Tragic Hero
Aristotle defines a tragic hero as “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience. He is considered a man of misfortune that comes to him through error of judgment.” A tragic hero’s downfall evokes feelings of pity and fear among the audience.

Characteristics of a Tragic Hero
Here we have basic characteristics of a tragic hero, as explained by Aristotle:

Hamartia – a tragic flaw that causes the downfall of a hero.

Hubris – excessive pride and disrespect for the natural order of things.

Peripeteia – The reversal of fate that the hero experiences.

Anagnorisis – a moment in time when hero makes an important discovery in the story.

Nemesis – a punishment that the protagonist cannot avoid, usually occurring as a result of his hubris.

Catharsis – feelings of pity and fear felt by the audience, for the inevitable downfall of the protagonist.
Both fate and character can contribute to the fall of the tragic hero, though some tragedies focus on one more than the other. Many examples of both tragedy of fate and tragedy of character are available from the ancient Greek era through to modern times.

Fate vs. Character
The fate often plays a role in the downfall -- especially in the Greek tragedies. The tragic hero usually tries to outwit fate, with his character flaw being his pride in thinking that outwitting fate is possible. Therefore, tragedies of fate are usually focused on a moral message about not trying to outrun destiny. Sometimes tragedy involves choices (free will) and results in a paradox --- Is it Fate or Free Will which is primarily responsible for the suffering in the hero's life. Though fated the hero makes choices which bring about his destruction. Tragedy of character minimize the role of fate and focus instead on human choice and moral accountability.

Tragedy of Fate
Many examples of tragedy of fate can be found in classic literature. "Oedipus the King" is one of the most often cited examples. In this play by Sophocles, an oracle tells Oedipus that he will murder his father and marry his mother. He tries to outwit fate by leaving his home and the people he believes to be his parents; he doesn't know he was adopted. During his travels, Oedipus kills a man who turns out to be his biological father, then marries the woman who turns out to be his biological mother. His mother hangs herself when she learns the truth, and Oedipus blinds himself. In "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet are said to be brought together by fate, yet their feuding families keep them apart. The price of this human pettiness is the death of the young lovers.

Tragedy of Character-
Because character is so often linked to fate in narrative, scholars often debate whether a story is a true tragedy of character. "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare can be considered a tragedy of character, because Macbeth becomes blinded by his ambition and allows his wife to persuade him to commit an evil act, leading to his own eventual downfall. The witches told Macbeth he would be king but his descendents would not be, so the story includes an element of the hero trying to work against fate. In "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman is a proud man who cannot bear the reality of his own failure, and his flaw costs him his family and his life. Though Loman is not a noble man or king like most tragic heroes, the play has many elements of tragedy of character.

Types of tragedy
Attic tragedy: The exact origins of tragedy (tragōida) are debated amongst scholars. Some have linked the rise of the genre, which began in Athens, to the earlier art form, the lyrical performance of epic poetry. The most famous playwrights of the genre were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides and many of their works were still performed centuries after their initial premiere. Aeschylus who is he father of tragedy, a greek writer who wrote the first trilogy play the Orestia. The Agamemnon of Aeschylus, one of the most splendid products of the Greek drama, was brought out shortly before the poet's death. The Oedipus Coloneus of Sophocles and the Bacchae of Euripides were both written very late in life.

Senecan Tragedy: A precursor of tragic drama were the tragedies by the Roman poet Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD). His tragedies were recited rather than staged but they became a model for English playwrights entailing the five-act structure, a complex plot and an elevated style of dialogue. The first English tragedy, Gorboduc (1561), by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton, is a chain of slaughter and revenge written in direct imitation of Seneca.
Revenge Tragedy / Tragedy of Blood: This type of tragedy represented a popular genre in the Elizabethan Age and made extensive use of certain elements of the Senecan tragedy such asmurder, revenge, mutilations and ghosts. Typical examples of this sub-genre are Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy.

Domestic / Bourgeois Tragedy:
In line with a changing social system where the middle class gained increasing importance and power, tragedies from the 18th century onward shifted their focus to protagonists from the middle or lower classes and were written in prose. The protagonist typically suffers a domestic disaster which is intended to arouse empathy rather than pity and fear in the audience. An example is George Lillo’s The London Merchant: or, The History of George Barnwell (1731). Modern tragedies such as Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman (1949) foll and T.S. Eliot’s The Murder in the Cathedral (1935).

Tragicomedy:
The boundaries of genres are often blurred in drama and occasionally they lead to the emergence of new sub-genres, e.g., the tragicomedy. Tragicomedies, as the name suggests, intermingle conventions concerning plot, character and subject matter derived from both tragedy and comedy. Thus, characters of both high and low social rank can be mixed as in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (1600), or a serious conflict, which is likely to end in disaster, suddenly reaches a happy ending because of some unforeseen circumstances as in John Fletcher’s The Faithful Shepherdess (c.1609).

UGC NET IN ENGLISH PAPER II ,DEC 2005

UGC NET IN ENGLISH

PAPER II DEC 2005

1 . Chaucer's The Knight's Tale is a high romance told in :

Heroic couplets


2 . Marlowe's first original work was :

Tamburlaine the Great 


3 . Marvell pays his homage to the Protector and a tribute to the royal dignity of Charles I in :

"Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland "


4 . The Life and Death of Mr. Badman was written by :

John Bunyan


5 . Dr Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was published in :

1755


6 . The main idea of The Dunciad was taken from :

Mac Flecknoe


7 . The character of the leech gatherer appears in :

Resolution and Independence


8 . Table-Talk is a collection of essays by :

Hazlitt


9 . Carlyle's Sartor Resartus was written under the influence of :

German Romance


10 . The image of the Neptune taming the sea-horse appears in :

"My Last Duchess "


11 . T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland is dedicated to Il miglior fabro ("the better Craftsman") which refers to :

Ezra Pound


12 . The locale of Riders to the Sea is :

Aran Island


13 . The "Bog" poems are associated with :

Seamus Heaney


14 . Edward Bond's Bingo deals with the life of :

Shakespeare


15 . Arthur Miller's The Death of a Salesman is mainly about :

American Dream


16 . The patient in Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient is :

Almasy


17 . Mimetic Criticism views literary work as :

Imitation


18 . The concept of "arche writing " is developed by :

Derrida


19 . A figure of speech in which two terms opposite in meaning are placed side by side in one phrase is known as :

Oxymoron


20 . A stanza of eight iambic pentameters on the pattern of ab, ab , ab , cc , is known as :

Ottava rima


Correct Chronological sequence :

21 . Love's Labour Lost , Twelfth Night , Othello , The Tempest


22 . Utopia , Ralph Roister Doister , Shepherd's Calendar , Astrophel and Stella


23 .  Sonnet , Periodical essay , Gothic Novel , Absurd play


24 . T.S. Eliot , Stephen Spender , Philip Larkin , Ted Hughes


25 . Sublime , Negative Capability , Dissociation of Sensibility , Heteroglossia


26 . Lycidas , Adonais , Thyrsis , In Memory of W.B. Yeats


27 . Two Uses of Language , The Death of the Author , Structure , Sign and Play , Signs Taken for Wonders


28 . The Burial of the Dead , A Game of Chess , The Fire Sermon , Death By Water


29 . Kanthapura , Midnight's Children , Nectar in a Sieve , Calcutta Chromosome


30 . Craft of Fiction , Aspects of the Novel . English Novel: Form and Function , The Sense of An Ending


Match the following:

31 . Sohrab and Rustum - Matthew Arnold


32 . Pamela - Epistolary novel


33 . Faulkner - Yoknapatawpha


34 . Naturalism - Zola


35 . Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin


36 . Congreve - The Old Bachelor


37 . Judith Wright - Australia


38 . Diary writing - Samuel Pepys


39 . Girish Karnad - Kannada


40 . Eliza Doolittle - Pygmalion


Answer of passage :

41 . Fear


42 . an inference


43 . is too careful with his money


44 . the poet moved as aimlessly as the cloud


45 . reflect meaning and mood


46 . Nationality , Language , Tradition and Historical situation


47 . The intellectual may be inappropriately Co-opted by the agencies of the Government


48 . Academy , Church , Professional guild and Worldly power


49 . Liberating oneself from the pressures of institutions and worldly powers


50 . To search for relative independence and be characterized as exile and marginal, as amateur and author.

UGC NET IN ENGLISH PAPER II DEC 2004

UGC NET IN ENGLISH

PAPER II DEC 2004

1 . In Langland's Piers the Plowman , Piers appears finally as :

The Good Samaritan

2 . It is decided that each Canterbury pilgrim would tell in all :

4 stories - 2 each on the way to and back

3 . Venus and Adonis is a long narrative poem by :

Shakespeare

4 . The total number of poems in Shakespeare'sSonnets is :

154

5 . Which of the following plays has a Machiavellian hero ? 

 Jew of Malta

6 . Which of the following is written by Samuel Butler ? 

Hudibras

7 . Which of the following poems did Milton write in Octosyllabic couplets ? 

Il Penseroso

8 . Which of the following plays is not written by Congreve ? 

The Relapse

9 . Dryden's All for Love is an adaptation of :

Antony and Cleopatra

10 .Which of the following books proposes a political theory ?

Leviathan 

11 . Which of the following books is written by a woman ?

A Vindication of the Rights of Women

12 . Which of the following books by Jonathan Swift is a religious allegory ?

A Tale of a Tub

13 . Which of the following is a 'Visionary " work by William Blake ?

Songs of Experience

14 . Pope's An Essay on Man is based on the ideas of :

Lord Bolingbroke

15 . Which of the following works by Johnson is an imitation of the tenth satire of Juvenal ?

The Vanity of Human Wishes

16 . The final version of Wordsworth's The Prelude appeared in :

1850

17 . "To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite " is written by "

Shelley

18 . " A thing of beauty is a joy forever " occurs in :

Endymion

19 . Which of the following novels is a satire on the Gothic novel ?

Northanger Abbey

20 . Who distinguished between "the literature of Knowledge and the literature of power " ?

Thomas de Quincey

21 . Who among the following Victorian poets is most  sensitive to the conflict between the old and the new?

Tennyson

22 . Under the Greenwood Tree is written by :

Thomas Hardy

23 . The Office of Circumlocution occurs in :

Bleak House

24 . The novel Mary Barton is written by :

Elizabeth Gaskell

25 . The line " Poetry is a criticism of life" occurs in :

The Study of Poetry

26 . Martha Quest was written by :

Doris Lessing

27 . The term "Steam of Consciousness " was taken from the book :

The Principles of Psychology 

28 . G.S. Fraser's The Golden Bough focuses on :

Symbols

29 . Arthur Miller's The Death of a Salesmanrelies for its tragic seriousness on the fate of :

Willy Loman

30 . The character Leopald Bloom makes an appearance in the novel :

Ulysses

31 . Who of the following authors represents the Sri Lankan diaspora ?

Michael Ondaatje

32 . Australian aborigines receive a sympathetic treatment in :

Judith Wright

33 . Margaret Atwood's Survival  makes a case for :

Canadian Nationalism

34 . V.S. Naipaul's latest book is :

Half a Life

35 . Which of the following books by Salman Rushdie refers to the 15th century Spain as the starting point ?

The Moor's Last Sigh

36 . Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is written by :

Edward Albee

37 . Imamu Amiri Baraka is a  :

An American writer

38 . The Miscellany was published from :

The Writer's Workshop

39 . Who of the following writers recreates the life of the Yoruba/Ibo community ?

Wole Soyinka

40 . Who of the following White female authors are sympathetic to the cause of the Blacks?

Nadine Gordimer

41 . New Criticism considers text as a :

Autotelic

42 . Mythologies was written by :

Roland Barthes

43 . The word 'Catharsis' signifies :

Purgation 

44 . The rejection of "Universalism" is a mark of :

Deconstruction

45 . Eliot's theory of " objective correlative " appeared in his essay entitled :

Hamlet And His Problems

46 . Sprung Rhythm is an example of :

Verse

47 . "More is thy due than more than all can pay " is an example of :

Inversion

48 . Unrhymed  metrical composition consisting of five iambic measures in each line is called :

Blank Verse

49 . Verse stories dealing with chivalry , Knight , errantry , enchantments and love are known as :

 The metrical romances

50 . " He is a citizen of no mean city " is an example of :

Litotes