All Free English Literature MCQs with Answers
Every English Literature question in the bank, across all chapters, each with the correct answer and a written explanation. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
3,192 questions · page 52 of 160
- A. the Republicans and the Royalists
- B. the Royalists and the Whigs
- C. the Tories and the Whigs
- D. the Royalists and the Tories
Explanation: The Exclusion Bill controversy in the reign of Charles II produced the political labels Whigs, who opposed exclusion, and Tories, who…
Correct answer: the Tories and the Whigs- A. automatic writing
- B. confused daze
- C. total recall
- D. stream of consciousness
Explanation: Stream of consciousness presents the continuous, often unstructured movement of a character’s thoughts and perceptions.
Correct answer: stream of consciousness- A. art for intellect's sake
- B. art for God's sake
- C. art for the masses
- D. art for art's sake
Explanation: The aesthetic movement is identified by the slogan “art for art’s sake,” which treats artistic beauty as independent of moral, political…
Correct answer: art for art's sake- A. Sigmund Freud
- B. Sir James Frazer
- C. Immanuel Kant
- D. all but C
Explanation: Freud’s theory of the unconscious and Frazer’s study of myth and ritual strongly influenced modernist writers’ views of identity, culture…
Correct answer: all but C- A. Eminent Victorians
- B. Jungle Books
- C. The Way of All Flesh
- D. both A and C
Explanation: Strachey’s Eminent Victorians and Butler’s The Way of All Flesh challenge Victorian institutions, morality, and confidence in progress.
Correct answer: both A and C- A. popular; reverenced
- B. brash; confident
- C. radical; inventive
- D. anxious; haunting
Explanation: The 1930s writers around Auden were generally more radical in their political and social outlook than Eliot and Pound, but were considered…
Correct answer: radical; inventive- A. Sigmund Freud
- B. Sir James Frazer
- C. Immanuel Kant
- D. all but C
Explanation: Freud's theories of the unconscious and Frazer's comparative study of myth both reshaped modern ideas of identity, ritual, and culture.
Correct answer: all but C- A. its intellectual complexity
- B. its union of thought and passion
- C. its uncompromising engagement with politics
- D. A and B
Explanation: Modernists admired Metaphysical poetry for joining intellectual ingenuity with strong emotion, often through elaborate conceits and…
Correct answer: A and B- A. Thom Gunn
- B. Dylan Thomas
- C. Philip Larkin
- D. both A and C
Explanation: Philip Larkin and Thom Gunn are both associated with The Movement, whose poets generally favoured restraint, clear language, and ordinary…
Correct answer: both A and C- A. the emergence of a mass literate population at whom a new mass-produced literature could be directed
- B. a new market for basic textbooks which paid better than sophisticated novels or plays
- C. a popular thirst for the \classics,\
- D. driving contemporary writers to the margins
- E. none of the above
Explanation: Compulsory elementary education created a much larger reading public, allowing publishers to produce literature for mass consumption.
Correct answer: the emergence of a mass literate population at whom a new mass-produced literature could be directed- A. Radio announcers were permitted to speak in regional dialects and multicultural accents.
- B. The Arts Council designated many of its resources to supporting regional arts councils.
- C. Regional radio and television stations appeared throughout the country.
- D. all of the above
Explanation: Regional broadcasting, the Arts Council's support for regional arts, and the growth of regional radio and television all weakened London's…
Correct answer: all of the above1032. Which best describes the imagist movement, exemplified in the work of T. E. Hulme and Ezra Pound ?
- A. a poetic aesthetic vainly concerned with the way words appear on the page
- B. an effort to rid poetry of romantic fuzziness and facile emotionalism, replacing it with a precision and clarity of imagery
- C. an attention to alternate states of consciousness and uncanny imagery
- D. the resurrection of Romantic poetic sensibility
Explanation: Imagism rejected Romantic vagueness and excessive emotion in favour of exact, sharply presented images and economical language.
Correct answer: an effort to rid poetry of romantic fuzziness and facile emotionalism, replacing it with a precision and clarity of imagery- A. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity
- B. wireless communication across the Atlantic
- C. the creation of the internet
- D. the invention of the airplane
Explanation: The internet was not created in the first fifteen years of the twentieth century, developing much later from late twentieth-century…
Correct answer: the creation of the internet- A. gluttonous feasting
- B. hard drinking
- C. hunting
- D. all of the above
Explanation: James I’s court was associated with lavish feasting, heavy drinking, and a strong interest in hunting.
Correct answer: all of the above- A. James IV of Scotland
- B. James VI of Scotland
- C. Mary, Queen of Scots
- D. Anne Boleyn
Explanation: Elizabeth I was succeeded in 1603 by James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England and began the Stuart dynasty in England.
Correct answer: James VI of Scotland- A. the pursuit of a more confrontational policy towards Catholic powers
- B. the elimination of bishops
- C. the right of congregations to choose their own leaders
- D. the wider use of religious images in churches
Explanation: Puritans and related Protestant reformers generally opposed religious images, viewing them as remnants of Catholic practice.
Correct answer: the wider use of religious images in churches- A. Rachel Speght
- B. Aemilia Lanyer
- C. Elizabeth Cary, Lady Falkland
- D. all of the above
Explanation: All three writers hold pioneering distinctions: Speght published an early feminist polemic, Lanyer an important volume of original poetry…
Correct answer: all of the above- A. with an absolute prerogative his father would have envied.
- B. through a system of draconian military courts.
- C. with deference to Parliament's legislative supremacy.
- D. only a small area around London and Oxford.
Explanation: After the Restoration, Charles II ruled within a constitutional settlement in which Parliament’s legislative authority had to be…
Correct answer: with deference to Parliament's legislative supremacy.- A. All royalties from the sale of books went to the crown (hence the name).
- B. Poets were required to have a university diploma (the original \poetic license\).
- C. All books had to be dedicated to a noble or royal patron.
- D. All books had to be submitted for official approval before publication.
Explanation: The licensing system required manuscripts or books to receive official approval before they could be printed and circulated.
Correct answer: All books had to be submitted for official approval before publication.- A. Gerrard Winstanley
- B. Oliver Cromwell
- C. Praisegod Barebone
- D. George Monk
Explanation: Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector under the Instrument of Government of 1653, England's first written constitution.
Correct answer: Oliver Cromwell