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 84 of 160

  • A. Ding Dong theory
  • B. The Bow-vow theory
  • C. The Pooh-pooh theory
  • D. The Gesture theory

Explanation: The Bow-wow theory links the origin of language with humans imitating sounds in nature, such as animal cries.

Correct answer: The Bow-vow theory
  • A. Noam Chomsky
  • B. Ferdinand de Saussure
  • C. Edward Sapir
  • D. None of the above

Explanation: Edward Sapir gave this influential definition of language in his study of linguistics and culture.

Correct answer: Edward Sapir
  • A. Superman
  • B. Dr. House
  • C. Luke Skywalker
  • D. Yoda

Explanation: Dr. House resembles the Byronic hero through his intelligence, cynicism, rebelliousness, emotional isolation, and self-destructive…

Correct answer: Dr. House
  • A. Metaphor
  • B. Synecdoche
  • C. Euphemism
  • D. Irony

Explanation: “True love” is used to refer to the beloved person rather than to the abstract emotion itself, a metonymic use often labelled synecdoche…

Correct answer: Synecdoche
  • A. Prosody
  • B. Allegory
  • C. Scansion
  • D. Assonance

Explanation: Prosody studies the sound and structure of verse, including metre, rhythm, stress, and intonation.

Correct answer: Prosody
  • A. Get a "stake" in our business.
  • B. You can't have your cake and eat it, too
  • C. The snow was white as cotton.
  • D. You're driving me crazy.

Explanation: “You can't have your cake and eat it, too” is a proverb because it expresses a general practical lesson in a memorable fixed form.

Correct answer: You can't have your cake and eat it, too
  • A. a plot.
  • B. an character
  • C. an address
  • D. the point a writer is trying to make about a subject.

Explanation: A theme is the central idea or insight a writer develops about a subject, not the plot, a character, or an address.

Correct answer: the point a writer is trying to make about a subject.
  • A. pun
  • B. simile
  • C. haiku
  • D. metaphor

Explanation: A pun is a play on words that exploits similar sounds or multiple meanings, often for humorous effect.

Correct answer: pun
  • A. Alliterative
  • B. Epic
  • C. Acrostic
  • D. Haiku

Explanation: An acrostic poem uses the initial letters of successive lines to spell a word or message.

Correct answer: Acrostic
  • A. Prosody
  • B. Potology
  • C. Rheumatology
  • D. Scansion

Explanation: Prosody is the study of poetic metre, rhythm, and versification, including how a poem is formally structured.

Correct answer: Prosody
  • A. lyric
  • B. free verse
  • C. narrative
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: Free verse does not follow a regular metrical pattern or rhyme scheme. Lyric and narrative describe a poem’s purpose or content, not its…

Correct answer: free verse
  • A. lyric
  • B. free verse
  • C. narrative
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: A narrative poem presents a story, so it normally includes events, characters, and a setting.

Correct answer: narrative
  • A. alliteration
  • B. simile
  • C. onomatopoeia
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: Onomatopoeia uses a word whose sound imitates or suggests the sound it describes, such as “buzz,” “hiss,” or “clang.” Alliteration repeats…

Correct answer: onomatopoeia
  • A. metaphor
  • B. simile
  • C. personification
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: A metaphor directly identifies one unlike thing with another, without “like” or “as,” as in “Time is a thief.” A simile makes the…

Correct answer: metaphor
  • A. personification
  • B. onomatopoeia
  • C. alliteration
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: Personification gives human actions, emotions, or qualities to non-human things, as in “the wind whispered.” The other options concern…

Correct answer: personification
  • A. rhyme scheme
  • B. meter
  • C. alliteration
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: Meter is the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poetic line.

Correct answer: meter
  • A. Alliteration
  • B. Haiku
  • C. Hyperbole
  • D. Prose

Explanation: Hyperbole is deliberate and extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

Correct answer: Hyperbole
  • A. Onomatopeia
  • B. Metonymy
  • C. Alliteration
  • D. Hyperbole

Explanation: Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or emotional force, as when a poet magnifies an action or feeling beyond literal…

Correct answer: Hyperbole
  • A. Personification
  • B. Hyperboles
  • C. Alliteration
  • D. Onomatopoeia

Explanation: Onomatopoeia uses words that imitate or suggest natural sounds, such as “buzz,” “hiss,” or “clang.” Alliteration repeats initial consonant…

Correct answer: Onomatopoeia