Free Literary Criticism MCQs with Answers
268 Literary Criticism MCQs from English Literature, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
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- A. readers choose their favorite works of literature.
- B. readers experience a literary work.
- C. readers decide which works of literature to read.
- D. readers develop their own unique and personal critical discourses.
Explanation: Reader-response theory shifts attention from the text alone to the reader’s activity, including how a literary work is perceived, felt…
Correct answer: readers experience a literary work.- A. logical in terms of plot and structure.
- B. complex in terms of plot and structure.
- C. without any sort of moral insight.
- D. sad.
Explanation: Aristotle requires a tragedy to have a coherent, unified plot in which events follow probability or necessity.
Correct answer: logical in terms of plot and structure.- A. Traditional literary criticism is mainly focused on exploring gender issues.
- B. Traditional literary criticism only examines pre-20th-century literary texts.
- C. Traditional literary criticism focused on tracking influences and textual allusions and considering the historical contexts of literary texts.
- D. Traditional literary criticism attempted to consider the psychological aspects of literary texts.
Explanation: Traditional historical and comparative criticism commonly traced literary influences, allusions, and connections with the social and…
Correct answer: Traditional literary criticism focused on tracking influences and textual allusions and considering the historical contexts of literary texts.- A. The political and social meanings of literary texts
- B. Characters who are sympathetic to issues facing the working classes
- C. The relationship between economics and the production of literary texts
- D. All of these
Explanation: Marxist criticism studies literature in relation to class, ideology, politics, and the economic conditions of its production.
Correct answer: All of these- A. Hamlet desires his mother, not Ophelia.
- B. Hamlet desires revenge, not Ophelia.
- C. Hamlet desires Ophelia, but only when she is unattainable.
- D. Hamlet desires attaining the throne of Denmark, of which Ophelia is a symbol.Collect Classic Novels
Explanation: Lacan's reading links Hamlet's desire for Ophelia to the structure of desire itself: what is desired becomes most powerful when it is…
Correct answer: Hamlet desires Ophelia, but only when she is unattainable.- A. Literary theory involves coming to a precise understanding of a writer's psychology.
- B. Literary theory involves measuring the quality of a literary work.
- C. Literary theory involves considering the publication history of literary texts.
- D. Literary theory involves describing the underlying principles of a literary work.
Explanation: Literary theory examines the concepts and underlying principles through which literary works are produced, interpreted, and understood.
Correct answer: Literary theory involves describing the underlying principles of a literary work.- A. An awareness of the historical circumstances surrounding a text's production
- B. A set of objective criteria for critical analysis
- C. An awareness of the economic circumstances surrounding a literary text
- D. Strict criteria for evaluating the quality of a literary text
Explanation: Formalism treated the literary work as an autonomous object and sought systematic, objective methods for analysing its form and technique.
Correct answer: A set of objective criteria for critical analysis- A. a feeling of being disconnected from the world.
- B. a sense of something being familiar and foreign at once.
- C. terror at the thought of death.
- D. a realization of one's empowered position in the world.
Explanation: For Freud, the uncanny is disturbing because something is simultaneously familiar and strange, often revealing repressed fears or desires.
Correct answer: a sense of something being familiar and foreign at once.- A. Psychological
- B. Formalism/New Criticism
- C. Moral/Philosophical
- D. Historical/Biographical
Explanation: The moral or philosophical approach evaluates literature according to its ethical ideas and effects, so critics may find it overly…
Correct answer: Moral/Philosophical- A. Historical/Biographical Approach
- B. Moral/ Philosophical Approach
- C. Formalism
- D. Psychological Approach
Explanation: Formalism interprets a work through its internal features, such as structure, language, imagery, and patterns, rather than its historical…
Correct answer: Formalism- A. Plato
- B. Aristotle
- C. Sir Philip Sidney
- D. Sir Thomas More
Explanation: In The Republic, Plato distrusts poetry because imitation can appeal to the emotions and lead people away from truth, so he proposes…
Correct answer: Plato- A. Feminist
- B. Reader Response
- C. Formalist
- D. Mimetic
Explanation: Mimetic criticism judges a work by its relationship to reality, asking whether it is accurate, truthful, or morally sound.
Correct answer: Mimetic- A. Lisideius
- B. Eugenius
- C. Neander
- D. Crites
Explanation: Neander is generally understood to represent Dryden's own position in the dialogue, defending a balanced view that recognises the…
Correct answer: Neander- A. It includes too few works by non- European writers.
- B. It includes too few works by non-white writers.
- C. It includes too few works by women.
- D. All of the above answers are correct.
Explanation: Critics of the traditional canon point to its disproportionate emphasis on European, white, and male writers.
Correct answer: All of the above answers are correct.- A. Historical/Biographical Approach
- B. Moral/ Philosophical Approach
- C. Formalism
- D. Psychological Approach
Explanation: The historical-biographical approach connects a work with its author and with the political, economic, and social conditions of its…
Correct answer: Historical/Biographical Approach- A. Ethics
- B. Metaphysics
- C. Rhetoric
- D. Ars Poetica
Explanation: Aristotle wrote works associated with Ethics, Metaphysics, and Rhetoric.
Correct answer: Ars Poetica- A. Female symbols
- B. Phallic symbols
- C. Male symbols
- D. Evidence of an Oedipus complex
Explanation: In Freudian symbolism, concave or receptive forms are conventionally associated with the female body, whereas elongated or projecting…
Correct answer: Female symbols- A. Virginia Woolf
- B. Elaine Showalter
- C. Mary Wolstencraft
- D. Ellen Mores
Explanation: Elaine Showalter describes three stages in women’s writing as the feminine, feminist, and female stages.
Correct answer: Elaine Showalter159. Which of the following writers might be considered one of the early founders of firstwave feminism ?
- A. Hélène Cixous
- B. Judith Butler
- C. Lucy Irigaray
- D. Mary Wollstonecraft
Explanation: Mary Wollstonecraft was an early advocate of women’s rights and is commonly regarded as a founder of first-wave feminism.
Correct answer: Mary Wollstonecraft- A. They must be observed
- B. It is not necessary to observe them
- C. He favours the observance of the Unity of Action only
- D. Their observance depends upon the nature of the theme of the play
Explanation: Sidney strongly supports dramatic unity, especially the unity of action, and also defends the classical restrictions of time and place in…
Correct answer: They must be observed