Free Prose and Essayists MCQs with Answers

• A. Identify the Mode of Development
• B. Analysis of the Author
• C. Subsequent Readings/Reviews
• D. All of the above answers are correct.

Explanation: Analysing the author gives the reader an initial sense of the writer's purpose, background, and standpoint before deeper interpretation.

• A. Aristotle
• B. Dante
• C. Longinus
• D. Plato

Explanation: Symposium is a philosophical dialogue by Plato, structured as a discussion of love among several speakers.

• A. Shakespeare's
• B. Marlowe's
• C. Spenser's
• D. Sidney's

Explanation: The statement appears in Sir Philip Sidney’s Defence of Poesy, where he argues that poetic identity depends on more than rhyme and metre.

• A. Mathew Arnold
• B. Walter Pater
• C. T. S. ELiot
• D. William Hazlit

Explanation: On Translating Homer is Matthew Arnold’s series of lectures and essays on Homeric translation and the qualities of Homer’s style.

• A. Roger Ascham
• B. Stephen Hawes
• C. John Skelton
• D. Stephen Gosson

Explanation: The School of Abuse (1579) was written by Stephen Gosson as an attack on poetry and drama.

• A. Plato
• B. Aristotle
• C. Horace
• D. Longinus

Explanation: Aristotle established the Lyceum in Athens after leaving Plato’s Academy.

• A. not be too scenic
• B. capture our soul
• C. be simple and plain
• D. not dazzle

Explanation: Emerson's statement warns that a picture should not overwhelm the viewer through excessive surface beauty or visual effect.

• A. examine the aggressive, dominating and stupid nature of human warfare
• B. create a very vivid and impressive picture
• C. shows his real intentions in writing
• D. portray humans allegorically

Explanation: By reducing human combat to the scale of an ant battle, Thoreau exposes warfare as aggressive, dominating, and foolish rather than heroic.

• A. honor and glory
• B. meticulous faction
• C. responsibility
• D. revenge and betrayal

Explanation: In “The Battle of the Ants” in Walden, Thoreau describes the ants in heroic and martial terms, giving their struggle a sense of honour and…

• A. Himself
• B. Indians
• C. His son, john
• D. His son, William

Explanation: Franklin presents Part One as a letter to his son William, combining family history with advice about self-improvement.

• A. Temperance
• B. Silence
• C. Order
• D. None of the above

Explanation: Temperance, silence and order all appear in Franklin’s list of thirteen virtues. Therefore none of the listed virtues is excluded.

• A. Journal
• B. History
• C. Article
• D. Legend

Explanation: A journal is a day-by-day record of personal experiences, observations, or events.

• A. General History of Virginia
• B. Puritan Sermons
• C. The story of Plymouth Plantation
• D. Pride and Prejudice

Explanation: William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation describes the Plymouth settlers’ early struggles and their assistance from Native Americans…

• A. Bear
• B. Fox
• C. Deer
• D. Cougar

Explanation: In the Eskimo animal tale, the Bear is presented as Hare’s grandfather through human-like family relationships.

• A. Horse
• B. Fox
• C. Eagle
• D. Deer

Explanation: The eagle is associated with strength, courage, and elevated vision in the Eskimo cultural imagination.

• A. The youngest member
• B. The oldest member
• C. The priest's son
• D. The chief's son

Explanation: The priest’s son could not overlook the wrongdoing committed by the other members of the Corn Clan.

• A. The Eskimo's felt that family was important and to try to harm a family member was not normal or natural
• B. The pronunciation of Eskimo names are impossible so the author decided that this was easy for the reader
• C. All Eskimo myths name the antagonist the "Unnatural Uncle"
• D. Since this tale is from the oral tradition, the characters had no names and when the myth was written down this is the name that was given

Explanation: The uncle is called “Unnatural” because the Eskimo moral code treats family loyalty as natural and harming a relative as deeply abnormal.

• A. Mrs. Mallard
• B. Mrs. Mallard's sister Josephine
• C. Mr. Mallard
• D. a third person

Explanation: “The Story of an Hour” is narrated in the third person, with access mainly to Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts and emotional responses.

• A. 1952
• B. 1954
• C. 1956
• D. 1958

Explanation: Ernest Hemingway received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, after the international recognition gained through works such as “The Old…

• A. The Burning of Our House
• B. The Story of Plymouth Plantation
• C. Sinners in the Hand
• D. The Wonders of the Invisible World

Explanation: Cotton Mather’s account of the Salem witch trials was published as The Wonders of the Invisible World.