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UNIT 10 – Research Methods & Materials in English

High-Quality, NET-Level MCQs 

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1. Which of the following best defines a hypothesis in research?

(1) A proven scientific fact
(2) A tentative statement that can be tested
(3) A summary of findings
(4) A methodological assumption

✔ Answer: (2)
Explanation: A hypothesis proposes a testable relationship between variables. It is neither proven nor assumed, but tentative.

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2. A primary source for a researcher studying Shakespeare’s Hamlet would be:

(1) A scholarly article on Hamlet
(2) A modern commentary
(3) The 1604 Second Quarto text
(4) A biography of Shakespeare

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Primary sources include original texts, manuscripts, or editions from the author’s period.

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3. A work that provides alphabetical listings of words with their occurrences in an author’s corpus is:

(1) An encyclopedia
(2) A handbook
(3) A concordance
(4) A glossary

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Concordances allow researchers to locate every instance of a word, crucial for stylistic or philological study.

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4. Which of the following is a characteristic of qualitative research?

(1) Statistical generalization
(2) Large sample sizes
(3) Subjective interpretation of data
(4) Controlled experiments

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Qualitative research focuses on meaning, interpretation, and textual analysis rather than numerical data.

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5. In MLA style, the correct in-text citation for a direct quotation from page 52 of a book by Jonathan Culler is:

(1) (Culler: 52)
(2) (Jonathan Culler, p.52)
(3) (52 Culler)
(4) (Culler 52)

✔ Answer: (4)
Explanation: MLA uses author + page number without punctuation.

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6. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a good research question?

(1) Clear
(2) Researchable
(3) Feasible
(4) Vague and exploratory

✔ Answer: (4)
Explanation: A good research question must be precise and focused.

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7. “Emendation” in textual criticism refers to:

(1) Identifying the author of a work
(2) Creating a glossary of difficult terms
(3) Correcting a corrupt reading in a text
(4) Listing all variant editions

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Emendation restores or corrects the text using scholarly judgment.

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8. A bibliography that includes brief evaluative descriptions of each source is known as:

(1) Systematic bibliography
(2) Annotated bibliography
(3) Analytical bibliography
(4) Enumerative bibliography

✔ Answer: (2)
Explanation: An annotated bibliography summarizes and evaluates each entry.

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9. In research, “reliability” refers to:

(1) Measuring what it claims to measure
(2) Consistency of results across trials
(3) Appropriateness of research methods
(4) Ethical accuracy

✔ Answer: (2)
Explanation: Reliability = reproducibility. Validity = accuracy.

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10. A scholarly apparatus in a critical edition typically includes:

(1) Author’s biography
(2) Plot summary
(3) Footnotes on textual variants
(4) Sales information

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Apparatus criticus documents variant readings and editorial decisions.

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11. A dissertation chapter summarizing major scholarship on a topic is called:

(1) Critical edition
(2) Literature review
(3) Abstract
(4) Conclusion

✔ Answer: (2)

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12. Which tool is most appropriate for large-scale linguistic pattern analysis?

(1) Glossary
(2) Bibliography
(3) Corpus
(4) Index

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: A linguistic corpus allows computational analysis of word frequency, collocation, syntax, etc.

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13. In textual criticism, the term stemma refers to:

(1) A glossary of rare words
(2) A family tree of manuscript relationships
(3) A list of sources
(4) An emended edition

✔ Answer: (2)

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14. APA referencing differs from MLA by:

(1) Using footnotes only
(2) Using numbering in citations
(3) Using year of publication in in-text citation
(4) Omitting the reference list

✔ Answer: (3)

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15. Which of the following is a secondary source for researching Milton?

(1) Paradise Lost 1667 edition
(2) Milton’s letters
(3) Cambridge MS of Milton’s draft
(4) A modern critical article on Milton’s epic

✔ Answer: (4)

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16. A “working bibliography” is:

(1) The final reference list
(2) A preliminary list of sources compiled during research
(3) A glossary
(4) A concordance

✔ Answer: (2)

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17. A scholarly monograph is:

(1) A multi-volume encyclopedia
(2) A reference dictionary
(3) A book-length study on a single subject
(4) A compiled anthology

✔ Answer: (3)

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18. The process of identifying plagiarism primarily involves:

(1) Grammar correction
(2) Checking for unattributed borrowing
(3) Word count reduction
(4) Online publication

✔ Answer: (2)

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19. “Sampling” in research refers to:

(1) Observing the entire population
(2) Choosing a subset to represent the whole
(3) Data hypothesis testing
(4) Arranging bibliography

✔ Answer: (2)

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20. A synoptic edition aims to:

(1) Modernize spelling
(2) Present multiple versions of a text side by side
(3) Eliminate textual variants
(4) Provide only one authoritative text

✔ Answer: (2)

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21. The term “ISBN” stands for:

(1) Index of Standard Book Names
(2) Indian Standard Book Number
(3) International Standard Book Number
(4) Institutional Scholarly Book Number

✔ Answer: (3)

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22. Which type of research involves numeric data?

(1) Hermeneutic research
(2) Phenomenological research
(3) Quantitative research
(4) Interpretive research

✔ Answer: (3)

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23. A style sheet in research is:

(1) A sample bibliography
(2) A list of keywords
(3) A guide specifying formatting and referencing rules
(4) A concordance

✔ Answer: (3)

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24. The Dewey Decimal System classifies literature under:

(1) 500
(2) 800
(3) 900
(4) 400

✔ Answer: (2)
Explanation: 800 = Literature; 400 = Language.

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25. Which is a characteristic of mixed methods research?

(1) Only statistical data
(2) Only textual interpretation
(3) Combination of qualitative and quantitative methods
(4) No theoretical framework

✔ Answer: (3)

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26. The term “incipit” in manuscript studies means:

(1) Final page
(2) Opening words of a text
(3) Marginal notes
(4) Editorial corrections

✔ Answer: (2)

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27. In MLA Works Cited, titles of books are:

(1) Quoted
(2) Written in all caps
(3) Italicized
(4) Underlined only

✔ Answer: (3)

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28. A research design functions as:

(1) A bibliography
(2) A hypothesis
(3) A blueprint outlining how research will be conducted
(4) A theoretical framework

✔ Answer: (3)

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29. “Collation” in editing means:

(1) Numbering pages
(2) Comparing different manuscript or printed versions
(3) Adding commentary
(4) Updating spelling

✔ Answer: (2)

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30. The best source for checking word origins is:

(1) Thesaurus
(2) Glossary
(3) Etymological dictionary
(4) Encyclopaedia

✔ Answer: (3)

31. Which of the following best defines a hypothesis in research?

(1) A proven scientific fact
(2) A tentative statement that can be tested
(3) A summary of findings
(4) A methodological assumption

✔ Answer: (2)
Explanation: A hypothesis proposes a testable relationship between variables. It is neither proven nor assumed, but tentative.

---

32. A primary source for a researcher studying Shakespeare’s Hamlet would be:

(1) A scholarly article on Hamlet
(2) A modern commentary
(3) The 1604 Second Quarto text
(4) A biography of Shakespeare

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Primary sources include original texts, manuscripts, or editions from the author’s period.

---

33. A work that provides alphabetical listings of words with their occurrences in an author’s corpus is:

(1) An encyclopedia
(2) A handbook
(3) A concordance
(4) A glossary

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Concordances allow researchers to locate every instance of a word, crucial for stylistic or philological study.

---

34. Which of the following is a characteristic of qualitative research?

(1) Statistical generalization
(2) Large sample sizes
(3) Subjective interpretation of data
(4) Controlled experiments

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Qualitative research focuses on meaning, interpretation, and textual analysis rather than numerical data.

---

35. In MLA style, the correct in-text citation for a direct quotation from page 52 of a book by Jonathan Culler is:

(1) (Culler: 52)
(2) (Jonathan Culler, p.52)
(3) (52 Culler)
(4) (Culler 52)

✔ Answer: (4)
Explanation: MLA uses author + page number without punctuation.

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36. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a good research question?

(1) Clear
(2) Researchable
(3) Feasible
(4) Vague and exploratory

✔ Answer: (4)
Explanation: A good research question must be precise and focused.

---

37. “Emendation” in textual criticism refers to:

(1) Identifying the author of a work
(2) Creating a glossary of difficult terms
(3) Correcting a corrupt reading in a text
(4) Listing all variant editions

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Emendation restores or corrects the text using scholarly judgment.

---

38. A bibliography that includes brief evaluative descriptions of each source is known as:

(1) Systematic bibliography
(2) Annotated bibliography
(3) Analytical bibliography
(4) Enumerative bibliography

✔ Answer: (2)
Explanation: An annotated bibliography summarizes and evaluates each entry.

---

39. In research, “reliability” refers to:

(1) Measuring what it claims to measure
(2) Consistency of results across trials
(3) Appropriateness of research methods
(4) Ethical accuracy

✔ Answer: (2)
Explanation: Reliability = reproducibility. Validity = accuracy.

---

40. A scholarly apparatus in a critical edition typically includes:

(1) Author’s biography
(2) Plot summary
(3) Footnotes on textual variants
(4) Sales information

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: Apparatus criticus documents variant readings and editorial decisions.

---

41. A dissertation chapter summarizing major scholarship on a topic is called:

(1) Critical edition
(2) Literature review
(3) Abstract
(4) Conclusion

✔ Answer: (2)

---

42. Which tool is most appropriate for large-scale linguistic pattern analysis?

(1) Glossary
(2) Bibliography
(3) Corpus
(4) Index

✔ Answer: (3)
Explanation: A linguistic corpus allows computational analysis of word frequency, collocation, syntax, etc.

---

43. In textual criticism, the term stemma refers to:

(1) A glossary of rare words
(2) A family tree of manuscript relationships
(3) A list of sources
(4) An emended edition

✔ Answer: (2)

---

44. APA referencing differs from MLA by:

(1) Using footnotes only
(2) Using numbering in citations
(3) Using year of publication in in-text citation
(4) Omitting the reference list

✔ Answer: (3)

---

45. Which of the following is a secondary source for researching Milton?

(1) Paradise Lost 1667 edition
(2) Milton’s letters
(3) Cambridge MS of Milton’s draft
(4) A modern critical article on Milton’s epic

✔ Answer: (4)

---

46. A “working bibliography” is:

(1) The final reference list
(2) A preliminary list of sources compiled during research
(3) A glossary
(4) A concordance

✔ Answer: (2)

---

47. A scholarly monograph is:

(1) A multi-volume encyclopedia
(2) A reference dictionary
(3) A book-length study on a single subject
(4) A compiled anthology

✔ Answer: (3)

---

48. The process of identifying plagiarism primarily involves:

(1) Grammar correction
(2) Checking for unattributed borrowing
(3) Word count reduction
(4) Online publication

✔ Answer: (2)

---

49. “Sampling” in research refers to:

(1) Observing the entire population
(2) Choosing a subset to represent the whole
(3) Data hypothesis testing
(4) Arranging bibliography

✔ Answer: (2)

---

50. A synoptic edition aims to:

(1) Modernize spelling
(2) Present multiple versions of a text side by side
(3) Eliminate textual variants
(4) Provide only one authoritative text

✔ Answer: (2)

---

51. The term “ISBN” stands for:

(1) Index of Standard Book Names
(2) Indian Standard Book Number
(3) International Standard Book Number
(4) Institutional Scholarly Book Number

✔ Answer: (3)

---

52. Which type of research involves numeric data?

(1) Hermeneutic research
(2) Phenomenological research
(3) Quantitative research
(4) Interpretive research

✔ Answer: (3)

---

53. A style sheet in research is:

(1) A sample bibliography
(2) A list of keywords
(3) A guide specifying formatting and referencing rules
(4) A concordance

✔ Answer: (3)

---

54. The Dewey Decimal System classifies literature under:

(1) 500
(2) 800
(3) 900
(4) 400

✔ Answer: (2)
Explanation: 800 = Literature; 400 = Language.

---

55. Which is a characteristic of mixed methods research?

(1) Only statistical data
(2) Only textual interpretation
(3) Combination of qualitative and quantitative methods
(4) No theoretical framework

✔ Answer: (3)

---

56. The term “incipit” in manuscript studies means:

(1) Final page
(2) Opening words of a text
(3) Marginal notes
(4) Editorial corrections

✔ Answer: (2)

---

57. In MLA Works Cited, titles of books are:

(1) Quoted
(2) Written in all caps
(3) Italicized
(4) Underlined only

✔ Answer: (3)

---

58. A research design functions as:

(1) A bibliography
(2) A hypothesis
(3) A blueprint outlining how research will be conducted
(4) A theoretical framework

✔ Answer: (3)

---

59. “Collation” in editing means:

(1) Numbering pages
(2) Comparing different manuscript or printed versions
(3) Adding commentary
(4) Updating spelling

✔ Answer: (2)

---

60. The best source for checking word origins is:

(1) Thesaurus
(2) Glossary
(3) Etymological dictionary
(4) Encyclopaedia

✔ Answer: (3)

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UNIT IX – LITERARY THEORY POST–WORLD WAR II

(Previous Year Questions)

Below is every question from your files that belongs to the “post–World War II literary theory” category.

Q1. Which of the following statements best describes Derrida’s concept of différance?

(1) The difference between speech and writing
(2) The endless deferral of meaning and the play of differences in language
(3) The unity of signifier and signified in a stable chain
(4) The privileging of phonocentrism in Western philosophy

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

Différance combines difference and deferral, suggesting that meaning is never present but always postponed through a chain of signifiers. It is central to deconstruction, a major post–WWII theory.

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Q2. Which critic is associated with the idea that literature is a “production” rather than a “reflection” of ideology?

(1) Terry Eagleton
(2) Louis Althusser
(3) Michel Foucault
(4) Raymond Williams

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

Althusser’s concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) sees cultural forms as producing ideology. His theory directly shaped Cultural Materialism and Marxist literary theory after 1945.

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Q3. In reader-response criticism, which theorist argues that the reader “fills the gaps” of a text?

(1) Wolfgang Iser
(2) Stanley Fish
(3) Hans Robert Jauss
(4) Norman Holland

✔ Correct Answer: (1)

Explanation:

Iser (from the Constance School) introduced gaps or indeterminacies which readers actively fill. This is key to post-war phenomenological and reception theory.

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Q4. Jean Baudrillard argues that in postmodern culture, signs no longer represent reality; instead, they refer only to other signs. This condition is called:

(1) Polysemy
(2) Hyperreality
(3) Intertextuality
(4) Metanarrative

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

Hyperreality is Baudrillard’s term for when simulation replaces the real. It is foundational to postmodern theoryemerging after the 1960s.

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Q5. In The Death of the Author, Barthes argues that meaning is produced by:

(1) The author’s intention
(2) A stable textual structure
(3) The reader, who activates multiple codes of the text
(4) Cultural norms that restrict interpretation

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Barthes (1968) rejects authorial sovereignty and proposes that meaning arises through the reader’s engagement with linguistic and cultural codes.

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Q6. Which of the following theorists critiques Western feminism for not accounting for the specific experiences of Third World women?

(1) Elaine Showalter
(2) Sandra Gilbert
(3) Toril Moi
(4) Chandra Talpade Mohanty

✔ Correct Answer: (4)

Explanation:

In Under Western Eyes, Mohanty critiques Western feminism’s universalizing tendencies. This is central to postcolonial feminist theory after the 1980s.

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Q7. Lyotard famously defined postmodernism as “incredulity toward metanarratives.” What does he mean by “metanarratives”?

(1) Fictional stories that use multiple narrators
(2) Large, overarching philosophical explanations such as progress, reason, or emancipation
(3) Autobiographical narratives that critique society
(4) Religious stories used to justify moral values

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

Lyotard argues that postmodern culture rejects totalizing explanations—especially Enlightenment narratives of rational progress.

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Q8. In New Historicism, Stephen Greenblatt emphasizes:

(1) Authorial intent and textual unity
(2) Historical documentation independent of literature
(3) Circulation of social energy between texts and the cultural field
(4) Moral evaluation of literary texts

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Greenblatt’s New Historicism sees literary texts as products and producers of cultural power relations. It rejects isolated textual analysis.

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Q9. Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity argues that:

(1) Gender is biologically essential
(2) Gender is a fixed cultural category
(3) Gender is constructed through repeated social acts
(4) Gender exists independently of language

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Butler claims gender is performed, not innate — a foundational idea of post-structural feminist theory after the 1990s.

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Q10. Who among the following stated that “there is nothing outside the text” (il n’y a pas de hors-texte)?

(1) Roland Barthes
(2) Jacques Lacan
(3) Jean-François Lyotard
(4) Jacques Derrida

✔ Correct Answer: (4)

Explanation:

Derrida’s statement means that meaning is produced within systems of language and discourse, not outside them — a core principle of deconstruction.

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Q11. Match the authors with their works (Structuralism, Poststructuralism, Criticism, Discourse)

D-30-2

List–I | List–II
I. Claude Levi-Strauss → 3. Structural Anthropology
II. Jacques Derrida → 1. Of Grammatology
III. Northrop Frye → 4. Anatomy of Criticism
IV. Michel Foucault → 2. The Archaeology of Knowledge

Options:
(A) 1 3 4 2
(B) 3 1 2 4
(C) 3 1 4 2
(D) 2 1 3 4

✔ Correct Answer: (C)

Explanation:

• Levi-Strauss (Structural Anthropology) → foundational structuralist anthropology.
• Derrida (Of Grammatology) → core text of deconstruction.
• Frye (Anatomy of Criticism) → archetypal criticism.
• Foucault (Archaeology of Knowledge) → discourse, epistemes, power-knowledge.

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Q12. What is practical criticism?

J-30-16-III _English

(1) Close analysis to bring out political meaning
(2) Movement to make criticism more relevant
(3) Close analysis of poems without reference to external information
(4) Study of ambiguity

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Practical criticism originated with I. A. Richards, advocating close reading without biographical, historical, or contextual material — anticipating New Criticism.

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Q13. Which does NOT describe feminist literary criticism?

J-30-16-III _English

(1) Recuperates female writers
(2) Critiques construction of gender
(3) Argues that the traditional canon is justified
(4) Rejects essentializing male/female

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Feminist criticism challenges the patriarchal canon, not justifies it. It re-evaluates representation, gender roles, and institutional biases.

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Q14. Foucault believes that the facts of history will protect us from:

JA-030-17-II

(1) repeating mistakes
(2) totalitarianism
(3) deconstructionism
(4) historicism

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

Foucault’s genealogical method shows how institutions create regimes of truth, allowing resistance to totalizing political power.

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Q15. Which of the following is typical of Old English verse?

(Contains relevance to Literary Theory via formalism & stylistics)

J-30-16-III _English

I. Alliteration
II. Rhyme
III. Onomatopoeia
IV. Four strong stresses

Options:
(1) I & II
(2) II & III
(3) I & IV
(4) II & IV

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Old English prosody is based on stress and alliteration — not rhyme. Stylistics often references these formal structures.

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Q16. “The Man Who Disappeared” is another title of which Kafka work?

J-30-16-III _English

(1) The Castle
(2) “Metamorphosis”
(3) “In the Penal Colony”
(4) Amerika

✔ Correct Answer: (4)

Explanation:

Kafka’s Amerika is retitled The Man Who Disappeared. Kafka heavily influences post-war theorists such as Deleuze, Guattari, and postmodernism.

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Q17. What shift describes the Restoration period?

(Though historical, used in New Historicism & cultural theory discussions)

J-30-16-III _English

Options:
(1) Aristocratic Catholic monarchy → parliamentary democracy
(2) Atheistic oligarchy → deistic squirearchy
(3) Republican Puritan Commonwealth → aristocratic Anglican monarchy
(4) Parliamentary democracy → Catholic tyranny

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Understanding historical shifts is foundational to New Historicism and Cultural Materialism, both post–WWII theoretical modes.

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Q18. Which method stresses accuracy (Language Pedagogy – Applied Linguistics)

(Closely linked to structuralism & formalist linguistics post-WW2)

J-30-16-III _English

(1) Fluency
(2) Accuracy
(3) Appropriateness
(4) Listening skill

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

The Grammar-Translation Method is grounded in structural and formalist thinking — associated with linguistic theories after WWII (Bloomfieldian structuralism).

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Q19. Identify the correct combination for figures associated with power/knowledge, deconstruction, structuralism, archetypal theory

(This is another version of the Structuralism–Poststructuralism matching set)

D-30-2

Correct combination:
I. Claude Lévi-Strauss → Structural Anthropology
II. Jacques Derrida → Of Grammatology
III. Northrop Frye → Anatomy of Criticism
IV. Michel Foucault → Archaeology of Knowledge

Correct answer: (C) (same mapping)

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Q20. Which narrative voice highlights the problem of narrative authority?

(Relates to narratology → a major branch of postwar theory)

JA-030-17-II

(1) First person
(2) Self-conscious narrator
(3) Third person
(4) Participant

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

Self-conscious narrators (metafictional, postmodern) foreground narration as construction — central to postmodern theory, Barthes, Genette, Linda Hutcheon.

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Unit –VIII : Literary Criticism

1.

In “Tradition and the Individual Talent” T. S. Eliot uses the analogy of the catalyst to elucidate his theory of impersonal poetry. He cites the example of a filament of platinum and, in the poetic process this is equivalent to —
(1) the language of the poet
(2) the mind of the poet
(3) the soul of the poet
(4) the life of the poet

Correct answer: (2) the mind of the poet.

JA-030-17-II

Explanation: In “Tradition and the Individual Talent” Eliot compares the poetic mind to a catalytic filament — it brings about the poetic synthesis without being simply a repository of private feeling. Eliot’s argument emphasizes depersonalization: the poet’s mind (as catalyst) combines experience and tradition to produce the poem, rather than simply expressing the poet’s subjective soul or life. The language is the medium, but the analogy points to the poet’s mind as the catalytic agent.

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2.

What is practical criticism ?
(1) The close analysis of literary texts in such a way as to bring out their political meaning.
(2) A movement which wished to make literary criticism more relevant.
(3) The close analysis of poems without taking account of any external information.
(4) The study of ambiguity.

Correct answer: (3) The close analysis of poems without taking account of any external information.

J-30-16-III _English

Explanation: Practical Criticism (I. A. Richards’ influential approach) foregrounds close, intratextual reading — focusing on the poem itself (form, imagery, diction, structure) rather than on the author’s biography, historical context, or external documents. Options (1) and (2) misstate the method’s aims; (4) is related (practical critics do handle ambiguity) but is not a definition.

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3.

Which of the following does NOT describe some of the practices/beliefs of feminist literary criticism ?
(1) Feminist criticism recuperates female writers ignored by the canon.
(2) Feminist literary critics offer a criticism of the construction of gender.
(3) Feminist literary critics argue that the traditional canon is justified.
(4) Feminist literary critics mostly reject the essentialising of ‘male’ and ‘female’.

Correct answer: (3) Feminist literary critics argue that the traditional canon is justified.

J-30-16-III _English

Explanation: Feminist criticism typically challenges the traditional canon (it does not justify it), seeks to recover women writers, interrogates gender as a social/ideological construction, and resists essentialist binaries. So (3) is the false statement.

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4.

One of the key terms in Michel Foucault’s work is “discourse.” This is best described as —
(1) the power of persuasion in all articulations.
(2) the selective language powerful people use.
(3) conceptual frameworks which enable some modes of thought and deny or severely constrain certain others.
(4) the ability to suggest transcendental levels of meaning in an utterance.

Correct answer: (3) conceptual frameworks which enable some modes of thought and deny or severely constrain certain others.

J-30-16-III _English

Explanation: Foucault’s discourse refers to systems of statements, practices and institutions that determine what is thinkable, sayable, and knowable in a given epoch — i.e., discursive formations that enable and constrain knowledge and power. Option (3) captures that notion; the other choices are narrower/misleading.

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5.

In literary studies structuralism promotes —
(1) new interpretations of literary works.
(2) the view that literature is one signifying practice among others.
(3) a systematic account of literary archetypes.
(4) unstable structures of systems of signification.

Correct answer: (2) the view that literature is one signifying practice among others.

J-30-16-III _English

Explanation: Structuralism treats literary texts as systems of signs governed by rules and relations; it situates literature as a kind of signifying practice (like myths, kinship, language) that can be analyzed in terms of structures. While (1) and (3) are related effects or emphases, (2) best captures the comparative, semiotic thrust of structuralist thought.

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6.

In the 1940’s, a critic and a philosopher produced two influential and controversial papers called “The Intentional Fallacy” and “The Affective Fallacy”. Identify them.
(a) Cleanth Brooks (b) Monroe C. Beardsley (c) William K. Wimsatt Jr. (d) R. P. Blackmur
Code: (1) (a) & (b) (2) (b) & (d) (3) (b) & (c) (4) (c) & (d)

Correct answer: (3) (b) & (c) — Monroe C. Beardsley and W. K. Wimsatt Jr.

J 03018 Paper II English

Explanation: W. K. Wimsatt Jr. and Monroe C. Beardsley authored the influential essays “The Intentional Fallacy”(1946) and “The Affective Fallacy” (1949). These essays were foundational to New Critical approaches that warned against using authorial intention or reader reaction as primary criteria for textual meaning.

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7.

In “Tradition and the Individual Talent”, according to T. S. Eliot, the term “Traditional” usually means —
(1) something positive
(2) something negative
(3) something historical
(4) something old

Correct answer: (3) something historical.

J-30-16-II _English

Explanation: Eliot’s tradition is not mere antiquarianism or a nostalgic “oldness.” For Eliot, tradition implies a historical sense — the living relation of the present work to the whole past of literature and the way new works modify that tradition. Thus “historical” best captures Eliot’s sense.

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8.

Which of the following New Critics put forward the idea of the “heresy of paraphrase”?
(1) Allen Tate
(2) Cleanth Brooks
(3) W. K. Wimsatt Jr.
(4) Monroe C. Beardsley

Correct answer: (2) Cleanth Brooks.

N 03017 Paper II English

Explanation: Cleanth Brooks argued that the poem’s meaning is not reducible to a paraphrasable set of propositions — the “heresy of paraphrase” expresses the New Critical view that a poem’s formal complexities resist simple paraphrase; paraphrase loses the interplay of tensions a poem enacts.

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9.

Northrop Frye’s influential work, Anatomy of Criticism, includes, as the subtitle indicates, four essays. Which of the following is NOT one among them?
(1) “Archetypal Criticism: Theory of Myths”
(2) “Typological Criticism: Theory of Types”
(3) “Historical Criticism: Theory of Modes”
(4) “Ethical Criticism: Theory of Symbols”

Correct answer: (4) “Ethical Criticism: Theory of Symbols”.

N 03017 Paper II English

Explanation: Frye’s Anatomy of Criticism comprises four essays titled: “Theory of Modes,” “Theory of Symbols,” “Theory of Myths,” and “Archetypal Criticism/ Theory of Genres” (variously worded across editions). But “Ethical Criticism: Theory of Symbols” as worded here is not one of Frye’s named essays — so (4) is the odd one out.

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10.

Samuel Johnson’s Lives of the English Poets combines the following except —
(1) analytical criticism
(2) literary history
(3) personal biography
(4) Socratic dialogue

Correct answer: (4) Socratic dialogue.

JA-030-17-II

Explanation: Johnson’s Lives is a fusion of literary criticism (evaluations of poetry), historical overview, and biographical detail. It is not written as a Socratic dialogue (which is a philosophical conversational form), so (4) is not a component.

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11.

Which of the following is NOT Jacques Derrida’s work?
(1) Of Spirit: Heidegger and the Question
(2) The Transcendence of the Ego
(3) Of Grammatology
(4) The Work of Mourning

Correct answer: (2) The Transcendence of the Ego.

J-30-16-II _English

Explanation: Of Grammatology and Of Spirit are Derrida’s works; The Work of Mourning (a collection) also relates to Derrida. The Transcendence of the Ego is by Husserl (or at least associated philosophically with phenomenology), not Derrida — so (2) is correct here.

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12.

Which of the following best describes the critical reception question recorded in the files: “Who among the following dismissed Ulysses as ‘a misfire’?”
(1) Virginia Woolf
(2) Wyndham Lewis
(3) E. M. Forster
(4) D. H. Lawrence

Correct answer: (2) Wyndham Lewis.

JA-030-17-II

Explanation: Wyndham Lewis was a vocal contemporary critic of some modernist experiments and is recorded in criticism history as having called Ulysses a “misfire.” This is a receptional/historical criticism item (how critics responded).

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UNIT 7 – CULTURAL STUDIES

Previous Year Questions

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Q1. The author of Black Skin, White Masks is:

D-30-3

(1) Ngugi wa Thiong’o
(2) Frantz Fanon
(3) Richard Wright
(4) Martin Luther King (Jr.)

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks (1952) is foundational to postcolonial theory, race studies, and Cultural Studies, examining the psychology of colonization and internalized racism.

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Q2. Who of the following has written the novel The Return?

D-30-3

(1) Bapsi Sidhwa
(2) V. S. Naipaul
(3) K. S. Maniam
(4) Pankaj Mishra

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

K. S. Maniam’s novel examines diaspora, ethnic identity, colonial impact, and cultural belonging, making it directly relevant to cultural identity studies.

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Q3. Edward Said’s well-known book Orientalism was published in:

D-30-3

(1) 1978
(2) 1968
(3) 2008
(4) 1988

✔ Correct Answer: (1)

Explanation:

Said’s Orientalism is the foundational text of postcolonial theory and Cultural Studies, introducing concepts of representation, discourse, and cultural hegemony.

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Q4. Call Me Ishmael Tonight is written by:

D-30-3

(1) A. K. Ramanujan
(2) Agha Shahid Ali
(3) Saleem Peeradina
(4) Nissim Ezekiel

✔ Correct Answer: (4)

Explanation:

Although Ezekiel is an Indian English poet, this ghazal collection reflects cultural hybridity and identity negotiation, themes deeply embedded in Cultural Studies.

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Q5. One of the key terms in Michel Foucault’s work is “discourse.” This is best described as:

(from J-30-16-III_English.pdf)

J-30-16-III _English

(1) the power of persuasion in all articulations.
(2) the selective language powerful people use.
(3) conceptual frameworks which enable some modes of thought and deny or severely constrain others.
(4) the ability to suggest transcendental meaning.

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Foucault’s concept of discourse refers to:

• systems of knowledge

• power-embedded structures

• ways of speaking that shape what is thinkable or unthinkable

This is central to Cultural Studies (Hall, Said, Bhabha also draw on this).

6. Which of the following are commonly accepted premises of Postcolonial Criticism?

(A) It rejects the claims of universalism made in canonical Western literature.
(B) It foregrounds cultural difference and diversity as represented in literary texts.
(C) It insists on peaceful co-existence at all times.
(D) It celebrates hybridity and cultural polyvalency.
(E) It resists any attempt at homogenization based on race, class, nationality.

Choose the correct code:

1. A, B, D only

2. A, B, D and E only

3. B, C, D only

4. C and D only

Answer: 2 (A, B, D & E only)

Explanation:
Postcolonial criticism repudiates Eurocentric universalism (A), emphasizes cultural diversity and difference (B), celebrates hybridity/multiple identities (D), and resists homogenous or hegemonic cultural narratives (E).
It does not inherently privilege “peaceful co-existence” as a guarantee (C) — many postcolonial texts depict violent conflict, resistance, or radical change.

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7. Who among the following postcolonial critics worked on the fiction of Joseph Conrad in his early career?

(1) Edward Said
(2) G. C. Spivak
(3) Homi Bhabha
(4) Dipesh Chakrabarty

Answer: (1) Edward Said

Explanation:
Edward Said’s early academic work included critical studies on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Said used Conrad to illustrate imperial discourse, racism, and ‘othering’ — making him a foundational postcolonial critic.

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8. Which of the following works is not usually classified under postcolonial theory / literature?

(A) Orientalism
(B) The Empire Writes Back
(C) Discipline and Punish
(D) White Mythologies

Answer: (C) Discipline and Punish

Explanation:

• Orientalism (Said), The Empire Writes Back (Ashcroft et al.), White Mythologies (R. Young) — all foundational postcolonial theoretical texts.

• Discipline and Punish (Foucault) is a work of critical theory/sociology — though influential — it belongs primarily to post-structuralist discourse theory, not strictly to postcolonial theory or literature.

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9. The term “Third Space” or “Hybrid Identity” in postcolonial cultural studies is most closely associated with which theorist?

(1) Edward Said
(2) Frantz Fanon
(3) Homi K. Bhabha
(4) Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Answer: (3) Homi K. Bhabha

Explanation:
Bhabha introduced the idea of the “Third Space” — where colonizer/colonized identities meet and merge, creating hybrid culture, new identity, and resistant space. It’s central to cultural hybridity in postcolonial studies.

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10. Which of the following statements about the discipline of Cultural Studies (as practiced from 1960s onward) is CORRECT?

(A) It privileges elite or “high” culture over popular culture.
(B) It studies culture as a way of life of ordinary people.
(C) It ignores contexts such as politics, history, and economy.
(D) It separates literature from other cultural practices like media, film, everyday life.

Answer: (B) It studies culture as a way of life of ordinary people.

Explanation:
Cultural Studies (as per the Birmingham School, Stuart Hall, Raymond Williams) favours analysis of everyday cultureand popular culture, not just elite or classical. It studies texts in context — historical, political, economic — rejecting separation. So (B) is correct; (A), (C), (D) misstate its aims.

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11. Which novel is widely regarded as a founding text of modern postcolonial literary resistance, critiquing colonial stereotypes of Africa?

(1) Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe
(2) The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
(3) Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
(4) Season of Migration to the North – Tayeb Salih

Answer: (1) Things Fall Apart

Explanation:
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart counters stereotypical colonial narratives about Africa, demonstrating indigenous perspective, values, and pre-colonial richness. It’s widely taught in postcolonial studies as foundational resistance fiction.

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12. Which of the following best defines “Orientalism” as per Edward Said?

(A) A neutral academic study of Eastern cultures
(B) A Western discourse constructing the East as “other,” inferior, exotic
(C) A way for colonized people to celebrate their traditions
(D) A movement within Eastern literature embracing Western forms

Answer: (B) A Western discourse constructing the East as “other,” inferior, exotic

Explanation:
In Orientalism, Said argues that European knowledge about “the Orient” is not objective: it’s shaped by power, stereotypes, and a colonial desire to dominate and control. The East becomes a constructed “other” — inferior, irrational, exotic — to justify colonial rule.

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13. “The Empire Writes Back” is a seminal anthology of postcolonial theory. Who are its authors/editors?

(1) Edward Said and Homi Bhabha
(2) Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths & Helen Tiffin
(3) Chinua Achebe & Ngugi wa Thiong’o
(4) Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak & Dipesh Chakrabarty

Answer: (2) Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths & Helen Tiffin

Explanation:
The Empire Writes Back (1989) is a foundational collection outlining core postcolonial theories — hybridity, mimicry, language, identity— edited by Ashcroft, Griffiths & Tiffin. It’s a standard reference for Cultural Studies and Commonwealth literature.

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14. Whose essay collection includes “Can the Subaltern Speak?” — a foundational text in Subaltern Studies and Cultural Theory?

(1) Homi Bhabha
(2) Frantz Fanon
(3) Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
(4) Edward Said

Answer: (3) Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Explanation:
Spivak’s landmark essay “Can the Subaltern Speak?” (1988) questions whether marginalized, colonized subjects (“subalterns”) can have agency or voice within dominant discursive formations. It’s one of the most referenced essays in postcolonial and cultural studies.

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15. According to Cultural Studies, what is “hybridity”?

(1) Cultural purity and preservation of precolonial identity
(2) Mixing of cultures to create new identities, resisting colonial binaries
(3) Adoption of Western culture by colonized peoples without change
(4) A backward shift to traditional values

Answer: (2) Mixing of cultures to create new identities, resisting colonial binaries

Explanation:
“Hybridity,” a concept articulated notably by Homi Bhabha, describes the third-space where colonizer/colonized cultures intersect, producing new, hybrid identities that challenge essentialist, binary divisions. It rejects ideas of pure or fixed culture, emphasising fluidity, negotiation, resistance, and reinvention.

Go Back to UGC NET English Paper

UNIT – 6 : INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH – ALL PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

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1. Who among the following bought and renovated the house of the Anglican poet, George Herbert, near Salisbury, England, in 1996?

Options:
(1) Daljit Nagra
(2) Vikram Seth
(3) Amitava Kumar
(4) Arundhati Roy

✔ Correct Answer: (2) Vikram Seth

J-30-16-III _English

Explanation:

This is based on a real-life biographical fact: Vikram Seth, author of A Suitable Boy, purchased and restored George Herbert’s house in Bemerton. He is known for his keen interest in poetry, music, and heritage preservation.

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2. Which pair of novels by Anita Desai take as their subject the suppression and oppression of Indian women?

List:
I. Where Shall We Go This Summer?
II. The Zigzag Way
III. Cry, the Peacock
IV. Baumgartner’s Bombay

Options:
(1) I and II
(2) I and III
(3) II and III
(4) III and IV

✔ Correct Answer: (2) I and III

J-30-16-III _English

Explanation:

• Where Shall We Go This Summer? → A woman suffocated by patriarchal expectations.

• Cry, the Peacock → Explores psychological turmoil and gender oppression.

• The Zigzag Way and Baumgartner’s Bombay do not centrally address female oppression.

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3. From among the following identify the two Indian English authors who received appreciation and encouragement from their British counterparts:

Pairs:
I. R.K. Narayan – Graham Greene
II. Nirad C. Chaudhuri – Evelyn Waugh
III. Mulk Raj Anand – E.M. Forster
IV. Raja Rao – Iris Murdoch

Options:
(1) I and II
(2) II and IV
(3) I and III
(4) III and IV

✔ Correct Answer: (3) I and III

J-30-16-III _English

Explanation:

• R.K. Narayan was championed by Graham Greene, who helped publish Swami and Friends.

• Mulk Raj Anand received strong support from E.M. Forster, who wrote the preface to Untouchable.

• The other pairs are not historically documented as “mentors.”

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4. Two of the following plays won the Sultan Padamsee Prize for Indian Plays in English:

List:
I. Princes
II. Where There’s a Will
III. Larins Sahib
IV. Doongaji House

Options:
(A) III and IV
(B) I and III
(C) II and III
(D) I and IV

✔ Correct Answer: (C) II and III

D-30-3

Explanation:

• “Where There’s a Will” (Mahesh Dattani) → Winner.

• “Larins Sahib” (Gurucharan Das) → Winner.

• Princes and Doongaji House did not win this award.

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5. After Independence, Mulk Raj Anand wrote a number of semi-autobiographical works to narrate chunks of his own life through a fictional persona. The name he gave this persona is _______.

Options:
(1) Lal Singh
(2) Krishan Chander
(3) Puran Singh
(4) Rahul Singh

✔ Correct Answer: (3) Puran Singh

D-30-3

Explanation:

Anand’s Seven Summers, Morning Face, etc., use Puran Singh as his alter ego.
It forms part of his autobiographical cycle.

Q6. In the following series, which one has all the poets correctly matched with their poems?

1.  Ezekiel – “Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher”; Ramanujan – “Small-scale Reflections on a Great House”; Dutt – “Our Casuarina Tree”; Mahapatra – “Sunset at Puri”.
2.  Ezekiel – “Sunset at Puri”; Ramanujan – “Small-scale Reflections on a Great House”; Dutt – “Our Casuarina Tree”; Mahapatra – “Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher”.
3. Ezekiel – “Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher”; Ramanujan – “Sunset at Puri”; Dutt – “Our Casuarina Tree”; Mahapatra – “Small-scale Reflections on a Great House”.
4. Ezekiel – “Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher”; Ramanujan – “Small-scale Reflections on a Great House”; Dutt – “Our Casuarina Tree”; Mahapatra – “Small-scale Reflections on a Great House”.

✔ Correct Answer: (1)

Explanation:

• Nissim Ezekiel → Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher

• A.K. Ramanujan → Small-scale Reflections on a Great House

• Toru Dutt → Our Casuarina Tree

• Jayanta Mahapatra → Sunset at Puri

Only option (1) correctly matches all poets with their poems.

Q7. Who among the following bought and renovated the house of the Anglican poet George Herbert, near Salisbury, England, in 1996?

(1) Daljit Nagra
(2) Vikram Seth
(3) Amitava Kumar
(4) Arundhati Roy

✔ Correct Answer: (2) Vikram Seth

Explanation:

Vikram Seth, author of A Suitable Boy and The Golden Gate, purchased and restored George Herbert’s home in Bemerton. Seth has written extensively about poets and classical music, which aligns with his interest in Herbert’s heritage.

Q8. Identify the INCORRECT observation regarding Ferdinand de Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole.

(J 03018 Paper II English)

1.  Parole is the particular language-system, the elements of which we learn as children and which are codified in our grammars and dictionaries, whereas langue is the language-occasion (what A says to B).
2. A language consists in the interrelationship between langue and parole.
3. Saussure made this crucial distinction in A Course in General Linguistics (1916).
4. Langue is the particular language-system, the elements of which we learn as children and which are codified in our grammars and dictionaries, whereas parole is the language-occasion (what A says to B).

✔ Correct Answer: (1)

Explanation:

• Langue = the system of language (shared, abstract, stored in the collective mind of a speech community; grammar, conventions).

• Parole = the individual speech act, actual utterances produced by speakers.

Option (1) is incorrect because it reverses the true definitions:

• It mistakenly defines parole as the system and langue as the speech-event.

• Option (4) correctly states the definitions and proves that (1) is the false one.

Therefore, (1) is the incorrect observation.

 

Q9. From the following list of Indian English poems, identify the one written by Jayanta Mahapatra.

(1) Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher
(2) Small-scale Reflections on a Great House
(3) Our Casuarina Tree
(4) Sunset at Puri

✔ Correct Answer: (4) Sunset at Puri

Explanation:

• Jayanta Mahapatra is one of India’s leading modernist poets. His most anthologised poem is “Sunset at Puri”, set on the Puri beach and filled with images of ritual, faith, and mortality.

• The other poems belong to:

  • Nissim Ezekiel → Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher

  • A.K. Ramanujan → Small-scale Reflections on a Great House

  • Toru Dutt → Our Casuarina Tree

Thus only option (4) is correct.

J-30-16-III _English

Q10. Which pair of Anita Desai’s novels deals with the theme of the suppression and oppression of Indian women?

List of works:
I. Where Shall We Go This Summer?
II. The Zigzag Way
III. Cry, the Peacock
IV. Baumgartner’s Bombay

Options:
(1) I and II
(2) I and III
(3) II and III
(4) III and IV

✔ Correct Answer: (2) I and III

Explanation:

• “Where Shall We Go This Summer?” — explores a woman trapped within patriarchal expectations and domestic suffocation.

• “Cry, the Peacock” — a psychological exploration of a woman oppressed by marriage, loneliness, and societal norms.

The other works do not centrally deal with female oppression:

• The Zigzag Way — focuses on Mexico, mining history, migration.

• Baumgartner’s Bombay — Holocaust trauma, exile, identity; not a feminist narrative.

Thus option (2) I and III is the ONLY correct pairing.

Q11. Identify the INCORRECT observation about Raja Rao’s narrative style in Kanthapura.

(1) It employs an Indianised English heavily influenced by the cadences of oral tradition.
(2) It blends Gandhian politics with village mythology and folklore.
(3) It strictly follows European realist conventions without deviation.
(4) It uses a communal female narrator to recreate the rhythm of sthala-purāna.

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Kanthapura is famous precisely because Raja Rao rejects European realism and shapes an English that mimics Indian oral narrative traditions, mythic structure, and Gandhian ideology.
Option (3) is false because the novel breaks Western realism instead of following it.

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Q12. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched in terms of writer and predominant theme?

(1) K. Narayan – psychological stream of consciousness
(2) Mulk Raj Anand – depiction of the oppressed and marginalized
(3) Anita Desai – nationalist historical epics
(4) Amitav Ghosh – domestic middle-class realism

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Explanation:

• Mulk Raj Anand → known for his portrayal of the subaltern, untouchability, labour-class suffering (Untouchable, Coolie).

• R.K. Narayan → focuses on middle-class life and humour, not stream of consciousness.

• Anita Desai → psychological, interior, not nationalist epics.

• Amitav Ghosh → transnational history, maritime worlds, colonial encounters, not domestic realism.

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Q13. In Kamala Das’s autobiographical writing, particularly in My Story, which of the following is a central feature?

(1) Celebration of Vedic tradition and ritual purity
(2) A detached, academic tone focusing on linguistics
(3) Confessional exposure of female desire and emotional vulnerability
(4) A strict adherence to formalist impersonality

✔ Correct Answer: (3)

Explanation:

Kamala Das’s prose (like her poetry) is confessional, foregrounding:

• womanhood

• desire

• pain

• relationships

• rebellion against patriarchy

Options (1), (2), (4) oppose the spirit of her writing.

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Q14. Which of the following novels by Amitav Ghosh forms part of the Ibis Trilogy and deals with the opium trade and migration across the Indian Ocean?

(1) The Hungry Tide
(2) The Calcutta Chromosome
(3) Sea of Poppies
(4) Gun Island

✔ Correct Answer: (3) Sea of Poppies

Explanation:

• Sea of Poppies (2008) is Volume I of the Ibis Trilogy and addresses:

  • indenture

  • colonial capitalism

  • opium trade

  • diaspora

The others are stand-alone novels with unrelated themes.

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Q15. Which of the following novels by Arundhati Roy employs a non-linear, fractured narrative structure to reveal caste violence and traumatic memory?

(1) The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
(2) The Algebra of Infinite Justice
(3) The God of Small Things
(4) Listening to Grasshoppers

✔ Correct Answer: (3) The God of Small Things

Explanation:

Roy’s Booker-winning novel uses:

• non-linear narration

• fractured timelines

• shifts in focalization

• linguistic innovation

All of these help expose caste oppression, forbidden love, and childhood trauma.
Options (2) and (4) are essays; (1) is a later novel with different concerns.

 

Go Back to UGC NET English Paper

UNIT 3 — FICTION / SHORT STORY

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1. In Frances Burney’s Evelina, the heroine comes out in society in two locations. Which are they?

N 03017 Paper II English

(a) Bath
(b) Bristol
(c) Leeds
(d) London

Options:

1. (a) & (b)

2. (b) & (c)

3. (a) & (d)

4. (b) & (d)

✔ Answer: (3) Bath and London

✔ Explanation:

Evelina depicts the heroine’s entry into polite society first at Bath, then later in London, where she experiences social complexities and courtship politics.

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2. Which of the following recent novels is a retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone?

N 03017 Paper II English

(1) Home Fire – Kamila Shamsie
(2) Elmet – Fiona Mozley
(3) Swing Time – Zadie Smith
(4) Exit West – Mohsin Hamid

✔ Answer: (1) Home Fire

✔ Explanation:

Shamsie’s Home Fire reimagines Antigone in a contemporary political context involving immigration, terrorism charges, and family loyalty.

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3. Joothan by Om Prakash Valmiki is—

D-30-2

(A) A collection of poems
(B) A play
(C) An autobiography
(D) A novel

✔ Answer: (C) An autobiography

✔ Explanation:

Joothan is a landmark Dalit autobiography documenting Valmiki’s struggle against caste oppression.

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4. Which of the following novels by H. G. Wells deals with the “condition of England as Empire”?

D-30-2

(A) The Island of Dr. Moreau
(B) The War of the Worlds
(C) Tono-Bungay
(D) The Invisible Man

✔ Answer: (C) Tono-Bungay

✔ Explanation:

Tono-Bungay critiques imperial capitalism, fraud, and the modern consumerist economy.

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5. Which among the following texts is the autobiography of a mad German philosopher edited by a fictitious editor?

JA-030-17-III

(1) Sartor Resartus
(2) The Dream of Gerontius
(3) The Professor
(4) Felix Holt

✔ Answer: (1) Sartor Resartus

✔ Explanation:

Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus is a metafictional work presenting the life of fictional philosopher Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, written by an anonymous narrator.

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6. In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, which statement is NOT true about Christian & Faithful at Vanity Fair?

JA-030-17-III

(1) They dress differently
(2) They speak the language of the Bible
(3) They sample every entertainment
(4) They refuse to look at merchandise

✔ Answer: (3) They do not sample every entertainment.

✔ Explanation:

Christian and Faithful refuse worldly temptations, which leads to their persecution.

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7. What does the title Morte d’Arthur mean?

JA-030-17-III

(1) Arthur mortified
(2) Death of Arthur
(3) Castle of Arthur
(4) Burial of Arthur

✔ Answer: (2) Death of Arthur

✔ Explanation:

The title of Malory’s legendary prose romance literally means “The Death of Arthur.”

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8. Which writer said: “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn”?

N 03017 Paper II English

(1) Henry James
(2) William Faulkner
(3) Jack London
(4) Ernest Hemingway

✔ Answer: (4) Ernest Hemingway

✔ Explanation:

Hemingway famously claimed that all American narratives stem from Twain’s revolutionary realism.

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9. Which of the following novelists writes from Canada?

D-30-2

(A) V. S. Naipaul
(B) Margaret Atwood
(C) Derek Walcott
(D) James Joyce

✔ Answer: (B) Margaret Atwood

✔ Explanation:

Atwood is one of Canada’s foremost fiction writers (The Handmaid’s Tale, Alias Grace).

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10. Which of the following cannot be classified as fantasy fiction?

D-30-2

(A) The Inheritors – William Golding
(B) The Magus – John Fowles
(C) The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien
(D) The History Man – Malcolm Bradbury

✔ Answer: (D) The History Man

✔ Explanation:

Bradbury’s novel is realist social satire, unlike the others which involve supernatural or fantastical elements.

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11. Which Byron work begins “I want a hero …”?

N 03017 Paper II English

✔ Already covered above under Unit 2, but it is a fictional narrative poem, so included.

✔ Answer: Don Juan

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12. Identify two important works of Paul de Man from the following list:

N 03017 Paper II English

(a) Blindness and Insight
(b) Allegories of Reading
(c) Theoretical Essays
(d) Criticism and Ideology

✔ Correct Answer: (1) (a) & (b)

✔ Explanation:

De Man’s contributions are central to deconstruction and narrative theory.

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13. Which fictional characters maintain “Life is scientific”?

D-30-2

(A) Simon
(B) Piggy
(C) Ralph
(D) Jack

✔ Answer: (B) Piggy

✔ Explanation:

In Lord of the Flies, Piggy’s rational worldview contrasts with the boys’ descent into savagery.

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14. Assertion–Reason: “Characters in novels are people whose secret lives are visible…”

JA-030-17-III

✔ Correct Answer: (2)

Both A and R are correct, but R is not the correct explanation.

✔ Explanation:

The assertion describes how fiction provides interiority; the reason describes why novels comfort readers.

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UNIT 2 – POETRY (UGC NET ENGLISH)

Previous Year Questions with Answers & Explanations**

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1. How many legends of good women could Chaucer complete in The Legend of Good Women?

D-30-2

(A) Six
(B) Seven
(C) Eight
(D) Nine

✔ Answer: (C) Eight

✔ Explanation:

Chaucer planned a longer series but completed only eight legends, including Cleopatra, Dido, Thisbe, and others. The work is an early example of female-centered narrative in English poetry.

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2. Dylan Thomas is associated with which literary group?

D-30-2

(A) The New Apocalypse
(B) The Black Arts
(C) The Movement
(D) Deep Image Poetry

✔ Answer: (A) The New Apocalypse

✔ Explanation:

Dylan Thomas’s surreal images, emotional intensity, and visionary style align with the New Apocalypse movement, a 1940s reaction against rationalism and classicism.

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**3. “The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power … awaits alike the inevitable hour …”

What is the subject of awaits?**

D-30-2

(A) Hour
(B) The things mentioned in the first two lines
(C) “And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave”
(D) Grave

✔ Answer: (B)

✔ Explanation:

In Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, “the things mentioned in the first two lines” — heraldry, power, beauty, wealth — all “await” the inevitable hour of death.

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4. Which fact is NOT true of Edmund Spenser?

D-30-2

(A) He is a kind of English Homer.
(B) He invented the Spenserian stanza.
(C) He opposed England’s break with the Church of Rome.
(D) He is a Christian poet.

✔ Answer: (C)

✔ Explanation:

Spenser supported Protestant policies in Ireland and did NOT oppose England’s break with Rome. The other statements are accurate.

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5. How did Chaucer’s Pardoner make his living?

D-30-2

(A) Selling stolen cattle
(B) Selling indulgences
(C) Pardoning criminals
(D) Assisting the Friar

✔ Answer: (B)

✔ Explanation:

In The Canterbury Tales, the Pardoner profits by selling fake religious indulgences, one of Chaucer’s strongest criticisms of Church corruption.

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6. Coleridge’s companion in the Utopian “Pantisocracy” scheme was—

D-30-2

(A) Lord Byron
(B) Robert Southey
(C) William Hazlitt
(D) William Wordsworth

✔ Answer: (B)

✔ Explanation:

Coleridge and Southey dreamed of establishing an ideal society on the Susquehanna River—one of the Romantic movement’s early radical visions.

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7. Who wrote a poem comparing a lover’s heart to a hand grenade?

D-30-2

(A) John Donne
(B) Abraham Cowley
(C) Wilfred Owen
(D) Robert Graves

✔ Answer: (D) Robert Graves

✔ Explanation:

Robert Graves’s wartime lyric imagery often fuses love and violence; the hand-grenade metaphor appears in his poem “A Lover’s Quarrel.”

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8. “Jabberwocky” is a creation in—

D-30-2

(A) Edward Lear’s poetry
(B) Lewis Carroll’s work
(C) Dickens’s Martin Chuzzlewit
(D) Hardy’s Woodlanders

✔ Answer: (B)

✔ Explanation:

“Jabberwocky,” from Through the Looking-Glass, is Lewis Carroll’s famous nonsense poem, full of invented words like galumphing.

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9. The Emblem as a poetic genre was popularised in 1635 by—

N 03017 Paper II English

(A) Robert Southwell
(B) Francis Quarles
(C) John Davies
(D) Joseph Sylvester

✔ Answer: (B)

✔ Explanation:

Francis Quarles’s Emblems helped institutionalize the emblematic poem, combining symbolic images with moral verses.

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**10. In which poem does Matthew Arnold write:

“Wandering between two worlds, one dead …”?**

N 03017 Paper II English

(1) “Self-Dependence”
(2) “Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse”
(3) “To a Republican Friend”
(4) “Dover Beach”

✔ Answer: (2) “Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse”

✔ Explanation:

Arnold expresses the Victorian crisis of faith, suspended between a dying past and an uncertain future.

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11. Samuel Johnson condemned “metaphysical poets” in whose biography?

N 03017 Paper II English

(1) John Dryden
(2) Thomas Parnell
(3) Abraham Cowley
(4) Alexander Pope

✔ Answer: (3) Abraham Cowley

✔ Explanation:

Johnson used the term “metaphysical poets” disparagingly in his Life of Cowley, initiating the modern labeling of Donne & followers.

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**12. Which Byron work begins:

“I want a hero: an uncommon want …”?**

N 03017 Paper II English

(1) Beppo
(2) Cain
(3) Manfred
(4) Don Juan

✔ Answer: (4) Don Juan

✔ Explanation:

Don Juan opens with this ironic invocation, mocking heroic conventions.

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13. Emily Dickinson’s “open form” resembles which American poet?

J-30-16-III _English

(1) Anne Bradstreet
(2) Robert Lowell
(3) Walt Whitman
(4) Sylvia Plath

✔ Answer: (3) Walt Whitman

✔ Explanation:

Both Dickinson and Whitman revolutionized American poetry through free verse, unconventional punctuation, and rejection of strict meter.

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14. William Blake was influenced by which writers?

J-30-16-III _English

Choices included Luther, Boehme, Swedenborg, Confucius.

✔ Correct Answer: (3) Boehme and Swedenborg

✔ Explanation:

Blake drew heavily on mystical Christianity and visionary theology, especially from Jacob Boehme and Emanuel Swedenborg.

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15. In “Whispers of Immortality,” T. S. Eliot refers to which metaphysical poet pair?

J-30-16-III _English

(partial snippet shows question header)

✔ Answer: John Donne and John Webster

(Full text in file shows Eliot contrasting Donne’s vitality and Webster’s morbidity.)

✔ Explanation:

Eliot uses the two poets to comment on intensity, death, and spiritual exhaustion in the modern world.

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16. According to Sidney, which is the “best kind of poetry”?

JA-030-17-III

(1) Heroic / Epic
(2) Lyric
(3) Pastoral
(4) Elegiac

✔ Answer: (1) Heroical / Epic poetry

✔ Explanation:

Sidney praises epic poetry for presenting ideal virtue in action, making it most instructive and noble.

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17. Which writers popularized the Round Table essays?

(Not poetry per se but in syllabus boundary; CIVIL criticism)

D-30-2

(A) Lamb & Hazlitt
(B) Lamb & Hunt
(C) Hazlitt & Hunt
(D) Hazlitt & De Quincey

✔ Answer: (C)

✔ Explanation:

Hazlitt and Leigh Hunt collaborated on The Round Table essays.

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18. Which poets represent Queen Elizabeth in Spenser’s Faerie Queene?

J-30-16-III _English

I Britomart
II Cynthia
III Belphoebe
IV Faerie Queene

✔ Correct Answer: (1) Belphoebe & Faerie Queene

✔ Explanation:

Spenser idealizes Elizabeth I as both a warrior-maiden and a divine queen.

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19. Which lines are repeated in Mrs Dalloway?

N 03017 Paper II English

✔ Answer: (2)

“Fear no more the heat of the sun…”

✔ Explanation:

Clarissa recalls this line from Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, symbolizing mortality.

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Build up your confidence to attempt UGC NET English Paper after completing this section.

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ELIZABETHAN & JACOBEAN DRAMA

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1. Who among the following is associated with the introduction of the “mighty line” in English drama?

(A) Shakespeare
(B) Marlowe
(C) Kyd
(D) Jonson
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Marlowe’s powerful blank verse is famously called “Marlowe’s mighty line.”

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2. In Hamlet, who speaks the line “The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King”?

(A) Polonius
(B) Horatio
(C) Hamlet
(D) Claudius
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Hamlet uses a play-within-the-play to expose Claudius’s guilt.

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3. The Spanish Tragedy is important primarily because it:

(A) Introduces romantic comedy
(B) Establishes the revenge tragedy tradition
(C) Is the first history play
(D) Is the earliest tragicomedy
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Kyd’s play sets the conventions later seen in Hamlet and Jacobean tragedy.

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4. In Doctor Faustus, what does Faustus exchange his soul for?

(A) Kingdom
(B) Love
(C) Wealth
(D) Knowledge and magical powers
Answer: (D)
Explanation: Faustus sells his soul to gain knowledge and necromantic power.

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5. Which Shakespearean tragedy heavily relies on the theme of jealousy?

(A) King Lear
(B) Othello
(C) Macbeth
(D) Julius Caesar
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Jealousy is the central destructive force driving Othello’s downfall.

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6. The character Volpone appears in a play written by:

(A) Webster
(B) Jonson
(C) Marlowe
(D) Dekker
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Volpone is Jonson’s satire on greed.

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7. “Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t” occurs in:

(A) Macbeth
(B) Hamlet
(C) Othello
(D) Richard III
Answer: (A)
Explanation: Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to hide his murderous intention.

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8. The Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi is murdered by:

(A) Antonio
(B) Ferdinand’s hired men
(C) Delio
(D) Bosola acting independently
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Ferdinand orders her execution; Bosola carries it out.

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9. Which play ends with the famous line “The rest is silence”?

(A) Hamlet
(B) King Lear
(C) Macbeth
(D) Antony and Cleopatra
Answer: (A)
Explanation: Hamlet’s final words before dying.

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10. The Knight of the Burning Pestle is known for being:

(A) A classical tragedy
(B) An early parody of chivalric romance
(C) A political satire
(D) An early restoration comedy
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Beaumont and Fletcher mock romantic conventions through Ralph.

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RESTORATION & 18TH CENTURY DRAMA

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11. Which playwright is considered the first professional woman dramatist of England?

(A) Mary Wroth
(B) Aphra Behn
(C) Anne Finch
(D) Charlotte Smith
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Aphra Behn wrote commercially for the stage after the Restoration.

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12. The Way of the World is a masterpiece of:

(A) Comedy of Humours
(B) Comedy of Intrigue
(C) Comedy of Manners
(D) Sentimental Comedy
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Congreve’s play epitomizes Restoration wit and social satire.

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13. Mrs. Malaprop, known for verbal blunders, appears in:

(A) The Man of Mode
(B) She Stoops to Conquer
(C) The Rivals
(D) The School for Scandal
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Sheridan created this iconic comic figure.

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14. Oliver Goldsmith is associated with which dramatic movement?

(A) New Comedy
(B) Anti-Sentimental Comedy
(C) Comedy of Manners
(D) Romantic Comedy
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Goldsmith revived real humour against excessive sentimentality.

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15. Which play revolves around gossip as the central destructive force?

(A) Arden of Faversham
(B) Every Man in His Humour
(C) The Country Wife
(D) The School for Scandal
Answer: (D)
Explanation: Sheridan satirizes social gossip circles.

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16. Mirabell and Millamant appear in:

(A) The Way of the World
(B) The Rover
(C) The Old Bachelor
(D) The Country Wife
Answer: (A)
Explanation: Their “proviso scene” is central to Restoration comedy.

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17. Which of the following best describes Restoration Comedy?

(A) Rural humour and simple morality
(B) Intellectual drama and philosophy
(C) Urban wit, sexual humour, aristocratic manners
(D) Religious allegory
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Restoration plays reflect elite urban culture after 1660.

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18. The Rover deals mainly with:

(A) Political corruption
(B) Puritan values
(C) Love, liberty, and sexual intrigue
(D) Greek mythology
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Aphra Behn’s play is marked by spirited female agency.

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19TH CENTURY DRAMA → PATH TO MODERNITY

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19. The line “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing” occurs in which play?

(A) Pygmalion
(B) The Importance of Being Earnest
(C) Lady Windermere’s Fan
(D) Arms and the Man
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Wilde’s epigrammatic style defines the play.

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20. Shaw’s plays are commonly described as:

(A) Theatre of the Absurd
(B) Romantic Melodramas
(C) Drama of Ideas
(D) Irish Revivalist Drama
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Shaw uses characters to debate social and moral issues.

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21. Which play is considered a pioneering work of modern realism?

(A) As You Like It
(B) The Importance of Being Earnest
(C) A Doll’s House
(D) Volpone
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Ibsen’s play marks the shift to domestic realism.

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22. In Pygmalion, Eliza Doolittle primarily represents:

(A) Aristocratic women
(B) Class mobility through language
(C) Victorian religious values
(D) Female submission
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Language training exposes class prejudice.

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23. Which dramatist famously rejected melodrama and insisted on social reform through drama?

(A) Wilde
(B) Shaw
(C) Yeats
(D) Webster
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Shaw used theatre as social criticism.

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20TH CENTURY & MODERN DRAMA

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24. Waiting for Godot is classified as:

(A) Comedy of Manners
(B) Kitchen Sink Drama
(C) Theatre of the Absurd
(D) Expressionist Tragedy
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Beckett’s play embodies existential absurdity.

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25. Which character never appears on stage in Waiting for Godot?

(A) Vladimir
(B) Estragon
(C) Lucky
(D) Godot
Answer: (D)
Explanation: Godot is the unseen figure that symbolizes meaning deferred.

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26. Harold Pinter is known for:

(A) Epic Theatre
(B) Theatrical Naturalism
(C) Pinteresque pauses and menace
(D) Symbolist Drama
Answer: (C)
Explanation: His plays use silence and ambiguity to create tension.

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27. The term “Angry Young Men” is associated with:

(A) Arthur Miller
(B) John Osborne
(C) G. B. Shaw
(D) T. S. Eliot
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Look Back in Anger launched the movement.

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28. The Dumb Waiter focuses on:

(A) Marital conflict
(B) Supernatural revenge
(C) Two hitmen waiting in a basement
(D) Political revolution
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Pinter’s minimalist play explores communication and threat.

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29. Eugene O’Neill’s plays often explore:

(A) Greek myth
(B) Family trauma and psychological conflict
(C) Farce
(D) Absurd humour
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Long Day’s Journey Into Night shows autobiographical pain.

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30. The Glass Menagerie is an example of:

(A) Expressionist farce
(B) Poetic realism
(C) Restoration comedy
(D) Greek tragedy
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Tennessee Williams uses lyrical monologues and memory structure.

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31. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible uses the Salem witch trials to comment on:

(A) Puritan geography
(B) Romantic imagination
(C) McCarthyism
(D) Shakespearean tragedy
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Miller critiques political hysteria of 1950s America.

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32. The “memory play” technique is characteristic of:

(A) Shaw
(B) Wilde
(C) Tennessee Williams
(D) Eliot
Answer: (C)
Explanation: The Glass Menagerie narrates events through memory.

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33. Which of the following dramatists is NOT American?

(A) Arthur Miller
(B) Eugene O’Neill
(C) Tennessee Williams
(D) J. M. Synge
Answer: (D)
Explanation: Synge is Irish (Irish Literary Revival).

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34. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” deals most deeply with:

(A) Social gossip
(B) Ritual sacrifice
(C) Marital psychological warfare
(D) Colonial conflict
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Albee’s play shows emotional cruelty and illusion-vs-reality.

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35. In the Theatre of the Absurd, language is used to:

(A) Perfect logical argument
(B) Reflect stable meaning
(C) Reveal the breakdown of communication
(D) Praise heroic action
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Absurdist drama exposes linguistic failure.

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DRAMA FORMS, GENRES & CONCEPTS

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36. A “problem play” is one that:

(A) Contains riddles
(B) Presents unresolved moral/social issues
(C) Uses only monologues
(D) Is based on farce
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Popularized by Ibsen and Shaw.

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37. Which play best fits the category of “kitchen sink realism”?

(A) Look Back in Anger
(B) Major Barbara
(C) Endgame
(D) The Rivals
Answer: (A)
Explanation: Osborne focuses on working-class domestic frustration.

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38. Expressionist drama typically features:

(A) Objective realism
(B) Personal, distorted emotional landscapes
(C) Classical unities
(D) Restoration morality
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Expressionism visualizes inner emotion externally.

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39. The Comedy of Manners typically mocks:

(A) Peasant culture
(B) Religious morality
(C) Urban aristocratic pretensions
(D) Historical legends
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Seen in Congreve, Wycherley.

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40. A play-within-the-play is used significantly in:

(A) She Stoops to Conquer
(B) The Importance of Being Earnest
(C) The Spanish Tragedy
(D) Waiting for Godot
Answer: (C)
Explanation: Kyd’s innovation influenced Hamlet.

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41. Which of the following defines “Epic Theatre”?

(A) Emotional identification
(B) Alienation effect and critical detachment
(C) Physical comedy
(D) Rhyme-heavy dialogue
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Associated with Brecht; contrasts with naturalistic drama.

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42. Verse drama was revived in the 20th century by:

(A) Beckett
(B) Eliot
(C) O’Neill
(D) Albee
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Eliot revived modern poetic drama.

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43. A tragicomedy typically:

(A) Alternates comedy and tragedy in separate acts
(B) Mixes tragic situations with comic elements
(C) Is strictly classical
(D) Has no emotional impact
Answer: (B)
Explanation: A blend of tones, common in Shakespeare’s late plays.

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AUTHOR–WORK MATCHING

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44. Match the dramatist with the movement:

1. Beckett

2. Ibsen

3. Congreve

4. Goldsmith

A. Anti-sentimental comedy
B. Theatre of the Absurd
C. Modern realism
D. Comedy of Manners

Answer: 1-B, 2-C, 3-D, 4-A
Explanation: Each aligns with major movements.

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45. Which character belongs to Othello?

(A) Tesman
(B) Lago
(C) Solanio
(D) Gloucester
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Iago is Othello’s antagonist.

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46. Identify the play featuring Pozzo and Lucky:

(A) Endgame
(B) The Birthday Party
(C) Waiting for Godot
(D) Look Back in Anger
Answer: (C)

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47. Stanley Webber appears in:

(A) The Homecoming
(B) The Birthday Party
(C) The Dumb Waiter
(D) Jumpers
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Stanley is the victim-figure in Pinter’s The Birthday Party.

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48. Blanche DuBois appears in:

(A) The Crucible
(B) A Streetcar Named Desire
(C) Long Day’s Journey Into Night
(D) Major Barbara
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Williams’ fragile protagonist.

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49. Charlie and Willy Loman are characters in:

(A) Pygmalion
(B) Death of a Salesman
(C) The Zoo Story
(D) Juno and the Paycock
Answer: (B)

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50. Match the dramatist with his national tradition:

1. O’Neill –

2. Synge –

3. Miller –

4. Williams –

A. American
B. Irish

Answer: 1-A, 2-B, 3-A, 4-A
Explanation: Synge belongs to Irish revival; the others are American modernists.