British Literature – Previous Year Questions
441 questions from past UGC NET English papers, each with the correct answer. Open any question for its explanation.
Topic-wise mock tests
- What is NOT true about D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers? A. It is a semi-autobiographical novel. B. It is a psychological study of relationships in an English working-class family. C. Its film adaptation was directed by…
- Which of the following is true about Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot? A. It illustrates the vanity of humankind. B. It has uncompromising views on humanitarian communism. C. It projects self-deception, striving to di…
- Who described drama in these words: 'A true play is three-dimensional; it is literature that walks and talks before our eyes'?
- Which of the following qualities of heroic treatment was NOT needed in the plays of the University Wits?
- Who declared in 1920 that 'there is no longer any intellectual life in England'?
- In Absurd Theatre, the characters often use disjointed, repetitive and clichéd speech to: A. show that meaninglessness can itself suggest a meaning B. suggest the working of the subconscious C. produce comic action and…
- Which one of these is not a literary journal/magazine?
- Which among the following are titles of periodicals? A. Dickens's Household Words B. S. T. Coleridge's The Friend C. Richard Steele's The Guardian D. Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis E. Leigh Hunt's The Indicator
- Which of the following plays belong to Aeschylus's Oresteia trilogy? A. Agamemnon B. The Libation Bearers C. Antigone D. Oedipus at Colonus E. Electra
- Which of the following are fourteenth-century writers of secular prose? A. John of Trevisa B. Julian of Norwich C. John Mandeville D. Bernard of Clairvaux E. Walter Hilton
- To whom was Spenser's The Shepheardes Calender (1579) dedicated?
- Which proprietor of the Rose Theatre repaired and expanded it in 1592 and 1595?
- Arrange the following works of Milton in chronological order: A. Paradise Lost B. Lycidas C. 'On the Morning of Christ's Nativity' D. 'On Shakespeare' E. Paradise Regained
- In Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel, whom does Achitophel represent?
- Who composed Lucasta: Posthume Poems?
- Who wrote Gallathea?
- Who composed 'Address to a Steam Vessel'?
- Match List I with List II: List I: Passage (paraphrased) List II: Swift's work A. A garden-like countryside seen on a journey I. 'A Description of a City Shower' B. A proposal to use infants as food II. Gulliver's Trave…
- Which of the following statements are true about Jonathan Swift? A. He was born in Dublin and educated at Kilkenny Grammar School and Trinity College, Dublin. B. He co-authored a book with Samuel Johnson. C. He was orda…
- Which of the following were written by Thomas Love Peacock? A. Headlong Hall B. Nightmare Abbey C. Imaginary Conversations D. The Spirit of the Age E. Specimens of English Dramatic Poets
- Which of the following was NOT written by Thomas Carlyle?
- In which Dickens novel is a nineteen-year-old left penniless with his mother and his sister Kate after his father's death?
- Which of the following are novels by Wilkie Collins? A. Basil B. A Tale of a Tub C. The Woman in White D. Lapsing E. The School for Lovers
- 'And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords / Of life. / And I have something to expiate.' Identify the D. H. Lawrence poem.
- Match List I with List II: List I: Critic List II: Work on Milton A. Christopher Hill I. Milton B. Catherine Belsey II. Milton's Language C. E. M. W. Tillyard III. John Milton: Language, Gender, Power D. Thomas N. Corns…
- Who wrote The Voyage of the Beagle?
- Which of the following novelists are correctly matched with their works? A. Thomas Hardy – The Return of the Native B. Charles Dickens – The History of Henry Esmond C. Virginia Woolf – Mrs Dalloway D. George Eliot – Nor…
- Match List I with List II: List I: Author List II: Work A. Charles Lamb I. Imaginary Conversations B. William Hazlitt II. Specimens of English Dramatic Poets C. Walter Savage Landor III. Characters of Shakespeare's Play…
- Arrange the following novels in chronological order: A. Jane Eyre B. A Tale of Two Cities C. Middlemarch D. The Return of the Native E. The Newcomes
- Arrange the following novels of Thomas Hardy in chronological order: A. Jude the Obscure B. Tess of the d'Urbervilles C. Under the Greenwood Tree D. A Pair of Blue Eyes E. Far from the Madding Crowd