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
- Who played the lead in the first production of Osborne's The Entertainer (1957)?
- Who wrote For the Unfallen?
- Which two of the following plays were written by W. B. Yeats? A. The Land of Heart's Desire B. Time and the Conways C. The Silver Tassie D. The Countess Cathleen E. The Plough and the Stars
- In which year was Jonathan Bate's The Song of the Earth published?
- Arrange the following poets in order of birth: A. George Herbert B. Edmund Spenser C. Philip Sidney D. John Donne E. Oliver Goldsmith
- Arrange the following in chronological order of publication: A. Darwin, On the Origin of Species B. Macaulay, 'Essay on Milton' C. Stevenson, Treasure Island D. Browning, Pauline E. Bennett, The Old Wives' Tale
- Arrange the following novelists in order of birth: A. Jane Austen B. Henry Fielding C. J. M. Barrie D. R. D. Blackmore E. W. M. Thackeray
- Arrange the following writers chronologically: A. Richard Steele B. Charles Lamb C. John Dryden D. Francis Bacon E. Matthew Arnold
- Arrange the following works chronologically: A. Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson B. Hobbes, Leviathan C. Pepys, Diary D. Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress E. Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
- Who wrote Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity?
- Match List I with List II: List I: Quotation List II: Play A. 'Come what come may, / Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.' I. Othello B. 'When sorrows come, they come not single spies, / But in battalions.'…
- Who wrote Epicoene, or The Silent Woman?
- Who wrote The Compleat Angler?
- Which of the following are works by John Bunyan? A. The Pilgrim's Progress B. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners C. A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage D. The Holy War E. Some Though…
- Arrange the following in chronological order: A. Lycidas B. Hero and Leander C. Comus D. Paradise Lost E. The Waste Land
- Arrange the following poets in order of birth: A. Rudyard Kipling B. Robert Browning C. John Masefield D. A. E. Housman E. John Donne
- Arrange the following novels of Dickens in order of publication: A. Oliver Twist B. Dombey and Son C. The Pickwick Papers D. Bleak House E. David Copperfield
- Arrange the following plays in chronological order: A. Heywood, A Woman Killed with Kindness B. Shaw, John Bull's Other Island C. Congreve, The Double Dealer D. Dekker, The Shoemaker's Holiday E. Steele, The Conscious L…
- Which of the following playwright–play pairs are correct? A. William Wycherley – The Rivals B. Ben Jonson – Volpone, or The Fox C. William Congreve – The Country Wife D. Aphra Behn – The Dutch Lover E. R. B. Sheridan –…
- 'In pious times, ere priestcraft did begin, / Before polygamy was made a sin…' From which poem, satirising a biblical king's promiscuity, are these lines taken?
- Which of the following poems was written by Oliver Goldsmith?
- Which of the following plays were written by Lord Byron? A. Sardanapalus B. Hellas C. Cain D. The Two Foscari E. The Cenci
- Which of the following works by Robert Browning are pure (stage) dramas? A. Strafford B. 'The Last Ride Together' C. A Blot in the 'Scutcheon D. Pippa Passes E. 'Porphyria's Lover'
- Which of the following were written by Thomas Carlyle? A. On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History B. The French Revolution: A History C. Of Human Bondage D. The Hour and the Man E. Hudibras
- Where was Robert Burns born?
- Who personifies Necessity in Shelley's Prometheus Unbound?
- In which work does Dr Primrose appear?
- From which novel is the passage describing a baby secretly buried at night in the shabby corner of a churchyard reserved for the unbaptised?
- Match List I with List II: List I: Quotation (paraphrased) List II: Play A. 'You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away — a man is not a piece of fruit!' I. Man and Superman B. 'Liberty means responsibility. That…
- Which combination of playwrights contributed to 'kitchen sink' drama?