Literary Criticism and Theory – Previous Year Questions
452 questions from past UGC NET English papers, each with the correct answer. Open any question for its explanation.
Topic-wise mock tests
- Who wrote A Literature of Their Own?
- Which of the following terms denote Showalter's three phases of women's writing? A. Feminine B. Gynic C. Womanish D. Feminist E. Female
- Arrange the following feminist texts in chronological order: A. Kate Millett, Sexual Politics B. Barbara Johnson, A World of Difference C. Patricia Meyer Spacks, The Female Imagination D. Mary Ellmann, Thinking About Wo…
- Who coined the phrase 'the medium is the message'?
- Who held that poetry is only an imitation of an imitation, and therefore trivial?
- Montaigne's 'Of Cannibals' is primarily concerned with which country?
- Which two criticisms did Johnson make of the metaphysical poets in the Life of Cowley? A. An inappropriate combination of wit and imagination B. They wrote verses rather than poetry C. They copied neither nature nor lif…
- Match List I with List II: List I: Text List II: Author A. The Advancement of Learning I. Susan Sontag B. Past and Present II. Francis Bacon C. English Traits III. Thomas Carlyle D. Illness as Metaphor IV. R. W. Emerson
- Who wrote 'My First Acquaintance with Poets'?
- In 'The Function of Criticism at the Present Time', what does Arnold make the essence of criticism?
- Which two of the following are 'fallacious estimates' of poetry in Arnold's 'The Study of Poetry'? A. Contextual estimate B. Personal estimate C. Comparative estimate D. Historic estimate
- How does Eliot sum up the peculiar quality of Marvell's 'Horatian Ode'?
- Arrange the following terms in chronological order: A. Dissociation of sensibility B. Unreliable narrator C. Theatre of cruelty D. Egotistical sublime
- Arrange the following terms in the chronological order of their appearance in literary theory: A. Phallogocentrism B. Locutionary act C. Interpellation D. Interpretive community
- Which narrative cycle does Foucault refer to in 'What Is an Author?'
- Statement I: Deconstruction supports a self-sufficient union of signifier and signified. Statement II: Language is non-referential, referring only to a play of signifiers.
- Which of the following essays are in Bakhtin's The Dialogic Imagination? A. 'From the History of Novelistic Discourse' B. 'Discourse in the Novel' C. 'Romance and Novel' D. 'Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the No…
- Which of the following books were written by Noam Chomsky? A. Syntactic Structures B. Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior C. Language and Society D. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax E. The Pragmatics of Politeness
- Who wrote 'The Typology of Detective Fiction'?
- Who defined ideology as the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence?
- Assertion (A): The 'implied reader' shifts attention from the actual reader to a disembodied dimension of reception built into the text. Reason (R): The 'Dear Reader' addressed in realist novels is a fictional represent…
- Which of the following were written by I. A. Richards? A. Concepts of Criticism B. Science and Poetry C. The Philosophy of Rhetoric D. English Literature in Our Time and the University
- Who treats tradition as both a blessing and a curse for the poet?
- Who used the phrase 'philosophy of praxis'?
- Which J. G. Ballard novel concerns a strange 'virus' that crystallises the forest?
- Match List I with List II: List I: Writer List II: Book A. Homi K. Bhabha I. Reading the Popular B. T. S. Eliot II. The Location of Culture C. Roland Barthes III. Notes towards the Definition of Culture D. John Fiske IV…
- Which statement best represents Fanon's political position?
- To what did the 1968 Nairobi memorandum 'On the Abolition of the English Department' object? A. The primacy of English literature and culture B. The centrality of Africa in the department C. The primacy of orature in th…
- What was the Birmingham centre for the study of culture called?
- Which of the following are true of Raymond Williams's Culture and Society? A. It critiques the idea of high culture. B. It overlooks the idea of high culture. C. It defines culture as a whole way of life. D. It equates…