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
- Which of the following are 'cultural intermediaries' for a commercial film? A. A film-magazine columnist B. The director C. Fan clubs D. The producer
- Which of the following are generally true of cultural studies? A. It is politically engaged. B. It privileges text over context. C. It has a symbiotic relationship with formalism. D. It studies the means of production o…
- Which of the following is true of mass media?
- Which device did Dorfman and Mattelart identify in Disney comics as spreading imperialist ideology?
- Who coined the term 'ecofeminism'?
- Who wrote Radiant Textuality?
- Match List I with List II: List I: Author List II: Form A. Pindar I. Epinicia B. Menander II. Old Comedy C. Sappho III. Lyric poetry D. Aristophanes IV. New Comedy
- According to Longinus, which two qualities belong to great poetry? A. It must be the work of genius, an inspired person. B. It must cause melancholy in the reader. C. It must employ rhetorical devices. D. It must please…
- In An Apology for Poetry, Sidney compares the didactic function of poetry with philosophy and:
- Who compared 'the mind in creation' to 'a fading coal'?
- In 'The Function of Criticism', Eliot attacked Middleton Murry and similar critics as devotees of:
- Arrange the following essays in chronological order: A. Eliot, 'The Function of Criticism' B. Poe, 'The Philosophy of Composition' C. James, 'The Art of Fiction' D. Woolf, 'Modern Fiction'
- In 'Mr Bennett and Mrs Brown', Virginia Woolf:
- Which two 'bad habits' of written English does Orwell list in 'Politics and the English Language'? A. Obsolete words B. Pretentious diction C. Dying metaphors D. False modifiers
- Who wrote 'Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool'?
- Arrange the following terms in the chronological order of their use in literary theory: A. Gynesis B. Scriptible C. Négritude D. Paratext
- Who wrote 'What Isn't Literature?'
- With a chapter on which work does Auerbach's Mimesis end?
- Which two pairings conform to Northrop Frye's theory of mythoi in Anatomy of Criticism? A. Mythos of spring – comedy B. Mythos of summer – satire C. Mythos of autumn – tragedy D. Mythos of winter – romance
- In A Book of Answers, A. D. Hope writes poetic replies to which two writers? A. Tolstoy B. Dostoevsky C. Mallarmé D. Goethe
- Who called paraphrase 'a heresy'?
- Which cluster does Kristeva associate with the 'semiotic'?
- Which statement best describes Terry Eagleton's view of literature?
- Which two concepts does Stephen Greenblatt highlight in reading specific historical moments? A. Crisis of meaning B. Circulation of meaning C. Production of meaning D. Deferral of meaning
- Statement I: New Historicism holds that teleological views of history must be avoided. Statement II: New Historicism neither denies nor accepts totalising explanations.
- Who claimed that the Gulf War (1990–91) 'did not take place'?
- Who among the following belong to the Chicago School of critics? A. R. S. Crane B. E. M. W. Tillyard C. Elder Olson D. Allen Tate
- Assertion (A): Postmodern narratives focus on the unstable, indeterminate nature of textuality and subjectivity. Reason (R): Postmodern narratives treat stories and characters as tentative constructions of writing and i…
- Which UK university first institutionalised cultural studies?
- Who most significantly mobilised the concept of 'cultural intermediaries'?