Introduction To Literary Studies Quiz 2 (20 MCQs)

Quiz Instructions

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1. In his introductory lecture, how does Paul Fry define literary theory?

Correct Answer: A) A hypothesis about how literary texts can be understood.

2. A picaresque novel dramatizes the life of what kind of person?

Correct Answer: B) A lowborn, wandering adventurer.

3. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" , why does the Mariner kill the albatross?

Correct Answer: D) It is never directly stated why he does so.

4. Which of the following descriptions of Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey" seems most appropriate?

Correct Answer: B) It serves to parody gothic novels.

5. What are the basic questions literary theory asks?

Correct Answer: D) All of these.

6. Which of the following lines of poetry is written in iambic pentameter?

Correct Answer: A) "To be or not to be, that is the question.".

7. Which of the following statements about Greek tragedies is true?

Correct Answer: B) They were usually set in the past.

8. Which of the following offers the best definition of the literary term motif?

Correct Answer: A) A recurring element in a story that is symbolically significant.

9. In Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" , which of the following statements best describes the play's setting?

Correct Answer: A) Stark and sterile.

10. A work of criticism that considers how English imperialism affected native Indian authors would be an example of:

Correct Answer: C) Postcolonial theory.

11. What does a prologue serve to do in a Greek tragedy or comedy?

Correct Answer: C) Provide insight into the play's mythological background.

12. Reader-response theory focuses on considering how:

Correct Answer: B) Readers experience a literary work.

13. In Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" , the poet does which of the following?

Correct Answer: B) Compares his love to a summer's day.

14. In poetry, each unit of rhythm is known as:

Correct Answer: B) A foot.

15. Psychoanalytic criticism during its earliest stages tended to focus on:

Correct Answer: A) The psychologies of individual authors.

16. Which of the following offers the best definition of a theatrical tragedy?

Correct Answer: A) A play that depicts the downfall of a noble person.

17. Which of the following are common literary elements used to analyze novels?

Correct Answer: D) All of these.

18. A writer can establish ethos in a piece of writing by doing which of the following?

Correct Answer: B) Demonstrating a mastery of the topic.

19. Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" explores which of the following themes?

Correct Answer: A) Fate and free will.

20. According to Dr. Taormina, Victorian novelists generally:

Correct Answer: B) Accepted middle class values.