500+ Literary Criticism MCQs – Part 1: Plato & Aristotle

1. In his theory of Mimesis, Plato gives the example of a _______ to argue that art is an imitation of an imitation.

1. Cloud
2. Chair
3. Tree
4. River

2. The issue of privileging speech over writing was taken up for discussion in Plato’s:

1. Ion
2. Republic Book III
3. Republic Book X
4. Phaedrus

3. Plato censured poetry because he believed it:

1. Eliminates the ego
2. Promotes sensuality
3. Distorts reality
4. Cripples the imagination

4. Why did Plato banish the poet from his ideal state?

1. Poetry makes an artificial distinction between form and content
2. Poetry deals with form, to the neglect of content
3. The poet can never produce a completely accurate replica of reality
4. In representing the sensual aspects of reality, the poet fails to discern the transcendent reality behind mere appearance

5. What does Socrates mean when in Plato’s Ion, he says “Poets are nothing but the interpreters of gods”?

1. The poets are the makers of their poems
2. The poets are acutely aware of gods in composing their poems
3. The poets are divinely possessed when they compose their poems
4. The poets first hear what gods say then put that into words

6. Following Plato, which two statements about ‘Phantasm and Semblance’ are correct?

1. (b) and (c)
2. (c) and (d)
3. (a) and (b)
4. (d) and (a)

7. Plato wanted to judge poetry from the tool of:

1. Beauty
2. Sublimity
3. Truth
4. None of these

8. Who had banished poetry from his ideal commonwealth?

1. Plato
2. Horace
3. Gosson
4. Wilson

9. Who is the originator of the Theory of Imitation in literature?

1. Plato
2. Longinus
3. Aristotle
4. None

10. In which of the following works does Plato discuss his Theory of Poetry?

1. Ion
2. Apology
3. The Republic
4. None

11. What is mimesis?

1. A reversal
2. An imitation
3. A satire
4. A poetic metaphor

12. Plato used the word mimesis in relation to literature with the meaning of?

1. Copying
2. Criticism of life
3. Representation
4. Interpretation

13. Who was the most illustrious disciple of Socrates?

1. Sophocles
2. Plautus
3. Plato
4. Critus

14. The soul of tragedy, according to Aristotle is:

1. Thought
2. Character
3. Plot
4. Spectacle

15. “Peripetia” means:

1. Purgation of emotion
2. Tragic flaw
3. Reversal of fortune
4. Recognition of error

16. “Hamartia” means:

1. Reversal of fortunes
2. Purgation of emotions
3. Depravity
4. Error of judgement

17. ‘Anagnorisis’ is a term used by Aristotle for describing:

1. The moment of discovery by the protagonist
2. The reversal of fortune for the protagonist
3. The happy resolution of the plot
4. The convergence of the main plot and the sub plot

18. In Aristotle’s Poetics: ‘it is the imitation of an action that is complete and whole, and of a certain magnitude…having a beginning, a middle, and an end.’ What is ‘it’?

1. Tragedy
2. Epic
3. Poetry
4. Farce

19. The word “Catharsis” signifies:

1. Pontification
2. Personification
3. Purgation
4. Publication

20. Aristotle argued that poetry provides a/an _______ outlet for the release of intense emotions.

1. Safe
2. Dangerous
3. Uncertain
4. Unreliable

21. In which chapter of Poetics does Aristotle use the word ‘catharsis’ in his definition of tragedy?

1. Chapter IV
2. Chapter VI
3. Chapter III
4. Chapter V

22. Which of the following is true of Aristotle’s Critical Position?

1. Writers are likely to be mere entertainers who appeal to emotions and passions.
2. Texts created by poets are almost inevitably inaccurate as imitations.
3. The best artistic texts will be both complex and unified: every part essential and linked to every other part.
4. Texts should be judged on the basis of how accurately they imitate philosophical truth.

23. Which statement is true about Aristotle’s Poetics?

1. He asserted poetry’s value by integrating rhetoric and imitation.
2. He asserted poetry’s value by focusing on both rhetoric and imitation.
3. He asserted poetry’s value by giving preference to rhetoric over imitation.
4. He asserted poetry’s value by focusing on imitation (mimesis) rather than rhetoric.

24. What was called as ‘Organon’ by Aristotle’s followers Peripatetics?

1. Collection of Aristotle’s Works on Politics
2. Collection of Aristotle’s Works on Poetics
3. Collection of Aristotle’s Works on Logic
4. Collection of Aristotle’s Works on Metaphysics

25. The function of tragedy, according to Aristotle, is to offer:

1. Understanding
2. Transportation
3. Enlightenment
4. Tragic pleasure

26. Who commented that ‘Even today the Poetics continues to be studied and prescribed as textbooks in schools and colleges’?

1. F. L. Lucas
2. Dr Johnson
3. Atkins
4. Dryden

27. In criticism, ………………… is a metaphor used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects of true tragedy on the spectator.

1. Anagnorisis
2. Catharsis
3. Imitation
4. Ethos

28. How many elements of tragedy does Aristotle lay out in the Poetics?

1. 2
2. 6
3. 8
4. 10

29. The six elements of tragedy are: plot, character, diction, thought, and song. What is the sixth element?

1. Theme
2. Story
3. Spectacle
4. Review

30. In classical Greek, catharsis meant:

1. Purgation or cleansing
2. Dirt and defilement
3. Tragic turn
4. Spite and revenge

31. Choose the correct comments on Aristotle’s Poetics:

1. Tragedy is addressed to an inferior public
2. Epic is superior to tragedy
3. Tragedy is superior to epic
4. Epic is addressed to a cultivated audience

1. 1, 2 and 3 only
2. 2, 3 and 4 only
3. 1, 3 and 4 only
4. 1 and 3 only

32. Hamartia, anagnorisis, and peripeteia are the three key elements in:

1. A plot
2. An ode
3. A lyric
4. An epic

33. According to Aristotle, which are the objects that tragedy imitates?

1. Plot, character and thought
2. Diction and song
3. Spectacle
4. Plot and action

34. Aristotle’s critical work is entitled:

1. Ars Poetica
2. Poetics
3. De Arte Poetica
4. On the Sublime

35. Who was the most illustrious pupil of Plato?

1. Aristophanes
2. Longinus
3. Aristotle
4. Socrates