18th June 2024 (Evening Shift) UGC-NET English Literature PYQs
Q.1 Who among the following was not associated with Cambridge School of Critics?
💡 Explanation: Kenneth Burke was an American literary theorist associated with New Rhetoric and dramatism, not the Cambridge School of Critics. The Cambridge School is primarily identified with F.R. Leavis, Q.D. Leavis, and William Empson, all of whom were connected to Cambridge University and the journal Scrutiny. Burke’s work on symbolic action and rhetorical criticism places him firmly in the American critical tradition.
Q.2 Patrick White, the Australian novelist, was a recipient of which of the following prizes:
A. Australian of the Year (1973)
B. Pulitzer Prize (1965)
C. Booker Prize (1955)
D. Nobel Prize in Literature (1973)
E. Perkins Prize in Narrative (1992)
B. Pulitzer Prize (1965)
C. Booker Prize (1955)
D. Nobel Prize in Literature (1973)
E. Perkins Prize in Narrative (1992)
💡 Explanation: Patrick White won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973, the first Australian to receive this honour. He was also named Australian of the Year in the same year (1973). He never won the Pulitzer Prize, which is an American literary award, nor the Booker Prize. The Perkins Prize in Narrative is a fictitious option designed as a distractor.
Q.3 Which of the following magazines aimed at depicting concerns of girls who embraced the tenets of girl culture – the girlhood?
A. Sassy
B. Bust
C. Bitch
D. Ophelia Speaks
E. Colonize This!
B. Bust
C. Bitch
D. Ophelia Speaks
E. Colonize This!
💡 Explanation: Sassy, Bust, and Bitch were magazines associated with third-wave feminism and girl culture (Riot Grrrl movement), focusing on the concerns and empowerment of young women. Ophelia Speaks is a book (by Sara Shandler), not a magazine, and Colonize This! is an anthology about young women of colour and feminism. These three magazines became iconic voices of the “girlhood” movement in the 1990s.
Q.4 Which among the following does not fall in the category of Morality Plays?
💡 Explanation: The City Heiress (1682) is a Restoration comedy written by Aphra Behn, not a medieval morality play. The Castell of Perseverance (c. 1425), Mind, Will and Understanding (c. 1460), and Mankind (c. 1470) are all well-known medieval morality plays that allegorically depict the struggle between virtue and vice.
Q.5 Annotated Bibliography provides:
💡 Explanation: An annotated bibliography goes beyond a simple list of references by providing a brief descriptive and evaluative summary (annotation) of each source cited. Unlike a regular bibliography or a works cited page, annotated bibliographies assess the relevance, accuracy, and quality of each source.
Q.6 Which of the following statements are correct regarding Dalit Panthers Movement?
A. Dalit Panthers movement was influenced by the Black Panthers Movement.
B. Dalit Panthers is a social organisation that was founded by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
C. Dalit Panthers movement was led by Raja Dhale, Namdeo Dhasal and J.V. Pawar.
D. Jyotiba Phule participated actively in Dalit Panthers Movement.
E. Dalit Panthers movement was rooted in the little Magazine Movement.
B. Dalit Panthers is a social organisation that was founded by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
C. Dalit Panthers movement was led by Raja Dhale, Namdeo Dhasal and J.V. Pawar.
D. Jyotiba Phule participated actively in Dalit Panthers Movement.
E. Dalit Panthers movement was rooted in the little Magazine Movement.
💡 Explanation: The Dalit Panthers was founded in 1972 in Mumbai by Namdeo Dhasal, Raja Dhale, and J.V. Pawar, drawing direct inspiration from the Black Panther Party in the United States. The movement was ideologically rooted in the legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Jyotiba Phule (1827–1890) could not have participated in a 1972 movement.
Q.7 What is the correct chronological order of the works of John Milton?
A. Paradise Lost
B. Paradise Regained
C. Lycidas
D. Comus
E. L’Allegro
B. Paradise Regained
C. Lycidas
D. Comus
E. L’Allegro
💡 Explanation: The correct chronological order is: L’Allegro (1631), Comus (1634), Lycidas (1637), Paradise Lost (1667), and Paradise Regained (1671). Milton’s early works were shorter lyric and dramatic pieces, while his great epics were composed later in life.
Q.8 Which of the following books was edited by gay activists and artists Joseph Beam and Essex Hemphill?
💡 Explanation: Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men (1991) was originally conceived by Joseph Beam and completed by Essex Hemphill after Beam’s death in 1988. It is a landmark anthology in Black queer literature that brought visibility to the experiences of Black gay men.
Q.9 From the following writers, who are known for Magic Realism?
A. R.K. Narayan
B. Salman Rushdie
C. V.S. Naipaul
D. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
E. Mulk Raj Anand
B. Salman Rushdie
C. V.S. Naipaul
D. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
E. Mulk Raj Anand
💡 Explanation: Gabriel Garcia Marquez is considered the foremost practitioner of magic realism, especially through One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967). Salman Rushdie similarly employs magic realist techniques in novels like Midnight’s Children (1981). R.K. Narayan, V.S. Naipaul, and Mulk Raj Anand are associated with realism, not magic realism.
Q.10 Match List – I with List – II.
List – I (Text)
A. Coolie
B. The Serpent and the Rope
C. Waiting for the Mahatma
D. Shadow from Ladakh
List – II (Character)
I. Satyajit
II. Munoo
III. Ramaswamy
IV. Sriram
💡 Explanation: Munoo is the protagonist of Mulk Raj Anand’s Coolie (1936). Ramaswamy is the central character in Raja Rao’s The Serpent and the Rope (1960). Sriram is the hero of R.K. Narayan’s Waiting for the Mahatma (1955), and Satyajit is a character in Bhabani Bhattacharya’s Shadow from Ladakh (1966).
Q.11 What is the correct sequence of the following novels of Amitav Ghosh in order of their year of publication?
A. The Hungry Tide
B. The Shadow Lines
C. The Calcutta Chromosome
D. The Circle of Reason
E. The Sea of Poppies
B. The Shadow Lines
C. The Calcutta Chromosome
D. The Circle of Reason
E. The Sea of Poppies
💡 Explanation: The correct chronological order is: The Circle of Reason (1986), The Shadow Lines (1988), The Calcutta Chromosome (1995), The Hungry Tide (2004), and The Sea of Poppies (2008).
Q.12 Identify the author who stated the following lines—
“There is, first, the literature of knowledge; and, secondly, the literature of power. The function of the first is to teach; the function of the second is…to move: the first is a rudder; the second an oar or a sail.”
💡 Explanation: Thomas de Quincey made this famous distinction between “the literature of knowledge” and “the literature of power” in his essay “Letters to a Young Man” (1823) and later elaborated it in “The Poetry of Pope” (1848). According to de Quincey, the literature of knowledge teaches and informs, while the literature of power moves and transforms the reader.
Q.13 Which articles of Indian Constitution relate to the provisions relating to the Official Language of the Union?
A. 342
B. 343
C. 344
D. 345
E. 346
B. 343
C. 344
D. 345
E. 346
💡 Explanation: Articles 343 to 351 of the Indian Constitution deal with Official Language provisions. The answer key indicates D (345) and E (346) as correct, which pertain to regional language provisions. Article 342 deals with Scheduled Tribes, not language.
Q.14 Who among the following was not associated with the Yale School?
💡 Explanation: Terry Eagleton is a British Marxist literary critic associated with the University of Oxford, not the Yale School of Deconstruction. The Yale School included Harold Bloom, Paul de Man, Jacques Derrida, J. Hillis Miller, and Geoffrey Hartman. Eagleton has been a prominent critic of deconstruction from a Marxist perspective.
Q.15 “The Two Nations” is the subtitle of —
💡 Explanation: Sybil, or The Two Nations (1845) by Benjamin Disraeli explores the vast divide between the rich and the poor in Victorian England. It is part of Disraeli’s “Young England” trilogy of social novels.
Q.16 Match List – I with List – II.
List – I (Term/Concept)
A. Objectivism
B. Pathetic Fallacy
C. Sprung Rhythm
D. Structures of Feeling
List – II (Invented/Coined by)
I. John Ruskin
II. G.M. Hopkins
III. William Carlos Williams
IV. Raymond Williams
💡 Explanation: Objectivism as a poetic movement was championed by William Carlos Williams. “Pathetic Fallacy” was coined by John Ruskin in Modern Painters (1856). “Sprung Rhythm” was developed by Gerard Manley Hopkins. “Structures of Feeling” is a key concept by Raymond Williams.
Q.17 Match List – I with List – II.
List – I (Book)
A. The Complete Adventures of Feluda
B. The Perfect Murder
C. Sacred Games
D. Poisoned Arrow in the Purple Line
List – II (Author)
I. Vikram Chandra
II. Ruskin Bond
III. Shashi Deshpande
IV. Satyajit Ray
💡 Explanation: The Complete Adventures of Feluda is by Satyajit Ray. The Perfect Murder is by Ruskin Bond. Sacred Games (2006) is by Vikram Chandra. Poisoned Arrow in the Purple Line is by Shashi Deshpande.
Q.18 Who among the following used ‘untranslatableness’ in his famous work?
💡 Explanation: S.T. Coleridge used the concept of “untranslatableness” in Biographia Literaria (1817) as one of the tests of true poetry — that the best words in the best order cannot be translated or paraphrased without loss of meaning.
Q.19 What is the correct chronological sequence of the following Dalit Women Writers in order of their birth?
A. Urmila Pawar
B. Bama
C. Meena Kandasamy
D. Gogu Shyamala
E. Kumud Pawde
B. Bama
C. Meena Kandasamy
D. Gogu Shyamala
E. Kumud Pawde
💡 Explanation: The correct birth order is: Kumud Pawde (1938), Urmila Pawar (1945), Bama (1958), Gogu Shyamala (1969), and Meena Kandasamy (1984).
Q.20 What is the correct chronological sequence of the following Indian writers in order of their birth?
A. Manohar Malgonkar
B. Mulk Raj Anand
C. Toru Dutt
D. Kushwant Singh
E. Michael Madhusudan Dutt
B. Mulk Raj Anand
C. Toru Dutt
D. Kushwant Singh
E. Michael Madhusudan Dutt
💡 Explanation: The correct birth order is: Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824), Toru Dutt (1856), Mulk Raj Anand (1905), Manohar Malgonkar (1913), and Khushwant Singh (1915).
Q.21 Which of the following statements are correct about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste and concerns dealt within it?
A. It is an undelivered speech written in 1936.
B. It focuses on the need to create a society where individuals are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their caste.
C. There will be outcastes even if the caste system is completely destroyed.
D. Ideal society will always have a strong caste system even if it is based on liberty, equality and fraternity.
E. This is a fictitious novel.
B. It focuses on the need to create a society where individuals are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their caste.
C. There will be outcastes even if the caste system is completely destroyed.
D. Ideal society will always have a strong caste system even if it is based on liberty, equality and fraternity.
E. This is a fictitious novel.
💡 Explanation: Annihilation of Caste was written in 1936 by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as a speech that was never delivered because the Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal of Lahore objected to its radical content. The text powerfully argues for the abolition of the caste system and the creation of a society based on dignity and equality.
Q.22 Arrange the following films on disability concerns in the order of their year of release.
A. Paa
B. Khamoshi
C. Iqbal
D. Margarita with a Straw
E. Fanaa
B. Khamoshi
C. Iqbal
D. Margarita with a Straw
E. Fanaa
💡 Explanation: The correct chronological order is: Khamoshi (1996), Iqbal (2005), Fanaa (2006), Paa (2009), and Margarita with a Straw (2014).
Q.23 Match List I with List II:
List I (Term)
A. Apodosis
B. Protasis
C. Collocation
D. Copular verb
List II (Definition)
I. Clause expressing the condition
II. Clause expressing the consequence
III. Links the subject of a sentence with a complement
IV. A pair or group of words that are habitually juxtaposed
💡 Explanation: In conditional sentences, the “protasis” is the if-clause (condition), while the “apodosis” is the main clause (consequence). “Collocation” refers to words that frequently occur together. A “copular verb” (like “be,” “seem,” “become”) links the subject to a complement.
Q.24 What is the correct sequence of various periods of English Literature?
A. Caroline Age
B. Jacobean Age
C. Restoration Age
D. Commonwealth Period
E. Augustan Age
B. Jacobean Age
C. Restoration Age
D. Commonwealth Period
E. Augustan Age
💡 Explanation: The correct sequence is: Jacobean Age (1603–1625), Caroline Age (1625–1649), Commonwealth Period (1649–1660), Restoration Age (1660–1700), and Augustan Age (1700–1745).
Q.25 The line – “He who works for sweetness and light united, works to make reason and the will of God prevail,” occurs in:
“He who works for sweetness and light united, works to make reason and the will of God prevail.”
💡 Explanation: This line appears in Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy (1869), where he argues that culture represents the pursuit of “sweetness and light” — a phrase he borrowed from Jonathan Swift’s The Battle of the Books.
Q.26 Match List I with List II:
List I (Concept/Term)
A. Chora
B. Carnivalization
C. Contrapuntal Reading
D. Ecriture Feminine
List II (Developed/Coined by)
I. Helene Cixous
II. Julia Kristeva
III. Mikhail Bakhtin
IV. Edward W. Said
💡 Explanation: Julia Kristeva developed “Chora” drawing from Plato’s Timaeus. “Carnivalization” was theorised by Mikhail Bakhtin. “Contrapuntal Reading” was developed by Edward Said in Culture and Imperialism (1993). “Écriture Féminine” was coined by Hélène Cixous.
Q.27 Who among the following was not associated with the Cockney School of Poetry?
💡 Explanation: The term “Cockney School of Poetry” was coined derisively by Blackwood’s Magazine to attack Leigh Hunt and his circle, which included John Keats and Shelley. William Blake, who preceded these poets by a generation, was never associated with this group.
Q.28 Identify the text from which the following lines have been taken.
“Therefore, compare we the poet with the historian and with the moral philosopher; and if he go beyond them both, no other skill can match him:”
💡 Explanation: These lines are from Philip Sidney’s Defense of Poesie (also known as An Apology for Poetry, 1595), where he argues that the poet is superior to both the historian and the philosopher.
Q.29 What is the correct sequence of five stages of action in order of occurrence as described by Dhananjaya in Dasharupaka?
A. Prayatna (Prospect of success)
B. Aarambh (Beginning)
C. Niyatapti (Certainty of success)
D. Phala (Effort)
E. Phalagama (Attainment of the result)
B. Aarambh (Beginning)
C. Niyatapti (Certainty of success)
D. Phala (Effort)
E. Phalagama (Attainment of the result)
💡 Explanation: According to Dhananjaya’s Dasharupaka (10th century), the five stages of dramatic action are: Aarambh (Beginning), Prayatna/Yatna (Effort), Prāptyāshā (Prospect of success), Niyatāpti (Certainty of success), and Phalāgama (Attainment of the result).
Q.30 Who among the following was not a leading figure of New Criticism?
💡 Explanation: This is a debatable question. The answer key marks Cleanth Brooks. The rationale may be that Ransom (who coined the term), Allen Tate, and I.A. Richards are considered foundational figures, while Brooks is sometimes seen as a second-generation practitioner.
Q.31 Who among the following was not associated with the Movement Poetry?
💡 Explanation: Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) was a Victorian novelist and clergyman, known for Westward Ho! and The Water-Babies. The Movement was a 1950s British poetry movement that included Philip Larkin, Kingsley Amis, Donald Davie, Elizabeth Jennings, and John Wain.
Q.32 Which is the latest edition of Chicago Manual of Style?
💡 Explanation: At the time this exam was held (June 2024), the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (published in 2017) was the latest edition.
Q.33 Name the British poet who wrote Sohrab and Rustum:
💡 Explanation: Sohrab and Rustum (1853) is a narrative poem by Matthew Arnold based on an episode from Ferdowsi’s Persian epic Shahnameh. It tells the tragic story of a father (Rustum) who unknowingly kills his son (Sohrab) in battle.
Q.34 Which work of John Keats is dedicated to Thomas Chatterton?
💡 Explanation: Keats inscribed Endymion (1818) to the memory of Thomas Chatterton, the brilliant young poet who died tragically at the age of 17 in 1770.
Q.35 Arrange the following literary movements in chronological order of their emergence:
A. Imagism
B. Impressionism
C. Absurdism
D. Futurism
E. Pre-Raphaeliticism
B. Impressionism
C. Absurdism
D. Futurism
E. Pre-Raphaeliticism
💡 Explanation: The correct order is: Pre-Raphaeliticism (1848), Impressionism (1870s), Futurism (1909), Imagism (1912), and Absurdism (1950s).
Q.36 Match List I with List II:
List I (Work)
A. Language as Paradox
B. Against Interpretation
C. Realism and the Contemporary Novel
D. Politics and the English Language
List II (Writer)
I. Raymond Williams
II. Cleanth Brooks
III. George Orwell
IV. Susan Sontag
💡 Explanation: “The Language of Paradox” is the opening chapter of Cleanth Brooks’ The Well Wrought Urn (1947). “Against Interpretation” (1966) is by Susan Sontag. “Realism and the Contemporary Novel” is by Raymond Williams. “Politics and the English Language” (1946) is by George Orwell.
Q.37 What is the correct chronological sequence of the novels of Bhabani Bhattacharya in order of their publication?
A. A Goddess Named Gold
B. Music for Mohini
C. Shadow from Ladakh
D. So Many Hungers
E. He Who Rides a Tiger
B. Music for Mohini
C. Shadow from Ladakh
D. So Many Hungers
E. He Who Rides a Tiger
💡 Explanation: The correct publication order is: So Many Hungers (1947), Music for Mohini (1952), He Who Rides a Tiger (1954), A Goddess Named Gold (1960), and Shadow from Ladakh (1966).
Q.38 Which of the following statements is not true about Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea?
💡 Explanation: Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) is set in Jamaica and Dominica in the Caribbean, not in South Africa. The novel is a postcolonial prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, reimagining the story of Bertha Mason (here called Antoinette Cosway).
Q.39 Under whose presidency was PEN (an international association of poets, playwrights, editors, essayists and novelists) founded by Mrs. Dawson-Scott in 1921?
💡 Explanation: PEN International was founded in London in 1921 by Catherine Amy Dawson-Scott, with John Galsworthy serving as its first president. Galsworthy later won the Nobel Prize in Literature (1932).
Q.40 Out of the following, which bibliographical entry follows the style prescribed in MLA Handbook (8th edition)?
💡 Explanation: The MLA Handbook 8th edition simplified the works cited format by removing the requirement to include the city of publication. Option 1 follows this format exactly: Author (Last, First). Title. Publisher, Year.
Q.41 What is the correct chronological sequence of British poets in order of their birth?
A. Andrew Marvell
B. John Milton
C. John Donne
D. Thomas Carew
E. Richard Lovelace
B. John Milton
C. John Donne
D. Thomas Carew
E. Richard Lovelace
💡 Explanation: The answer key gives C, E, B, D, A: John Donne (1572), Richard Lovelace (1617), John Milton (1608), Thomas Carew (1595), and Andrew Marvell (1621). This sequence is debatable based on historically accepted birth dates.
Q.42 Who among the following refers to Byron’s works as “monstrous combinations of horrors and mockery, lewdness and imposture”?
💡 Explanation: Robert Southey, the Poet Laureate, was a fierce critic of Lord Byron and his circle, which he called the “Satanic School” of poetry. Byron retaliated with sharp satire against Southey in works like Don Juan and The Vision of Judgment.
Q.43 Which out of the following will allow you to avoid plagiarism?
💡 Explanation: The fundamental way to avoid plagiarism is to properly acknowledge the sources of ideas and quotations through in-text citations and a complete list of works cited or references. Proper attribution is the cornerstone of academic integrity.
Q.44 Match List – I with List – II:
List – I (Author)
A. Richard Hoggart
B. Ashis Nandy
C. Raymond Williams
D. E.P. Thompson
List – II (Text)
I. The Secret Politics of Our Desires
II. The Making of the English Working Class
III. The Uses of Literacy
IV. The Long Revolution
💡 Explanation: Richard Hoggart wrote The Uses of Literacy (1957). Ashis Nandy edited The Secret Politics of Our Desires (1998). Raymond Williams authored The Long Revolution (1961). E.P. Thompson wrote The Making of the English Working Class (1963).
Q.45 Which among the following is not a type of meaning in a poem as defined by I.A. Richards in Practical Criticism?
💡 Explanation: I.A. Richards identified four types of meaning in poetry: Sense, Feeling, Tone, and Intention. “Form” is not one of these four categories. Richards’ framework was influential in developing close reading practices.
Q.46 Match List – I with List – II:
List – I (Text)
A. Dhvanyaloka
B. Kavyadarsa
C. Vakyapadiya
D. Dasrupa
List – II (Author)
I. Dandin
II. Dhananjay
III. Anandavardhan
IV. Bhartrhari
💡 Explanation: Dhvanyaloka was written by Anandavardhana. Kavyadarsa is by Dandin. Vakyapadiya is by Bhartrhari. Dasharupaka is Dhananjaya’s treatise on Sanskrit drama.
Q.47 Match List – I with List – II:
List – I (Original Name)
A. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
B. Mary Ann Evans
C. Eric Arthur Blair
D. Samuel Langhorne Clemens
List – II (Penname/Pseudonym)
I. George Eliot
II. Mark Twain
III. George Orwell
IV. Lewis Carroll
💡 Explanation: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson = Lewis Carroll. Mary Ann Evans = George Eliot. Eric Arthur Blair = George Orwell. Samuel Langhorne Clemens = Mark Twain.
Q.48 Which of the following popular Indian words have been incorporated in Oxford Dictionary in the recent past?
A. Chai
B. Bhajan
C. Jugaad
D. Kamal
E. Namaste
B. Bhajan
C. Jugaad
D. Kamal
E. Namaste
💡 Explanation: “Chai,” “Jugaad,” and “Namaste” have been officially included in the Oxford English Dictionary as words of Indian origin that have gained global usage.
Q.49 Who among the following African writers observed that “O my body, make of me always a man who questions”?
💡 Explanation: This line appears at the conclusion of Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks (1952), a seminal work on race, colonialism, and the psychology of the colonised.
Q.50 Barbara Smith, in her essay, “Toward a Black Feminist Criticism”, raises concerns for:
A. Only Black women
B. Black lesbian women
C. Black women in the White world only
D. Black lesbian women among black women vis-a-vis the White women.
E. Black and White women, but together they have universal concerns.
B. Black lesbian women
C. Black women in the White world only
D. Black lesbian women among black women vis-a-vis the White women.
E. Black and White women, but together they have universal concerns.
💡 Explanation: Barbara Smith’s essay “Toward a Black Feminist Criticism” (1977) addresses the marginalisation of Black women writers within both feminist and Black literary criticism. The essay focuses on the specific concerns of Black women in a predominantly white literary establishment.
Q.51 Which among the following writers once remarked that “I awoke one morning and found myself famous”?
💡 Explanation: Lord Byron reportedly made this remark after the publication of the first two cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812, which brought him instant celebrity.
Q.52 Which among the following chapters is the distinct feature of the latest edition of MLA Handbook?
💡 Explanation: The MLA Handbook 9th edition (2021) introduced “Documenting Sources: An Overview” as a distinctive new feature, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding how and why sources are documented.
Q.53 Which day is celebrated as International Mother Language Day?
💡 Explanation: International Mother Language Day is celebrated on February 21, proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999. It commemorates the Language Movement in Bangladesh on February 21, 1952.
Q.54 Which of the following statements are correct about Prosody?
A. In the study of novel, it concerns narrative technique.
B. In the study of poetry, it concerns meter and other techniques of versification.
C. In the study of drama, it concerns theatrical devices.
D. In the study of spoken sounds, it concerns intonation, pitch, stress, rhythm etc.
E. In the study of discourse, it concerns the content and delivery.
B. In the study of poetry, it concerns meter and other techniques of versification.
C. In the study of drama, it concerns theatrical devices.
D. In the study of spoken sounds, it concerns intonation, pitch, stress, rhythm etc.
E. In the study of discourse, it concerns the content and delivery.
💡 Explanation: Prosody in poetry refers to the study of meter, rhythm, rhyme, and versification techniques. In phonetics and linguistics, prosody concerns suprasegmental features like intonation, pitch, stress, and rhythm in spoken language.
Q.55 What is the full form of APA?
💡 Explanation: APA stands for the American Psychological Association, founded in 1892. The APA publishes the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, one of the most widely used citation and formatting styles.
Q.56 Which of the following writers pioneered the Australian Aboriginal Movement?
A. David Malouf
B. Kevin Gilbert
C. Oodgeroo Noonuccal
D. Jack Davis
E. Judith Wright
B. Kevin Gilbert
C. Oodgeroo Noonuccal
D. Jack Davis
E. Judith Wright
💡 Explanation: Kevin Gilbert, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (formerly Kath Walker), and Jack Davis were pioneering Aboriginal Australian writers and activists. Oodgeroo Noonuccal was the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse (We Are Going, 1964).
Q.57 What is the correct chronological sequence of the following books of D.H. Lawrence?
A. Lady Chatterley’s Lover
B. Sons and Lovers
C. The Rainbow
D. The White Peacock
E. The Plumed Serpent
B. Sons and Lovers
C. The Rainbow
D. The White Peacock
E. The Plumed Serpent
💡 Explanation: The correct publication order is: The White Peacock (1911), Sons and Lovers (1913), The Rainbow (1915), The Plumed Serpent (1926), and Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928).
Q.58 What is the correct chronological sequence of famous dramatists in order of their birth?
A. William Congreve
B. John Dryden
C. William Wycherley
D. George Bernard Shaw
E. John Millington Synge
B. John Dryden
C. William Wycherley
D. George Bernard Shaw
E. John Millington Synge
💡 Explanation: The correct birth order is: John Dryden (1631), William Wycherley (1641), William Congreve (1670), George Bernard Shaw (1856), and John Millington Synge (1871).
Q.59 Match List – I with List – II:
List – I (Poem)
A. To His Coy Mistress
B. The Scholar Gipsy
C. Still, I Rise
D. If
List – II (Poet)
I. Rudyard Kipling
II. Andrew Marvell
III. Matthew Arnold
IV. Maya Angelou
💡 Explanation: “To His Coy Mistress” is by Andrew Marvell. “The Scholar Gipsy” (1853) is by Matthew Arnold. “Still I Rise” is by Maya Angelou. “If—” (1910) is by Rudyard Kipling.
Q.60 The term ‘negritude’, coined by Aime Cesaire, was appreciated as well as criticised by critics and thinkers. Select the correct responses that this term received.
A. Senegal Senghor considered this term to be derogatory.
B. Leon Damas didn’t participate in the negritude movement.
C. Wole Soyinka criticised it for its mimetic look.
D. Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka considered ‘negritude’ as an unhealthy fetishism of the ‘native’
E. Frantz Fanon was extremely critical of the term ‘negritude’ and never used it.
B. Leon Damas didn’t participate in the negritude movement.
C. Wole Soyinka criticised it for its mimetic look.
D. Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka considered ‘negritude’ as an unhealthy fetishism of the ‘native’
E. Frantz Fanon was extremely critical of the term ‘negritude’ and never used it.
💡 Explanation: Frantz Fanon became increasingly critical of Négritude, arguing that it risked essentialising Black identity. Wole Soyinka famously criticised Négritude, reportedly saying that a tiger does not proclaim its “tigritude.” Senghor was actually a co-founder of Négritude, and Damas was one of its founding figures.
Q.61 The poetic line ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’ appears in:
💡 Explanation: This famous line appears in Canto 27 of Alfred Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850), a long elegy written in memory of his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam.
Q.62 Arrange the following American poets in order of their birth:
A. Emily Dickinson
B. Ralph Waldo Emerson
C. Robert Frost
D. Henry David Thoreau
E. Walt Whitman
B. Ralph Waldo Emerson
C. Robert Frost
D. Henry David Thoreau
E. Walt Whitman
💡 Explanation: The correct birth order is: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803), Henry David Thoreau (1817), Walt Whitman (1819), Emily Dickinson (1830), and Robert Frost (1874).
Q.63 P.B. Shelley’s Adonais laments the death of:
💡 Explanation: Adonais (1821) is Shelley’s pastoral elegy mourning the death of John Keats, who died in Rome on February 23, 1821, at the age of 25.
Q.64 Arrange the following literary theories/movements in chronological order of their emergence:
A. Cultural Studies
B. Postmodernism
C. Feminism
D. Surrealism
E. Reception Theory
B. Postmodernism
C. Feminism
D. Surrealism
E. Reception Theory
💡 Explanation: The correct order is: Feminism (late 19th/early 20th century), Surrealism (1920s), Cultural Studies (1960s), Postmodernism (late 1960s–1970s), and Reception Theory (1960s–1970s).
Q.65 Who coined the term “Phallogocentric”?
💡 Explanation: Jacques Derrida coined “phallogocentrism” by combining “phallocentrism” (the privileging of the masculine) with “logocentrism” (the privileging of speech/reason/the word).
Q.66 Arrange the following works in order of their year of publication:
A. Orientalism
B. Nation and Narration
C. Black Skin White Masks
D. Decolonising the Mind
E. The Location of Culture
B. Nation and Narration
C. Black Skin White Masks
D. Decolonising the Mind
E. The Location of Culture
💡 Explanation: The correct publication order is: Black Skin, White Masks (1952), Orientalism (1978), Decolonising the Mind (1986), Nation and Narration (1990), and The Location of Culture (1994).
Q.67 A brief reference in the text that indicates the source of the idea or quotation consulted by the author is:
💡 Explanation: An in-text citation is a brief reference within the body of a text that identifies the source of information, ideas, or direct quotations. It typically includes the author’s name and page number (in MLA) or author, year, and page (in APA).
Q.68 Choose the correct statements with regard to the binary pair Langue and Parole introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure:
A. Langue is translated as speech and parole as language.
B. Langue is the internal structure of a language; not language itself.
C. Parole is the event of language.
D. Parole and language are a set of vocabulary only.
E. There is no distinction between Parole and Langue.
B. Langue is the internal structure of a language; not language itself.
C. Parole is the event of language.
D. Parole and language are a set of vocabulary only.
E. There is no distinction between Parole and Langue.
💡 Explanation: In Saussure’s structural linguistics, langue refers to the underlying system or structure of a language, while parole refers to individual acts of speech. Statement A is incorrect because it reverses the translations.
Q.69 Who among the following were associated with Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?
💡 Explanation: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in 1848 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, and William Holman Hunt. They sought to reject academic art conventions and return to medieval and early Renaissance detail.
Q.70 Which of the following definitions of linguistic terms are correct?
A. Orthoepy is the study of correct grammar in conformity with established regional patterns.
B. Philology is the study of phonemes and other characteristics of the systems of speech sounds in individual languages.
C. Synchronic study pertains to the study of language at a specific historical point.
D. Diachronic study pertains to historical dimensions of language i.e., linguistic change over the period of time.
E. Phonology is the study of language in its cultural and social contexts.
B. Philology is the study of phonemes and other characteristics of the systems of speech sounds in individual languages.
C. Synchronic study pertains to the study of language at a specific historical point.
D. Diachronic study pertains to historical dimensions of language i.e., linguistic change over the period of time.
E. Phonology is the study of language in its cultural and social contexts.
💡 Explanation: Synchronic linguistics studies language at a particular point in time; diachronic linguistics examines how language changes over time. Both terms were introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure. Orthoepy deals with pronunciation, not grammar; philology is the historical study of texts; phonology studies sound systems.
Q.71 Match List – I with List – II:
List – I (Text)
A. Kena, Isa, Katha and Mundaka Upanishads (1830s)
B. Ramayana (1870s)
C. The Bhagavat Gita (1895)
D. The Bhagvat Geeta (1785)
List – II (Translated by)
I. Ralph T.H. Griffith
II. Manmatha Nath Dutt
III. Charles Wilkins
IV. Ram Mohan Roy
💡 Explanation: Ram Mohan Roy translated several Upanishads in the 1830s. Ralph T.H. Griffith translated the Ramayana in the 1870s. Manmatha Nath Dutt translated the Bhagavad Gita in 1895. Charles Wilkins produced the first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita in 1785.
Q.72 Match List – I with List – II:
List – I (Term)
A. Anaphoric word
B. Morpheme
C. Antecedent
D. Periphrasis
List – II (Definition)
I. A unit of language that cannot be analysed into smaller units.
II. Refers back to a word or phrase previously used in a text/conversation.
III. Use of two or more words to express a meaning which could otherwise be expressed in a single word.
IV. A word or phrase that is referred back to by a pronoun or other proform.
💡 Explanation: An “anaphoric word” refers back to something previously mentioned. A “morpheme” is the smallest meaningful unit of language. An “antecedent” is the word to which a pronoun refers back. “Periphrasis” is the use of roundabout expressions instead of a single word.
Q.73 Match List-I with List-II:
List-I (Term)
A. Aporia
B. Econce
C. Encomium
D. Hagiography
List-II (Definition)
I. Technical term in structuralist theory that implies ‘utterance’
II. Formal eulogy in prose or verse to glorify people, objects, or ideas
III. The writing or study of lives of the saints
IV. A term used in theory/deconstruction to indicate conflict between rhetoric and thought
💡 Explanation: “Aporia” is a key term in deconstruction (Derrida) referring to an irresolvable internal contradiction. “Énoncé” is a structuralist term meaning “utterance.” “Encomium” is a classical form of praise. “Hagiography” is the writing of saints’ lives.
Q.74 Who among the following observed that “Nothing can please many, and please long, but representations of general nature”?
💡 Explanation: This observation comes from Samuel Johnson’s Preface to Shakespeare (1765), where he argues that Shakespeare’s greatness lies in his ability to portray universal human nature.
Q.75 In the 1985 essay, “Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism”, Gayatri Spivak shows the development of the white liberal feminist subject. Which of the texts referred to in the title is/are by a male author?
💡 Explanation: This is a trick question. The three texts Spivak analyses are Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea, and Frankenstein — all written by women. The answer key indicates A, B, and C as the three texts discussed in the essay.
Q.76 Which among the following is not a work of Samuel Johnson?
💡 Explanation: The Journal to Stella is a collection of letters written by Jonathan Swift to Esther Johnson, not a work by Samuel Johnson. The Rambler and The Idler are periodical essay series by Samuel Johnson.
Q.77 Which of the following texts deals with the theme of colonization?
💡 Explanation: While all four texts engage with colonial themes, the answer key selects Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966) as the text most directly dealing with colonization, set in the Caribbean during the post-emancipation period.
Q.78 Chronologically arrange the following texts in order of publication.
A. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique
B. Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex
C. Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own
D. Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch
E. Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born
B. Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex
C. Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own
D. Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch
E. Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born
💡 Explanation: The correct order is: A Room of One’s Own (1929), The Second Sex (1949), The Feminine Mystique (1963), The Female Eunuch (1970), and Of Woman Born (1976).
Q.79 Match List-I with List-II:
List-I (Term/Concept)
A. Third Space
B. Weltliteratur
C. Post-Impressionism
D. Simulacra
List-II (Invented/Coined by)
I. Jean Baudrillard
II. Goethe
III. Homi Bhabha
IV. Roger Fry
💡 Explanation: “Third Space” is by Homi Bhabha. “Weltliteratur” was coined by Goethe in 1827. “Post-Impressionism” was coined by Roger Fry in 1910. “Simulacra” was theorised by Jean Baudrillard.
Q.80 Which of the following works is not written by Chinua Achebe?
💡 Explanation: Weep Not, Child (1964) was written by Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong’o, not Chinua Achebe. Arrow of God, No Longer at Ease, and An Image of Africa are all works by Achebe.
Q.81 Literature review provides:
💡 Explanation: A literature review is a comprehensive survey and critical discussion of existing scholarly works relevant to a particular research topic. It goes beyond merely listing sources by synthesising, analysing, and evaluating previous research.
Q.82 What is the correct chronological sequence of the following works in order of their publication?
A. Arun Joshi’s The Foreigner
B. Ved Mehta’s Face to Face
C. Khushwant Singh’s I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale
D. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’s Inquilab
E. G.V. Desani’s All About H. Hatterr
B. Ved Mehta’s Face to Face
C. Khushwant Singh’s I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale
D. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’s Inquilab
E. G.V. Desani’s All About H. Hatterr
💡 Explanation: The correct order is: All About H. Hatterr (1948), Inquilab (1955), Face to Face (1957), I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale (1959), and The Foreigner (1968).
Q.83 Who among the following was not a proponent of Oxford Movement?
💡 Explanation: Charles Kingsley was actually an opponent of the Oxford Movement. He was a proponent of “Muscular Christianity” and famously clashed with Newman, leading Newman to write Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864). The Oxford Movement was led by Newman, Pusey, and Froude.
Q.84 Choose the correct chronological sequence in which the following works were published:
A. Vicar of Wakefield
B. Life of Johnson
C. Johnson’s Dictionary
D. The Life of Nelson
B. Life of Johnson
C. Johnson’s Dictionary
D. The Life of Nelson
💡 Explanation: The correct order is: Johnson’s Dictionary (1755), Vicar of Wakefield (1766), The Life of Nelson (1813), and Life of Johnson (1791). The answer key indicates option 2.
Q.85 Which of the following writers remarked that “You are your best thing”?
💡 Explanation: This line appears in Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987), spoken by Paul D to Sethe, affirming her self-worth after the devastating experiences of slavery. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988.
Q.86 Match List-I with List-II:
List-I (Dramatist)
A. Martin Esslin
B. Bertolt Brecht
C. Antonin Artaud
D. August Strindberg
List-II (Theatrical form/Technique)
I. The Theatre of Cruelty
II. Dream Play
III. Estrangement-effect
IV. The Theatre of the Absurd
💡 Explanation: Martin Esslin coined “Theatre of the Absurd” (1961). Bertolt Brecht developed the “Verfremdungseffekt” (Estrangement-effect). Antonin Artaud theorised “The Theatre of Cruelty.” August Strindberg pioneered the “Dream Play” form.
Q.87 Which of the following works were edited by gay activists, writers, or artists:
A. Are We Not Men? by Philip Brian Harper
B. Charisma by Erica Edward
C. Extravagant Abjection by Dariek Scott
D. Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Criticism by Henry Louis Gates
E. Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination by Toni Morrison
B. Charisma by Erica Edward
C. Extravagant Abjection by Dariek Scott
D. Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Criticism by Henry Louis Gates
E. Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination by Toni Morrison
💡 Explanation: Philip Brian Harper, Erica Edwards, and Darieck Scott are scholars identified with queer studies and Black queer literary criticism. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Toni Morrison are not primarily identified as gay activists or writers.
Q.88 What is the correct chronological sequence of periods of American Literature?
A. Early National Period
B. Revolutionary Age
C. Naturalistic Period
D. Romantic Period in America/Age of Transcendentalism
E. Realistic Period
B. Revolutionary Age
C. Naturalistic Period
D. Romantic Period in America/Age of Transcendentalism
E. Realistic Period
💡 Explanation: The correct order is: Revolutionary Age (1765–1790), Early National Period (1790–1830), Romantic Period/Age of Transcendentalism (1830–1865), Realistic Period (1865–1900), and Naturalistic Period (1900–1914).
Q.89 What is the correct sequence of the following plays of Girish Karnad in order of their year of publication?
A. Hayavadana
B. Nagamandala
C. Tughlaq
D. Yayati
E. Bali, The Sacrifice
B. Nagamandala
C. Tughlaq
D. Yayati
E. Bali, The Sacrifice
💡 Explanation: The correct publication order is: Yayati (1961), Tughlaq (1964), Hayavadana (1971), Bali: The Sacrifice, and Nagamandala (1988).
Q.90 The poem “O Captain! My Captain!” is a tribute to:
💡 Explanation: “O Captain! My Captain!” was written by Walt Whitman in 1865 as an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln following his assassination on April 14, 1865.
Q.91 Which colloquial form of English is used in the poem?
💡 Explanation: The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes uses African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), evident in constructions like “I’se been a-climbin’,” “ain’t been no,” and “you finds it’s kinder hard.” Langston Hughes was a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance.
Q.92 Which one of the following is an ‘extended metaphor’ in the poem?
💡 Explanation: The staircase serves as the extended metaphor throughout “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. Life is compared to climbing a staircase, and this metaphor is sustained from beginning to end. The tacks, splinters, and bare floor are individual images within this larger metaphor.
Q.93 Which rhetorical device has been used by the poet by repeating “And” at the beginning of many lines in the poem?
💡 Explanation: Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines. In this poem, “And” is repeated at the start of multiple lines, creating rhythmic emphasis and building a cumulative effect.
Q.94 What kind of life does the line, “life for me … no crystal stair” signify?
💡 Explanation: “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” means the speaker’s life has not been easy, smooth, or luxurious. A “crystal stair” symbolises a life of wealth, comfort, and privilege — the opposite of what the mother has experienced.
Q.95 What advice does the speaker give to his/her son in the poem?
💡 Explanation: The mother’s central message is perseverance and resilience — she tells her son not to turn back, sit down, or fall, despite life’s difficulties. Using her own life as an example (“I’se still climbin'”), she encourages him to keep going.
Q.96 At what stage does knowledge become freedom for man?
💡 Explanation: According to the passage, knowledge becomes freedom when man moves beyond using it merely for survival and accumulates a “surplus” of knowledge freed from the necessity of life. This excess is where science and philosophy flourish.
Q.97 What gives man the freedom to be useless and irresponsible?
💡 Explanation: The passage states that the vast excess of intellectual surplus gives man “the freedom to be useless and irresponsible to a great measure.” This surplus allows man to pursue knowledge, science, and philosophy beyond survival needs.
Q.98 What, according to the writer, is the basic difference between animal and man?
💡 Explanation: The passage states that animals are “very soon satisfied and retire within the limits of necessities,” using knowledge only for survival. Man accumulates knowledge far beyond what is necessary, achieving intellectual freedom.
Q.99 What does the author mean by “Man also must know because he must live”?
💡 Explanation: The statement emphasises that knowledge is fundamentally necessary for human existence. However, man’s knowledge extends far beyond mere survival, making knowledge not just a tool for living but the very essence of human life.
Q.100 What does the metaphor “a big merchant” stand for?
💡 Explanation: The passage compares man to a “big merchant” who accumulates far more than needed for survival, representing man’s capacity to acquire surplus knowledge that fuels science, philosophy, and intellectual freedom.
