UGC NET · SET · PhD Entrance · Assistant Professor
1000+ Literary Theory MCQs: Topic-Wise Previous Year Questions
Free previous year questions from Russian Formalism to Ecocriticism, arranged school by school, with the answer and a short explanation for every question.
What is literary theory?
Literary theory is the set of ideas and methods we use to read literature. It asks what literature is, how a text makes meaning, and how that meaning is shaped by language, the unconscious, class, gender, empire, history and the reader. Modern theory runs from Russian Formalism and Saussure’s structuralism, through post-structuralism and deconstruction, to psychoanalysis, Marxism, feminism, postcolonial theory, New Historicism, cultural studies, reader-response, postmodernism and ecocriticism.
For UGC NET English Paper 2, State SET, PhD entrance and Assistant Professor exams, literary theory is one of the most heavily tested areas, and the same names, books and terms come back year after year. Together with literary criticism, it brings 35+ questions (about 70 marks) in every UGC NET English cycle, more than a third of the marks you need to clear the cut-off. Master these two and you have the biggest head start the syllabus can give you: see the Literary Theory & Criticism course. This page collects 1000+ such questions and arranges them by school, so you can finish one theory at a time instead of jumping between random sets.
Choose a school of theory
Form, Language & Structure
After Structuralism
Psychoanalysis
Marxism & the Frankfurt School
Feminism, Gender & Queer Theory
Postcolonial, Historicist & Cultural
Readers, Postmodernism, Myth & Ecology
Mixed Practice & Background
Literary theories at a glance
| School | Key thinkers | Core idea |
|---|---|---|
| Russian Formalism | Shklovsky, Jakobson, Eichenbaum | Literature is a set of devices; art defamiliarises. |
| Structuralism | Saussure, Lévi-Strauss, early Barthes | Meaning comes from difference within a system of signs. |
| Narratology | Propp, Todorov, Genette | Stories share structures: functions, order, voice, focalisation. |
| New Criticism | Richards, Empson, Brooks, Wimsatt | The poem is a self-contained object for close reading. |
| Post-structuralism | Barthes, Kristeva, Derrida | Meaning is never fixed; texts are woven from other texts. |
| Deconstruction | Derrida, de Man, Hillis Miller | Texts undo their own binary oppositions. |
| Psychoanalytic | Freud, Jung, Lacan, Bloom | Texts reveal unconscious desire and repression. |
| Marxist | Marx, Lukács, Gramsci, Althusser, Eagleton | Literature is shaped by class, history and ideology. |
| Feminist | Woolf, Beauvoir, Showalter, Cixous | Literature reflects and resists patriarchy. |
| Queer theory | Butler, Sedgwick, de Lauretis | Gender and sexuality are performed, not fixed. |
| Postcolonial | Fanon, Said, Spivak, Bhabha | Colonial power shapes texts, identities and readings. |
| New Historicism | Greenblatt, Montrose, Dollimore | Texts and history are read side by side. |
| Cultural Studies | Hoggart, Williams, Stuart Hall | All culture, popular and elite, deserves study. |
| Reader-response | Iser, Fish, Jauss | Meaning is made by readers and communities. |
| Postmodernism | Lyotard, Baudrillard, Hutcheon | Grand narratives collapse; copies replace reality. |
| Ecocriticism | Glotfelty, Buell, Naess | Literature in relation to nature and environment. |
How to practise
Revise the theory once, then open its part.
Pick an answer before you look. Guessing teaches nothing.
Write down each thinker, book or term you got wrong.
Reattempt the same part. Revision, not coverage, clears NET.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main types of literary theory?
The main schools of modern literary theory are Russian Formalism, structuralism and semiotics, narratology, New Criticism, post-structuralism and deconstruction, psychoanalytic criticism, Marxist criticism, feminist and queer theory, postcolonial theory, New Historicism and cultural materialism, cultural studies, reader-response and reception theory, postmodernism, myth criticism and ecocriticism. Each has its own part on this page.
What is the difference between literary theory and literary criticism?
Literary criticism interprets and judges particular works and writers, from Aristotle and Dr Johnson to T.S. Eliot. Literary theory steps back and asks how meaning is made at all: what literature is, how language, the mind, class, gender and empire shape a text, and what a reader does. For the critics, see our 500+ Literary Criticism MCQs.
Which literary theory topics come most often in UGC NET English?
Saussure and structuralism, deconstruction, psychoanalysis (Freud and Lacan), Marxism, feminism, postcolonial theory and New Criticism appear in almost every paper, usually as book-author matching, key-term and statement-based questions. Narratology, Bakhtin, reader-response and New Historicism follow close behind.
Are these literary theory MCQs free?
Yes. Every part is free to practise online, with instant answers and a short explanation for each question. No sign-up is needed.
Practice shows you the gaps. Lectures fill them.
Complete video lectures on literary theory and criticism with PDF notes in the app, and printed solved booklets delivered free to your home.
Explore the course →500+ Criticism MCQs