MH SET Paper 2 Mock Test - 9 (English) - MAHA TET MCQ

In book 11 of Paradise Lost, God sends Michael to banish Adam and Eve from paradise and tell them about the future of mankind. In Book 12 Michael told that they will have access to many signs of God’s presence and show Adam the visions of future of Mankind furthermore the coming of Christ as Redeemer of Mankind.

The foreknowledge of future consoles them and they take each other’s hands, and make their way through Eden.

The correct answer is 'Disillusionment with war and questioning of societal norms'.

Key Points

• The Lost Generation refers to the generation that came of age during World War I, and its literature is marked by a profound sense of disillusionment resulting from the horrors and disillusionment of the war.
• Writers associated with the Lost Generation, such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, often explored themes of aimlessness, moral loss, and the breakdown of traditional values in the aftermath of the war.
• The questioning of societal norms, including the critique of the concept of heroism, the exploration of existential despair, and the rejection of the pre-war optimism, are central to much of the literature of this period.
• The impact of the war led many of these writers to challenge previously held beliefs about progress, leading to a skepticism of the modern world and a sense of alienation.
• The term "Lost Generation" itself was popularized by Gertrude Stein and epitomizes the sense of being lost in a shifting world without clear moral or social anchors.

Tamburlaine the Great is a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor, Timur. Written in 1587 or 1588, the play is a milestone in Elizabethan public drama; it marks a turning away from the clumsy language and loose plotting of the earlier Tudor dramatists, and a new interest in fresh and vivid language, memorable action, and intellectual complexity. Along with Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, it may be considered the first popular success of London's public stage.

The correct answer is Jean-Francois Lyotard.

Key Points

• French post-structuralist philosopher, best known for his highly influential formulation of postmodernism in The Postmodern Condition. 
• Lyotard’s philosophy exhibits many of the major themes common to post-structuralist and postmodernist thought. 
• He calls into question the powers of reason, asserts the importance of nonrational forces such as sensations and emotions, and rejects humanism and the traditional philosophical notion of the human being as the central subject of knowledge.

​ Therefore the correct answer is Option 1.

Additional Information

• Barthes is perhaps best known for his 1957 essay collection Mythologies, which contained reflections on popular culture.
• The 1967 essay "The Death of the Author," critiqued traditional approaches in literary criticism was by Barthes.​
• Jacques Derrida was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction.

The Mourning Bride is a tragedy written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1697 at Betterton's Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. The play centres on Zara, a queen held captive by Manuel, King of Granada, and a web of love and deception which results in the mistaken murder of Manuel who is in disguise, and Zara's also mistaken suicide in response.

The correct answer is "Samuel Johnson".

Key Points

• John Dryden (1631-1700) was an English poet and playwright.
• He became the first Poet Laureate of England in 1668.
• Sir Walter Scott called him “Glorious John”.
• Dryden is called the “father of English criticism"
• Important works by Dryden are Astraea Redux, Annus Mirabilis, An Essay of Dramatick Poesie (1680), Absalom and Achitophel (1681), Mac Flecknoe (1682).

​Therefore, the correct answer is option 1.​Additional Information

• Samuel Johnson is best known for compiling A Dictionary of English Language (1755).
• T.S Eliot was a 20th century poet and critic famous for his poem "The Waste Land" (1922).
• P.B Shelly was a romantic poet who wrote The Revolt of Islam (1817).

• Lycidas is a poem by John Milton, written in 1637 as a pastoral elegy, dedicated to the memory of edward King, a college mate of Milton at Cambridge who drowned when his ship sank in the Irish Sea off the coast of Wales in August 1637.
• Adonais : A pastoral elegy on the Death of John Keats written by P. B. Shelley in 1821, and widely regarded as one of Shelleys best and most well-known works.
• In Memoriam is a poem by the English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson,  completed in 1849.  It is a requiem for the poetís Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam,  who died suddenly of a cerebral haemorrhage in Vienna in 1833.
• Thyrsis is the title of a poem written by Matthew Arnold in December 1865 to commemo- rate his friend, the poet Arthur Hugh Clough, who had died in November 1861 aged only 42.

The correct answer is "Deterritorialization".

Key Points

• According to critical theory, deterritorialization is the process through which the structure and context of a social connection known as a territory are changed, deformed, or eliminated.
• Reterritorialization is the process through which the components come together to form a new territory.
• In the writings of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, the concept was developed and put forth.
• For instance, they note in Anti-Oedipus (1972) that Sigmund Freud's concepts of libido and polymorphous perversity revolutionized our understanding of the psyche, leading to the psyche's initial deterritorialization.
• However, he later conceptualized a new territory, the Oedipus complex, an understanding of tension in the psyche that is favourable to repression, leading to the psyche's reterritorialization.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 4.

A. D. Hope is the most known poet and essayist of Australia. He is also acclaimed as a critic and academician. The Wandering Islands is the first published work of the poet in year 1955, although he attained recognition as a poet through publication in periodicals in earlier years.

Native Companions: Essays and Comments on Australian Literature, is a collection of essays of criticism published in the year 1974.

A Midsummer Eve’s Dream is also a work of criticism by Hope which published in the year 1970.

The Cave and the Spring are essays on poetry by the Australian writer published in the year 1965.

The correct answer is "The Child in Time."

Key Points

• Exploration of Childhood and Time: "The Child in Time" delves into the nature of childhood, loss, and the fluidity of time, all centered around a protagonist dealing with the loss of his child.
• Psychological Depth: The novel is notable for its psychological depth, exploring the impact of grief and the potential for regeneration and healing.
• Themes of Parenthood: It scrutinizes the roles and experiences of being a parent, alongside societal and personal expectations of this role.
• Innovative Narrative Techniques: McEwan employs innovative narrative techniques to explore the protagonist's psyche and the non-linear progression of time.
• Critical Acclaim: The novel received critical acclaim for its insightful portrayal of its themes and is considered one of McEwan's major works.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 3'.

Additional Information

• "Atonement" is better known for its exploration of guilt, forgiveness, and the complexities of truth.
• "Amsterdam," a sharp, compact narrative, focuses on morality and the complexities of modern life.
• "Saturday" centers around a day in the life of a neurosurgeon, exploring post-9/11 London.
• Works of Nissim Ezekiel

‘Account of the Augustan Age in England (1759)’ was written by Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774), an important poet of the Augustan Age of English Literature. Oliver Goldsmith was an Anglo- Irish poet, playwright and novelist. Some of his important works include, ‘The Deserted Village’, ‘The Vicar of Wakefield’ and ‘She Stoops to Conquer’.

The correct answer is 'Dorian’s soul and the consequences of his actions'.

Key Points

• The portrait of Dorian Gray symbolizes the physical manifestation of Dorian’s inner moral decay and the consequences of his hedonistic and selfish pursuits.
• As Dorian engages in a life of excess and moral abandon, the portrait, rather than his own body, ages and becomes increasingly grotesque, reflecting the corruption of his soul.
• The contrast between Dorian's unchanging, youthful exterior and the portrait's degeneration emphasizes the disconnection between appearance and reality, a central theme of the novel.
• The portrait can be seen as a conscience that Dorian tries to hide and ignore, highlighting the consequences of living a life devoid of moral reflection.
• This symbol serves as a critique of the aesthetic movement's emphasis on beauty and sensual pleasure, exploring the potential dangers and moral costs of such a philosophy.

a-3,b-1,c-4, d-2

Grismus is the debut novel of Sulman Rushdie, published in 1975. It can be categorized under the novel of fantasy or science fiction novel.

Hawksmoor is a novel by Peter Ackroyd, which tells the story of Nicholas Dyer and Nicholas Hawksmoor related to two different eras 18th century and 20th century respectively. The novel got published in 1985.

Darkness visible is a novel, published in 1979 and won the writer William Golding, James Tait Black Memorial Prize. The novel describes the conflict between good and evil.

Graham Swift wrote a novel in 1983, named Waterland which accolades him with Guardian Fiction Prize and shortlisted for Booker Prize.

The correct answer is "(1-A), (2-B), (3-C), (4-D)"

Key Points

• 'The Coffin' is a poem by Harindranath Chattopadhyay.
• 'The Algebra of Infinite Justice' is a collection of essays by Arundhati Roy. The essay collection talks about the political achievements of India, impact of public projects on nature and others.
• 'Fire on the Mountains' is a novel by Anita Desai. The work explores gender roles of women amidst social forces.
• 'The Incendiary Circumstances' is a novel by Amitava Ghosh.
• The work depicts the political ravages and nature.

​Therefore the correct option is "option 1".

Important Points

• These mentioned authors are Indian poets and authors writing in Indian English.
• Indian English is an English dialect spoken by Indians and diasporic community. 
• These mentioned authors have enriched the Indian English literature by depicting different socio-cultural and political events since India's Independence. 

 Additional Information

•  Arundhati Roy is an Indian author and a political activist. She received Booker Prize for her famous work God of Small Things.
• Anita Desai (birth Anita Mazumdar) is an Indian author. She received Sahitya Academy Award for her work 'Fire on the Mountains'.
• Harindranath Chattopadhyay is an Indian poet, dramatist, actor and member of 1st Lok Sabha. He was the brother of Sarojini Naidu, an Indian writer as well the second woman President of India. His work Beside the Death Bed is a philosophical poem that talks about the relation between life and death. 
•  Amitava Ghosh is an Indian author and has won 54th Jnanpith Award in 2018. He won Sahitya Academy Award for his famous work The Shadow Lines.

The correct answer is 'The inevitability of fate and the cyclical nature of history.'

Key Points

• "Leda and the Swan" is a sonnet by W.B. Yeats that employs the mythological tale of Leda’s encounter with Zeus, who has transformed into a swan.
• The poem intertwines themes of power, divinity, and predetermination, focusing on the moment of contact and its repercussions.
• It delves into the concept of the inevitability of fate, suggesting that the violent act leads to significant historical events, including the Trojan War.
• Yeats illustrates the cyclical nature of history and the impact of divine intervention on human life, questioning the interplay between destiny and free will.
• The use of vivid, often violent imagery serves to underscore the poem's exploration of conflict between the mortal and the divine, embodying broader themes of creation, destruction, and rebirth.
• "Leda and the Swan" reflects Yeats' fascination with mythology and its relevance to contemporary life, as well as his interest in the philosophical implications of history and fate.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1'.

Additional Information

• Options 2, 3, and 4 do not accurately reflect the themes or content of "Leda and the Swan," which is more focused on mythological events and philosophical inquiries.

William Pearson (born July 27, 1938), known professionally as Bill Pearson, is an American novelist, publisher, editor, artist, comic book scripter and letterer, notable as the editor-publisher of his own graphic story publication, witzend.

The correct answer is "Background, Casually."

Key Points

• Personal and Cultural Identity: Ezekiel's "Background, Casually" is a multi-part poem that delves deep into the poet's personal journey through the complexities of cultural identity and assimilation in post-colonial India.
• Diaspora and Belonging: The poem explores themes related to the Indian diaspora's experiences, negotiations between traditional Indian values and Western culture, and the quest for a sense of belonging.
• Narrative Style: It's known for its narrative style, weaving together anecdotes, reflections, and vivid imagery to convey the poet's internal and external conflicts.
• Critique of Society: Beyond personal identity, the poem also offers a critique of social norms, prejudices, and the often superficial nature of cultural assimilation.
• Legacy in Indian English Literature: "Background, Casually" is regarded as one of Ezekiel's most significant works, contributing to his status as a pioneer of post-colonial Indian English poetry.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 4'.

Additional Information

• "Enterprise" encapsulates a metaphorical journey reflecting human endeavors and disillusionment.
• "Night of the Scorpion" is celebrated for its portrayal of rural Indian life and communal reactions to adversity.
• "The Professor" humorously engages with themes of social pretensions and the gap between generations in India.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a famous book of History penned by English Historian Edward Gibbon.

The book was published in six volumes from year 1776 to 1788.

It is one of the greatest works of History written in English Literature and provide the explanation of the fall of Roman Empire.

The correct answer is The Night of the Iguana': Jim O'ConnorKey Points

• The Night of the Iguana is a stage play written by American author Tennessee Williams.
• It is based on his 1948 short story.
• In 1959, Williams staged it as a one-act play, and over the next two years, he developed it into a full-length play, producing two different versions in 1959 and 1960.
• Thomas Lanier Williams III, known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter.
• Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama

Therefore, Option 4 is the correct answer.

 Additional Information

• The Glass Menagerie is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame.
• The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his histrionic mother, and his mentally fragile sister.
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams.
• One of Williams's more famous works and his personal favourite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. 
• A Streetcar Named Desire is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947.
• The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of personal losses, leaves her once-prosperous situation to move into a shabby apartment in New Orleans rented by her younger sister and brother-in-law.

Harold Pinter (1930 –2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He won a Nobel prize in literature in 2005. He has been identified as one of the most complex playwrights post-World War II. His plays are unique for their use of ‘understatement’, ‘small talk’, ‘reticence’, and even ‘silence’. These elements convey the gist of a character’s thoughts, which is often layered, the actual one lying several layers beneath, and contradicting his speech. Pinter’s plays are confusing in their plots, presentation of characters, and endings, but are quite powerful and original. Pinter composed 27 screenplays and film scripts for cinema and television, many of which were filmed, or adapted as stage plays.

Some other significant screenplays are those for The Servant (1963), The Accident (1967) and The Go-Between (1971). Some of his most renowned plays- The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964), and Betrayal (1978).

The narrator describes the activity of mending the wall as a game. 

There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. repair hither, and say you are not fit. Hamlet's stepfather, King Claudius, has arranged a fencing match between the prince and Laertes.

The correct answer is 1-A, 2-B, 3-C, 4-D.

Important Points

• The Knight is the character in Palamon and Arcite.
  • Socially the most prominent person on the pilgrimage, epitomizing chivalry, truth, and honor. He stands apart from the other pilgrims because of his dignity and status.
• Griselda is a fictional character appearing in 'The Clerk's Tale,' a story he shares during his journey with several other travelers in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
• Chanticleer is the protagonist of Nun's Priest's Tale. Chanticleer is a rooster with seven wives, foremost among them the hen Pertelote.
• Madame Eglantine, or The Prioress, is a central character in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.
  • "The Prioress's Tale" follows "The Shipman's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.
  • The General Prologue names the prioress as Madame Eglantine and describes her impeccable table manners and soft-hearted ways.

Thus, it is clear that the correct match is 1-A, 2-B, 3-C, 4-D.

The correct answer is "The conflicts are unavoidable and cruel".

Key Points

• The term "brutish" implies a level of savagery and primal violence, indicating the conflicts are not just harsh but inherently cruel.
• "Necessity" suggests an element of inevitability, as if the conflict is something that must occur, regardless of the suffering it causes.
• The combination implies that these conflicts arise from deep-seated, unavoidable reasons, leading to brutal outcomes.
• This phrase sets a tone that reflects the overall theme of the poem, which is the brutal reality of colonial violence and the resulting personal and cultural conflicts.
• The "napkin of a dirty cause" metaphor that follows reinforces the idea that the reasons behind these conflicts are not justifiable or clean; they’re morally compromised and tainted.
• Therefore, this phrase critiques the nature of the conflicts as being born out of base necessity but carried out in barbaric manners, highlighting the poet's abhorrence of the violence associated with colonial and post-colonial struggles.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 3'.

The correct answer is "As something he deeply cherishes despite conflicts".

Key Points

• The phrase “the English tongue I love” signals a strong affection and connection to the English language, significant in the context of Walcott's colonial heritage and his career as a poet working primarily in English.
• It suggests a personal conflict within Walcott—between his allegiance to the culture and land of his ancestors and his deep-seated love for the English language, which is part of his colonial legacy.
• It reflects the broader theme of cultural hybridity, pointing to the idea that identities can encompass seemingly contradictory elements without negating each other.
• Through this admission, Walcott presents a more intricate picture of post-colonial identity, revealing how colonial legacies can shape personal and cultural affinities in complex ways.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 3'.

The correct answer is "How can he remain indifferent to the violence?".

Key Points

• This rhetorical question emphasizes the poet's emotional turmoil and moral quandary over the violence associated with colonial conflict.
• It highlights his struggle to maintain neutrality or emotional detachment in the face of brutal colonial and anti-colonial violence, indicating that such indifference is impossible or ethically untenable for him.
• The use of "cool" here implies a state of calmness or detachment that the poet finds untenable when confronted with the "slaughter" or the extreme violence and suffering caused by the conflict.
• This line underlines the inescapable impact of his heritage and the historical moment on his conscience and his work, underscoring the poet's empathy and emotional engagement with the horrors of the conflict.
• By raising this question, Walcott not only shares his personal anguish but also invites the audience to reflect on their own reactions to historical and ongoing injustices and violence.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1'.

Let us explore the literary figures and their respective works in the chronological order:

• William Caxton prints the first English book- No doubt, the introduction of the printing press in England facilitated and marked the beginning of the production of texts of English literatures, as we know now. It is believed that the credit of introducing the printing press into England (at Westminster, in 1476) goes to William Caxton (1422– 1491) who was an English merchant, diplomat, and writer. The printed book, entitled 'The Recuyell of the Histories of TroyeOffsite Link' (a collection of stories associated with Homer's Iliad), was the first book printed in English by William Caxton. He later published and edited chivalric romances, classical works, and English and Roman histories. He is said to have printed the earliest English translation verses of the Bible, and is credited to be the first to translate Aesop's Fables into English in 1484.
• “Tottel’s Miscellany” (Songs and Sonnets)- It was the first printed anthology of English poetry published by Richard Tottel in 1557 in London. The anthology ran into many editions in the sixteenth century.
  There are 310 poems in Tottel’s Miscellany, out of which 39 were added in the second edition of 1557. The poems in this anthology have been written by Wyatt, Surrey and Grimald. Moreover, there are 54 sonnets in Tottel. More than one out of every six poems in the collection is a sonnet.
  Tottel also published Thomas More's 'Utopia', John Lydgate's translations from Giovanni Boccaccio, and books by William Staunford and Thomas Tusser. Most of his publications included legal treatises, including a legal history of the reign of Richard III, and legal yearbooks covering parts of the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.
• William Shakespeare’s First Folio- The first collected edition of William Shakespeare's plays, compiled and published in 1623 (seven years after his death), is known as The First Folio. Out of around 37 plays that Shakespeare wrote, 36 (17 were printed in Shakespeare's lifetime) appear in the First Folio. Most of these plays were performed in the Globe, an open-air theatre in London. The folios carry important printed editions of Shakespeare’s works, the manuscripts of which are not available now.
• John Milton’s Areopagitica- 'Areopagitica: A Speech of Mr John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parliament of England', was a pamphlet by John Milton, which was published in 1644. The pamphlet was written in to protest an order issued by the Parliament that mandated the government's approval and licensing of all published books.
  Written in a prose style, the pamphlet is inspired heavily by Greek models. In fact, the title of the work derives from “Areopagus” (“Hill of Ares”), the name of the place from which the high court of Athens administered its jurisdiction and imposed a general censorship. Milton argues that the enforcement of licensing is similar to following the example of the detested papacy. He supports the free circulation of idea as crucial to moral and intellectual development. He also points out that the attempt to prevent falsehood is to underestimate the power of truth. The ‘Aeropagitica’ has gone down in history as a literature of human rights.

• Pygmalion therefore tries to illustrate the arbitrariness of basing a person's worth on his or her pronunciation.  
• The necessity for the artist to be free from domestic entanglements is a major theme of Love among the Artists (1881).  
• Caesar and Cleopatra : The hollowness of hero-worship
• Misalliance : Man-Woman relationship

Tristram Shandy, full title The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman was written between 1759 and 1767 by Laurence Sterne and remarkable for its highly unconventional narrative technique. The book was published in five separate installments, each containing two volumes except the last, which included only the final Volume 9.

The first two volume appearing in 1759, and seven others following over the next seven years as vols. 3 and 4 in 1761; vols. 5 and 6 in 1762, vols. 7 and 8 in 1765 and lastly vol. 9 in 1767. It has been read widely and appreciated.