UGC NET Paper 2 English Mock Test - 10 - UGC NET MCQ

The correct answer is 'The transience of human life'.

 Key Points

• Tennyson's "Break, Break, Break" is a meditation on the transience of human life and the inevitability of death.
• The speaker reflects on the death of his beloved and the realization that all things must eventually pass away.
• The poem is full of images of the sea, which is a symbol of the vastness and mystery of life and death.
• Tennyson's "Break, Break, Break" also explores the themes of grief and longing.
• The speaker's repeated use of the word "break" emphasizes the sense of fragmentation and loss.
• The poem is written in a simple, yet evocative style, which contributes to its emotional impact.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 4'.

Additional Information

• The poem is also known for its use of assonance and alliteration, which create a sense of rhythm and flow. 

The correct answer is ‘It makes him more determined to win her back.’ 

Key Points

• Heathcliff's belief that Catherine loves him more than she loves Edgar Linton makes him more determined to win her back. 
• He is willing to do anything to achieve this goal, even if it means using underhanded or even violent tactics.
• He is also unwilling to compromise with Edgar Linton, as he believes that Edgar is unworthy of Catherine's love.

Therefore, the correct answer is ‘Option 1.’

The correct answer is He only wrote his prose in English.

Key Points

•  Francis Bacon(1561-1626) was the greatest of the Elizabethan prose writers.
• He wrote both in Latin and English, and of the two he considered his Latin works to be more important.
• Bacon's work is impersonal, objective, and orderly in thought and reflects a cool scientific detachment.
• His antithetical sentences have qualities of proverbial expressions.
• He is known for his Aphoristic style of writing.
• His best best-knowns are: Of Studies, Of Revenge, Of Death and others.

Therefore, the correct option is option 4.

Additional Information

• Francis Bacon was appointed Lord Chancellor in 1618 and created Baron Verulam.
• In 1621 he became Viscount St Albans.

The correct answer is "Tzvetan Todorov".

Key Points

• Tzvetan Todorov coined the term "Narratology" which is the anglicisation of the French "narratologie".
• Its theoretical ancestors can be traced back to Aristotle (Poetics), but modern narratology is widely acknowledged to have begun with the Russian formalists, particularly Vladimir Propp (Morphology of the Folktale, 1928) and Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of heteroglossia, dialogism, and the chronotope, which were first presented in The Dialogic Imagination (1975).
• Narratology investigates the similarities and differences between narratives.
• Narratology, like structuralism and semiotics from which it sprang, is founded on the concept of a common literary language, or a universal pattern of codes that functions within the text of a work.
• Narratology is the study of narrative and narrative structure, as well as the effects they have on human perception.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 1.

Additional Information

• Ferdinand de Saussure was a linguist, semiotician, and philosopher from Switzerland. His insights established the groundwork for several important advancements in linguistics and semiotics in the twentieth century.
• Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) was a French social anthropologist who pioneered the structural approach to social anthropology. A World on the Verge, Structural Anthropology, The Savage Mind, Anthropologu and Myth, and Look, Listen, Read were among his books.
• Louis Pierre Althusser was a Marxist philosopher who was born in Algeria. Althusser was a long-time member of the French Communist Party, and at times a harsh critic of it.

The correct answer is 'Ranulf Higden'

Key Points

• Ranulf Higden, a 14th-century chronicler and monk, is the author of the 'Polychronicon', an important work of prose during the Age of Chaucer.
• The 'Polychronicon' is a universal history, from the creation of the world until the 1350s, written in Latin.
• It was later translated into Middle English by John of Trevisa, making it accessible to a broader audience.
• While Chaucer, Langland, and Gower are all significant writers of the period, they are more renowned for their poetry.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4

The correct answer is 'The speaker pities him and believes he was also deceived.'

Key Points

• The speaker states that the man was "stumbling up the breathless stair / To burst into fulfillment's desolate attic," suggesting that he was also misled and disappointed by the encounter. 
• The speaker also says that they "would not dare / Console [the man] if [they] could," implying that they feel some sympathy for him.
• The speaker's use of the word "desolate" to describe the man's fulfillment suggests that the speaker believes that the man's actions were ultimately self-destructive.
• The speaker does not express hatred, indifference, or admiration towards the man.

Therefore, the correct answer is ‘Option 3.’

The correct answer is 'A, B, C, D, E'

 Key Point

• New Criticism became prominent in the 1930s and 1940s. It focused on close reading of the text itself, without considering external factors such as authorship or historical context. New Criticism emphasized the text's intrinsic value and its structural and literary devices.
• Structuralism emerged in the mid-20th century, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, drawing heavily from linguistics. It proposed that human culture could be understood by identifying and analyzing its underlying structures. Structuralism looks for the underlying meaning behind cultural phenomena and was influential in the development of other theories.
• Post-Structuralism, developing in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, evolved as a response to Structuralism. It questioned the idea of fixed structures and meanings, suggesting that meaning is always deferred and can never be fully pinned down. This theory argues against the rigid frameworks of Structuralism, proposing that interpretations can vary.
• Deconstruction, a form of criticism developed by Jacques Derrida in the late 20th century (mostly in the 1970s), often associated with Post-Structuralism, further explores the instability of meaning within texts. It deconstructs established structures and ideas, revealing contradictions and conflicts within texts themselves.
• New Historicism rose to prominence in the 1980s. It merges the literary analysis with historical context, proposing that literature and history are dynamically interrelated. New Historicism reconsiders texts within the context of their creation and reception historically.

The correct answer is 'Both Assertion and Reason are true, and Reason is the correct explanation of Assertion.'

 Key Points

• Assertion: Marxism posits that the economic structure, particularly the means of production, determines the political and social arrangements within a society.
• Marxist theorists argue that the relations of production and the mode of production heavily influence the broader social and political framework.
• Reason: The Marxist theory asserts that the ruling class, which controls the means of production, also holds significant sway over the political and social institutions. Economic dominance translates into broader societal power dynamics.
• According to Marxist theory, society is divided into distinct classes, primarily the bourgeoisie (ruling class) and the proletariat (working class).
• Economic dominance by the ruling class leads to the creation of a societal hierarchy, where the interests of the bourgeoisie shape political institutions, laws, and social norms.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1.' 

 Additional Information

• Option 2: Both the Assertion and Reason are true, and the Reason explains the Assertion.
• Option 3: The Assertion is true, and the Reason is also true, providing a valid explanation.
• Option 4: Both the Assertion and Reason are true; the Reason aligns with the principles of Marxist theory.

•  The Subjection of Women is an influential feminist text that was published in 1869.

•  It argues that women should have the same legal and social rights as men, and that women's oppression is a result of cultural and social biases rather than natural differences between the sexes. 

• The other options are all Victorian non-fictional works, but they do not focus on feminism. 

• The Communist Manifesto is a political treatise on socialism and class struggle, The Stones of Venice is a work of architectural criticism, and Culture and Anarchy is a cultural and social commentary on Victorian England.

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

Key Points

• Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" is a key text in gender studies. It challenges traditional notions of gender and argues for a performative understanding of gender identity.
• Thomas Pynchon is associated with "The Crying of Lot 49," a novel known for its complex narrative and themes of paranoia and conspiracy.
• Michel Foucault's "The Order of Things" explores the history of several sciences, including natural history, linguistics, and economics.
• Julia Kristeva's "Powers of Horror" presents her theory of abjection, discussing the human reaction to the threatened breakdown in meaning caused by the loss of the distinction between subject and object or between self and other.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

The correct answer is 'Stream of Consciousness'.

Key Points

• 'Stream of Consciousness' is a literary device used in narratives to show multiple streams of thoughts and feelings of the narrator.
• This mode of narration is characteristic of high-modern literature.
• It was extensively used by Modern Age writers like Virginia Woolf in "Mrs. Dalloway" (1925) and James Joyce in "Ulysses" (1922).

Therefore, Option 3 is the correct answer.

Additional Information

• Dorothy Richardson's 1915 novel "Pointed Roofs" is considered the first English novel to employ the stream-of-consciousness technique throughout its narrative.
• Automatic Writing is the term used to refer to such writing that is produced involuntarily or unconsciously by a person.
• Free Association is a psychological technique that was employed by Sigmund Freud to allow his patients to interact freely. In writing, this term is used for writing without self-censoring one's thoughts and feelings.

The correct answer is "Milton's God".

Key Points

• Milton's God (1961) by William Empson is sometimes referred to as a persistent attack on Christianity and a defence of Milton's attempt to "justify the ways of God to men".
• His radical rationality is aimed at a good assessment of the Christian God.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 1.

Additional Information

• Some Versions of Pastoral by William Empson is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding works of the golden period of English literary criticism.
  • William Empson has dazzling things to say here about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan theatre, the political poetry of Marvell, Milton's Paradise Lost, the complex satire of John Gay's Beggar's Opera, and the convoluted psychology at work in Lewis Carroll's Alice books, ranging with astonishing virtuosity between works of several centuries and moving purposefully between cultures.
  • The book is politically, psychoanalytically, and anthropologically aware, and it addresses a wide spectrum of contemporary issues.
  • The book was published in 1935 in Empson's charismatically unpretentious and marvellously appealing language.
• John Dryden's "Epigram on Milton" is a brief poem that connects Milton to two great epic writers of the past, Homer and Virgil. The first is unrivalled in loftiness of thinking, the second in majesty, and because Nature could not go any farther in any of these traits, she merged the two in Milton.

The correct answer is 'A spy'.

Key Points

• Aphra Behn, before her writing career took off, had served King Charles II as a spy in Antwerp during the Anglo-Dutch War.
• While her spy mission was not particularly successful (and led to a stint in debtors' prison), this part of her life has added an aura of intrigue and adventure to her reputation.
• There's no historical evidence to suggest that Behn was a diplomat, an actress, or a painter.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

The correct answer is School Master and Toxophillus.

Key Points

• Roger Ascham (1515-1568) was one of the most renowned early humanists.
• He was Queen Elizabeth's tutor.
• He is best known for his enlightened book on education, The Schoolmaster.
• In an early work on the love of archery, Toxophilus, Ascham has some wise comments on wit which is similar to the lover characters of Shakespeare.

Therefore the correct answer is Option 1.

Additional Information

• Thomas Elyot was born before 1490 and died in 1546. Some works written by him are:  
  • The Boke named the Governour (1531)
  • Of the Knowledge which maketh a Wise Man (1533).
• The Boke named the Governour is considered to be the first educational treatise in English. 

The correct answer is "a-iii, b-iv, c-i, d-ii".

Key Points

• The play The Elder Statesman is a verse play by Eliot. The play was written by him in 1958. 
• The Doctor's Dilemma was written by G.B Shaw, looking into the question of medical ethics. 
• A Doll's House is a famous play written by Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen. The play deal with the life of a married woman Nora Helmer.
• A Woman of No Importance is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde. The play is a satire on upper English society. 

Therefore, Option 3 is the correct answer. 

Additional Information

• Though the play A Doll's House projects a feminist theme, the writer Ibsen had no intention of writing a feminist play. 
• A Woman of No Importance is one of the least famous plays by Wilde.
• The play The Elder Statesman deals with Lord Claverton, who is a retired banker and a cabinet minister. He confronts his past in the play. 

A Vision: An Explanation of Life Founded upon the Writings of Giraldus and upon Certain Doctrines Attributed to Kusta Ben Luka, privately published in 1925, was a book-length study of various philosophical, historical, astrological, and poetic topics by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. Yeats wrote this work while experimenting with automatic writing with his wife Georgie Hyde-Lees. It serves as a meditation on the relationships between imagination, history, and the occult. 

William Blake is one of the distinguished Romantic poets who was born in 1757 in  England. Some of his famous works include ‘Natural Religion’, ‘Songs of Innocence’, ‘Songs of Experience’, ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’,etc. The quote mentioned in the question is from William Blake, which is made in reference to art and implies that making a general observation about a piece of art is a quality of an unreasonable person. One should rather look at the particular characteristics. It was made in response to Reynolds’ praise of "general beauty" and the pursuit of "general truth", while saying that "we perceive by sense, we combine by fancy, and distinguish by reason ... the beauty of which we are in quest is general and intellectual".

Nadine Gordimer (20 November 1923 – 13 July 2014) was a South African writer, political .... In a 1979–80 interview Gordimer identified herself as an atheist, but added: "I ... The House Gun (1998) was Gordimer's second post-apartheid novel.

Robert Browning accuses William Wordsworth in his poem "The Lost Reader".

Fourth edition (1779), title page for Vol II. Author, Fanny Burney. Illustrator, John Mortimer. Country, United Kingdom. Language, English. Genre, Novel. Publisher, Thomas Lowndes. Publication date. 1778. Pages, 455. Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World is a novel written by English .

The correct answer is 'The poem represents a complex interplay between the poet's internal emotional turmoil and the external socio-political climate of the time'.

Key Points

• "Dejection: An Ode" can be seen as embodying more than just a personal expression of sadness; it subtly reflects the anxieties and challenges of the broader socio-political climate during Coleridge's time, including reactions to the French Revolution and its aftermath, economic hardship, and the industrial revolution's early stages.
• The ode's exploration of dejection is intertwined with a sensitive awareness of the natural world, suggesting an environmental consciousness that transcends personal grief and points to a deeper disquiet about humanity's disconnect from nature amidst rapid societal changes.
• Coleridge's articulation of despair and alienation resonates with the disillusionment felt by many during a period of significant upheaval, serving as a poignant critique of his era's optimism about progress and the Enlightenment beliefs in reason and individualism.
• The poem’s structure and use of language act as vehicles for critiquing the era’s intellectual and philosophical ethos, subtly questioning the viability of Romantic idealism as a means to comprehend and navigate the complexities of human experience within a changing world.

Therefore, the correct answer is ‘Option 3.’

Additional Information

• Celebrating the natural world's beauty (Option 1) is a theme in Coleridge's work but doesn't capture the depth of "Dejection: An Ode."
• A straightforward lament about unrequited love (Option 2) overlooks the poem's broader existential and socio-political reflections.
• Abstract exploration of poetic form (Option 4) undervalues the poem's engagement with personal and historical content.

The correct answer is "The Spanish Tragedy"

Key Points

• "The Spanish Tragedy" is a play attributed to Thomas Kyd, not Robert Greene.
• Robert Greene (1558-1592) was an English author and playwright known for his prose works and contributions to Elizabethan literature.
• Greene's notable works include "Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay" and "Alphonsus, King of Aragon."
• "The Spanish Tragedy" is a revenge tragedy written by Thomas Kyd, a contemporary of Greene.
• Greene's plays often explore themes of love, morality, and the complexities of human relationships.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 2.'

Additional Information

• Option 1: "Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay" is a play by Robert Greene.
• Option 3: "The Honorable Historie of Frier Bacon and Frier Bungay" is an alternate title for the play by Robert Greene.
• Option 4: "Alphonsus, King of Aragon" is a play attributed to Robert Greene.

The correct answer is 'Bhasa'.

Key Points

• "Swapnavasavadattam" is an early Sanskrit drama attributed to Bhasa. It tells the story of king Udayana and his queen Vasavadatta.
• Kalidasa, another significant figure in ancient Indian literature, is known for his works like "Abhijnanasakuntalam" and "Meghadutam" but didn't write "Swapnavasavadattam".
• Shudraka is credited with the play "Mricchakatika", and Vishakhadatta is known for "Mudrarakshasa", neither of them wrote "Swapnavasavadattam".

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

The correct answer is 'Resignation.'

Key Points

• The predominant mood in "An Old Woman" is one of resignation.
• The poem depicts the old woman's acceptance of her marginalized and neglected existence.
• Through vivid imagery, Kolatkar captures the resigned attitude of the old woman towards her surroundings.
• The repetition of the phrase "washes her hands" reinforces a sense of routine and acceptance of her fate.
• The poem conveys a sense of quiet acceptance rather than active resistance.
• The overall tone reflects the resigned acknowledgment of the harsh realities faced by the old woman.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1.'

Additional Information

• Hope: The poem doesn't convey a hopeful tone; instead, it emphasizes resignation.
• Despair: While there is a sense of hardship, the dominant mood is resignation rather than despair.
• Apathy: The old woman's attitude is more characterized by resignation than apathy.

The correct answer is "Postcolonialism".

Key Points

• Markandaya's novel delves into the consequences of British colonial rule in India, aligning it with the Postcolonial literary movement.
• It explores the cultural clashes between traditional rural life and the industrialization brought about by colonial influence.
• Postcolonial literature often addresses themes of cultural identity, power dynamics, and the effects of colonization.
• Although "Nectar in a Sieve" was written after India gained independence, it still reflects postcolonial themes as it examines the residual impacts of colonialism.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

The correct answer is 'United States'.

Key Points

• The critical theory known as "New Criticism" emerged primarily in the United States during the early to mid-20th century.
• New Criticism focused on close reading of the text, emphasizing the inherent meaning and value within the literary work itself, rather than considering external factors like the author's intentions or historical context.
• Leading figures associated with New Criticism include Cleanth Brooks, John Crowe Ransom, Robert Penn Warren, and Allen Tate, who were part of the literary and academic circles in the United States.
• New Criticism had a significant impact on the study of literature in American universities and contributed to the development of formalist literary criticism.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

The correct answer is "(a -iii), (b- iv), (c - i), (d - ii)".

Key Points

• Ars Poetica is a work of literary criticism by Horace. It is written in the form of a poem and explains the 'art of poetry', its form and styles.
• Of Dramatic Poesy (1688) is a critical essay by John Dryden that attempts to justify drama as a 'legitimate' form of poetry.
• Timber; or Discoveries is a work by Ben Jonson, published posthumously in 1641. The work deals with a wide range of themes like nature, wisdom and observations on dramatic theory.
• A Defense of Rhyme (1641) is a prose by Samuel Daniel.
• The work defends English verse form for not following the classical standard. The work is written in response to Thomas Campion's 'Observations in the Art of English Poesie' (1602).

Therefore, the correct answer is "option 2".

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 Graveyard school of Poetry was pioneered by Edward Young and Robert Blair, referring to the tendency of some 18th-century writers to harp on death and grave.
• The Satanic School was a name applied by Robert Southey to a class of writers headed by Byron and Shelley, because, according to him, their productions were "characterized by a Satanic spirit of pride and audacious impiety".
• The Fleshly School is the name given by Robert Buchanan to a realistic, sensual school of poets, to which Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, and Algernon Charles Swinburne belong. He accused them of immorality in an article entitled "The Fleshly School of Poetry" in The Contemporary Review in October 1871.
• The "Cockney School" refers to a group of poets and essayists writing in England in the second and third decades of the 19th century

1. Naga-Mandala is a famous play by Indian Playwright Girish Karnad in 1988.
2. The play is based on the folktale of same name.
3. The story of Naga-Mandala is narrated by a special character ‘Story’.
4. The narrator-story is born of a woman’s mind which is strongly agitated due to her suspicion that her husband is carrying affairs with some other woman.
5. Rani and Appanna are married couple, a mis-matched man and woman in a typical Indian society and the snake which changes its form into human being to meet its beloved.
6. The story is open-ended and combines conventional and subversive modes.