MH SET Paper 2 Mock Test - 3 (English) - MAHA TET MCQ

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 'The lighthouse.'

Key Points

• The lighthouse in Virginia Woolf's novel "To the Lighthouse" serves as a powerful symbol that intertwines themes of division and aspiration, reflecting the novel's exploration of human relationships and the pursuit of meaning.
• Situated away from the Ramsay's holiday home, the lighthouse stands as a physical and metaphorical marker of distance. It symbolizes the emotional and psychological distances between the characters, as well as the gaps between their aspirations and reality.
• The journey to the lighthouse becomes a significant narrative focus, encapsulating the desires, memories, and challenges faced by the characters. The quest to reach it underscores a collective yearning for connection, understanding, and fulfillment.
• The lighthouse is also a beacon of constancy amidst change, reflecting Woolf's themes of time, transience, and the persistent attempt to attain moments of clarity and insight in a continuously shifting world.
• For Mrs. Ramsay, the lighthouse is a symbol of hope and guidance, representing her role in the family as a connective force; while for Mr. Ramsay, it embodies intellectual pursuit and existential reflection.
• Woolf's use of the lighthouse as a central motif showcases her skill in interweaving symbolism with narrative structure, illuminating the nuanced layers of human emotion and the quest for personal and artistic truth.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 3'.

Additional Information

• Option 1: Incorrect because while the painting by Lily Briscoe is significant, it represents artistic perception and legacy rather than being the central symbolic element of division and aspiration.
• Option 2: Incorrect as the garden holds symbolic value related to natural beauty and order, but it does not serve as the main symbol of division and aspiration.
• Option 4: Incorrect because the library is not highlighted as a central symbol within the novel.

The Lives of the English Poets, Dr. Johnson's last major work, was begun in 1778, when  he was nearly 70 years old and completed in ten volumes in 1781. It comprises short biographies and critical appraisals of 52 poets. Most of whom lived during the eighteenth century. It is arranged approximately, by date of death. While Wordsworth's Lifetime (1770- 1850) does not focus in Dr. Johnson's critical era.

The correct answer is 'The rejuvenating and transformative power of the West Wind.'

 Key Points

• The central theme of the ode is the transformative and rejuvenating power of the West Wind.
• Shelley portrays the West Wind as a force that brings both destruction and renewal, symbolizing the cyclical nature of life.
• The poet reflects on the wind's ability to scatter seeds (symbolizing ideas) and initiate new growth.
• The West Wind is presented as a catalyst for change, influencing the natural world and inspiring the poet to seek its transformative energy.
• The poem explores the idea of the West Wind as a symbol of creative and regenerative power, linking it to the poet's desire for renewal and inspiration.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 3.'

 Additional Information

• Option 1: While seasons are mentioned, the primary focus is on the transformative power rather than the beauty of changing seasons.
• Option 2: While the poem acknowledges the destructive aspect, it emphasizes the overall regenerative and transformative influence of the West Wind.
• Option 4: The poet is not yearning for tranquility but rather for the dynamic and inspiring energy of the West Wind.

‘Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial’, or a ‘Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns’ is a work by Sir Thomas Browne. It was published in 1658 as the first part of a two-part work that concludes with The Garden of Cyrus. The work is a study on some forty or fifty Roman funeral urns that had been discovered near Norfolk.

Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore, published in 1869. 

The correct answer is 'Powers of Horror.'

Key Points

• "Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection" (1982) is Julia Kristeva's seminal work wherein she delves into the concept of abjection, explaining it as a profound psychological reaction to what is fundamentally excluded or cast off by the self and society.
• Kristeva uses psychoanalysis to explore how abjection confronts individuals with the breakdown between subject and object, confronting them with the fragile nature of their identities and social constructs.
• The abject includes bodily fluids, decay, and corpses, but also the maternal body in certain contexts, symbolizing the threat to identity that comes from the place where the self is not yet differentiated from the other.
• Through her analysis, Kristeva shows how the experience of abjection is at the root of religion, morality, and art, arguing it is a necessary step towards autonomy and away from the pre-symbolic emotional tie to the mother.
• The work extends beyond literary and psychoanalytic theory, offering insights into cultural practices, ethics, and the construction of the self and other within societal structures.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 2'.

Additional Information

• Option 1, "Revolution in Poetic Language," focuses more on the interaction between the semiotic and the symbolic in language and literature, not on abjection.
• Option 3, "Tales of Love," discusses the complexities of love through psychoanalytic and literary lenses, separate from her work on abjection.
• Option 4, "Desire in Language," is a collection of essays that examine language, literature, and psychoanalysis, including intertextuality and semiotic, but does not focus on abjection specifically.

A word newly coined or used in a new sense

The correct answer is 'Multidimensional Perspective.'

 Key Points

• "Parallax" in "Ulysses" refers to the use of multiple perspectives to narrate the same events.
• Joyce employs different narrative styles and voices, creating a multidimensional portrayal of characters and events.
• The technique allows readers to view the story from various angles, enhancing complexity.
• Each chapter showcases a distinct literary style, offering diverse insights into the characters' thoughts and experiences.
• Joyce's use of "parallax" aligns with his intention to capture the full spectrum of human consciousness.

 Additional Information

• Symbol of Temporal Dislocation (Option 1) is related but doesn't fully encapsulate the complexity introduced by "parallax."
• Representation of Mythological Realms (Option 2) is not the primary focus; Joyce is more concerned with human experience.
• Metaphor for Linguistic Ambiguity (Option 3) is not the central theme; "parallax" relates more to narrative perspectives.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 4.

The correct answer is 'To fulfill the duty of comforting family and returning to the fatherland .'

Key Points

• The advice emphasizes the importance of fulfilling one's duty to family by providing comfort and taking them back to the fatherland after seven years. 
• It discourages allowing sorrow to weigh one down to the point of death, as it could lead to the suffering and death of family members in exile.
• Therefore, the correct option is ‘Option 4.’

Additional Information 

• Option 1 is incorrect. The advice is not primarily about avoiding displeasing the living but fulfilling familial duties.
• Option 2 is incorrect. The advice doesn't prioritize personal happiness over duty but emphasizes fulfilling responsibilities.
• Option 3 is incorrect. The advice discourages enduring sorrow and emphasizes the potential negative consequences for the family

The correct answer is 'Both the individual and the family will suffer.'

Key Points

• The quote implies that if an individual allows sorrow to weigh them down to the point of death, the family will suffer in exile. 
• The dead being displeased is mentioned as a caution against neglecting one's duty and succumbing to sorrow.

Therefore, the correct option is ‘Option 4.’

Additional Information 

• Option 1 is incorrect. The quote suggests that allowing sorrow to weigh one down has consequences beyond individual suffering. 
• Option 2 is incorrect. The family's suffering is connected to the individual's response to sorrow, not solely being in exile.
• Option 3 is incorrect. The dead being displeased is presented as a cautionary element, not a direct consequence.

The correct answer is 'The importance of fulfilling familial duties.'

Key Points

• The quote emphasizes the duty of comforting family and returning them to the fatherland, highlighting the importance of fulfilling familial responsibilities. 
• While death is mentioned, the central theme is the obligation to family and the potential negative consequences if this duty is neglected.

Therefore, the correct option is ‘Option 2.’

Additional Information 

• Option 1 is incorrect. While death is mentioned, the primary focus is on fulfilling duties to family, not the inevitability of death.
• Option 3 is incorrect. Exile is mentioned, but the central theme is the duty to family rather than the consequences of exile.
• Option 4 is incorrect. Personal happiness is not the central theme; the emphasis is on familial duties.

The correct answer is "Astrophil and Stella"

Key Points

• "Astrophil and Stella" is a sonnet sequence written by Sir Philip Sidney.
• The work explores themes of love and chivalry, featuring the characters Astrophel (representing Sidney himself) and Stella.
• The sonnets narrate Astrophel's unrequited love for Stella and delve into the complexities of romantic relationships.
• Sidney's "Astrophil and Stella" is a significant example of Elizabethan sonnet literature.
• The work reflects the Renaissance fascination with love poetry and the interplay of emotions within the conventions of courtly love.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 3.'

Additional Information

• Option 1: "The Defence of Poesie" is a prose work by Sidney defending poetry as a form of literature.
• Option 2: "Arcadia" is Sidney's pastoral romance but is not primarily centered on the characters Astrophel and Stella.
• Option 4: "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia" is an alternate title for Sidney's pastoral romance "Arcadia."

The correct answer is "To Penshurst".

Key Points

• Every Man in His Humour is a 1598 play by the English playwright Ben Jonson.
  • The play belongs to the subgenre of the "humours comedy," in which each major character is dominated by an over-riding humour or obsession.
• Volpone is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable.
• The Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson.
  • First performed in 1610 by the King's Men
• "To Penshurst" is a country house poem by Ben Jonson.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 1.

Additional Information

• A country house poem is a poem in which the author compliments a wealthy patron or a friend through a description of his country house.
• Such poems were popular in early 17th-century England.

Funny Boy is a novel written in English Language by a Sri Lankan origin, Canadian author Shyam Selvadurai. The novel is categorized under Coming-of-age novel or Bildungsroman.

It was the debut novel of the author, got published in 1994 and most possibly draws on Selvadurai’s own experience of being gay in Sri Lanka. Being Set in Selvadurai’s home country SriLanka, the novel constructed in six parts and tells the story of Arjie Chelvaratnam, the protagonist.

It covers the life story of the protagonist from the innocence of childhood into the more complex world of adults.

Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist, poet, and writer. He was a central figure of the Romantic movement and Criticism in England. The lines are from an essay by Hunt “An Answer to the Question: What is Poetry? “In the essay, Hunt talks over Romanticism and the purpose of Poetry.

What is poetry? is a didactic work for the reader to follow and benefitted. This essay is, a valuable contribution to early 19th century literary criticism and inspired Shelley, Coleridge and Wordsworth to write their well-known treatises.

The correct answer is ‘A, B, C, D, E.’

 Key Points

• Romanticism (A) emerged in the late 18th century and early 19th century.
• Realism (B) emerged in the mid-19th century.
• Modernism (C) emerged in the early 20th century.
• Postmodernism (D) emerged in the mid-20th century.
• New Formalism (E) emerged in the late 20th century.
• Literary movements are broad cultural and intellectual trends that influence the style and content of literary works.
• Literary movements often overlap and interact with each other.
• Literary movements reflect the changing values and beliefs of society.

The correct answer is 'The limitations of marriage for women.'

Key Points

• "Middlemarch," by George Eliot, uses the character of Dorothea Brooke to deeply explore the theme of the limitations of marriage for women during the 19th century, particularly in the context of personal growth, autonomy, and fulfillment.
• Dorothea is portrayed as an intelligent, idealistic young woman with a strong desire to engage in meaningful work and contribute to society. However, her aspirations are constrained by the societal expectations placed upon women and the institution of marriage.
• Her initial marriage to Mr. Casaubon, an elderly and pedantic scholar, symbolizes the suppression of a woman's intellect and ambitions due to the restrictive confines of marriage. Dorothea's disillusionment in this marriage highlights the mismatch between her aspirations and the reality of her role as a wife.
• Through Dorothea's journey, Eliot critiques the societal norms that limit women's opportunities for intellectual and emotional growth, urging readers to reflect on the potential contributions women could make if not shackled by restrictive marriages.
• Dorothea's character arc, including her eventual remarrying to Will Ladislaw, serves not only as a personal quest for fulfillment but also as a broader commentary on the necessity for societal change to allow women to live fulfilling, autonomous lives.
• Eliot's nuanced portrayal of Dorothea Brooke elevates "Middlemarch" beyond a simple narrative, using her struggle and development to examine larger questions about gender roles, the institution of marriage, and the quest for personal identity.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 3'.

Additional Information

• Option 1: Incorrect because while social class plays a significant role in "Middlemarch," it is not the primary theme explored through Dorothea Brooke.
• Option 2: Incorrect as the pursuit of knowledge is a theme in the novel, but it more closely relates to other characters, such as Mr. Casaubon, than to Dorothea's primary narrative arc.
• Option 4: Incorrect because the impact of industrialization is a backdrop to "Middlemarch," offering context to the societal changes occurring, but it is not the main theme explored through Dorothea's character.

The correct answer is 1, 2, 3, 4

Key Points

• "Waiting for Godot" was first performed in 1953. It's one of Beckett's most well-known plays and a cornerstone of the Theatre of the Absurd.
• "Endgame" was first performed in 1957. The play depicts the slow demise of Hamm, a blind man unable to stand, and his servant, Clov, who can't sit.
• "Krapp's Last Tape" was first performed in 1958. The one-act play, in English, was written for Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee and is a monologue set in Krapp's den.
• "Happy Days" was first performed in 1961. The two-character play follows Winnie, a woman buried up to her waist who performs mundane routines and remains optimistic.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

The correct answer is '2. Metaphor.'

 Key Points

• The poem extensively uses metaphors to convey complex emotions and experiences.
• The "old playhouse" serves as a metaphor for the speaker's marital life.
• Describing herself as a "doll-wife" employs metaphorical language to depict her sense of objectification.
• The metaphor of the "old playhouse" extends to represent societal expectations and traditional gender roles.
• The use of metaphors adds layers of meaning, allowing for a nuanced exploration of the speaker's feelings.
• Kamala Das skillfully employs metaphor to create a vivid and evocative portrayal of the speaker's internal struggles.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 2.'

 Additional Information

• Symbolism (Option 1) is present, but the overarching literary device is metaphor.
• Enjambment (Option 3) is a structural element and not the primary literary device used for conveying emotions.
• Anaphora (Option 4) involves repetition, which is not the dominant feature; metaphor takes precedence.

Amoretti is a sonnet cycle written by Edmund Spenser in the 16th century. The cycle describes his courtship and eventual marriage to Elizabeth Boyle.

Amoretti was first published in 1595 in London by William Ponsonby. It was printed as part of a volume entitled Amoretti and Epithalamion. Written not long since by Edmunde Spenser. The volume included the sequence of 89 sonnets, along with a series of short poems called Anacreontics and Epithalamion, a public poetic celebration of marriage. Only six complete copies remain today, including one at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. and one at Oxford's Bodleian Library. "The volume memorializes Spenser's courtship of Elizabeth Boyle, a young, well-born Anglo-Irish woman, and the couple's wedding on June 11, 1594". In the sonnets of Amoretti Spenser succeeds in "immortalizing the name of his bride to be ... by devices of wordplay".

The correct answer is 'The inevitability of death'.

Key Points

• John Donne’s poetry frequently explores the theme of death, reflecting on its inevitability and the spiritual and emotional responses it evokes.
• His "Holy Sonnets," including the famous "Death, be not proud," directly address death, personifying it and arguing against its perceived permanence and power.
• Donne challenges the finality of death by asserting the Christian belief in eternal life, suggesting that death is just a passage rather than an end.
• His work often intertwines the physical and spiritual, examining how death impacts both the soul and the body.
• Donne's exploration of death is also linked to his reflections on love, with the two themes often interwoven to highlight the intensity and profundity of human connections.
• His metaphysical conceits—a characteristic of his work—serve to illustrate complex ideas about death (and life) in innovative and thought-provoking ways.

Therefore, the correct answer is ‘Option 1.’

Additional Information

• The simplicity of rural life, the dynamics of political power, and the exploration of outer space are not themes commonly associated with John Donne’s poetic output.

The correct answer is "The Road".

Key Points

• American author Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel "The Road" was published in 2006.
• In the book, a father and his young son travel arduously for several months across a terrain that has been ravaged by an unknown catastrophe that has wiped out industrial society and practically all life.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 4.

Additional Information

• Thomas Pynchon's first book, "V", was released in 1963. It tells the story of a former member of the U.S. Navy named Benny Profane, his reunion in New York with the Whole Sick Crew, a gang of fictitious artists and hangers-on, and an elderly traveller named Herbert Stencil's mission to find the enigmatic being he only knows as "V." 
• American author Thomas Pynchon published "The Crying of Lot 49" in 1966. The story centers on Oedipa Maas, a young Californian who adopts a conspiracy belief when she possibly discovers a centuries-old conflict between two mail delivery services. Thurn and Taxis, one of these services, truly existed (1806–1867) and was the first private company to deliver mail.
• American novelist Thomas Pynchon's book "Inherent Vice" was first released in August 2009. A darkly humorous detective story that takes place in 1970s California follows investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello after his ex-girlfriend requests that he look into a conspiracy involving a well-known land developer.

Death in Venice is a novella written by the German author Thomas Mann and was first published in 1912 as Der Tod in Venedig. The work presents a great writer suffering writer's block who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed, by the sight of a stunningly beautiful youth. Though he never speaks to the boy, much less touches him, the writer finds himself drawn deep into ruinous inward passion; meanwhile, Venice, and finally, the writer himself, succumb to a cholera plague.
In Mann's Death in Venice, death of the protagonist occurs in a beach.

New Criticism, the culmination of liberal humanist ideals, had stressed that only that which is within a text is part of the meaning of the text; that the text is “autotelic” entity (complete within itself). Hence, it neglected authorial biography, social conditions during the composition of a work of art and the reader’s psychology.

Hence, the correct answer is D.

The correct answer is  Augustan. Key Points

• In the first half of the 18th century, English poets such as Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift emulated Virgil, Ovid, and Horace—the great Latin poets of the reign of the Emperor Augustus (27 BCE to 14 CE).
• Like the classical poets who inspired them, the English Augustan writers engaged the political and philosophical ideas of their day through urbane, often satirical verse.
• The reign of Augustus has often been called the Golden Age of Rome.
• This was the age of many great cultural achievements—including the writing of Roman poetry by the master poets Virgil and Ovid.
• Virgil, known for the Aeneid, and Horace, a prolific writer of smaller poems, were two of the most famous poets of the early Roman Empire in the first century B.C. Primarily known for his love of poetry.
• Ovid was the most successful poet of the following generation.

Therefore, Option 1 is the correct answer.

 Additional Information

• Neo-Romanticism was an art movement that flourished in Great Britain during the first half of the twentieth century. Highlighting natural landscapes as canvases for emotion, the Neo-Romantics bridged numerous art history traditions, including Surrealism and Cubism
• The Romantic Period began roughly around 1798 and lasted until 1837.
• The political and economic atmosphere at the time heavily influenced this period, with many writers finding inspiration from the French Revolution. There was a lot of social change during this period
• Metaphysical poets (act. c. 1600–c. 1690), is a label often attached to a loosely connected group of seventeenth-century poets, among whom the central figures are John Donne, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Andrew Marvell, and Richard Crashaw.
• Metaphysical poetry is a group of poems that share common characteristics: they are all highly intellectualized, use rather strange imagery, use frequent paradox and contain extremely complicated thought.

The correct answer is 'Exploiting her connections and manipulating influential people.'

Key Points

• Becky Sharp is portrayed as a cunning and ambitious woman who uses her intelligence, charm, and social skills to manipulate those around her for social and financial gain.
• From the beginning of the novel, Becky is shown to use her alliances strategically, as seen with her friendship with Amelia Sedley and how she attempts to secure a wealthy husband.
• Becky's manipulation extends to various influential figures throughout the novel, showcasing her adaptability and ruthlessness in achieving her goals.
• Her marriage to Rawdon Crawley is also a part of her strategic maneuvers in society, though it comes with its complications and costs.
• Thackeray's character is a satirical attack on social climbing and moral ambiguity in the context of the British class system of the 19th century; Becky's actions embody the vanity and folly of such pursuits.
• Through Becky Sharp, Thackeray explores themes of social mobility, deceit, and the pursuit of wealth and status at the expense of genuine human connection and moral integrity.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 2'.

Additional Information

• Option 1 is often seen as a virtue in literary characters but does not apply to Becky's methods.
• Options 3 and 4 may be plot devices or strategies used in other narratives but do not represent Becky Sharp's primary strategy in "Vanity Fair."

• John Dryden wrote a poetic, satirical, allegory titled Absalom and Achitophel, published in 1681. The work has around 1000 poems and covers the story of the rebellion of Absalom against King David, but that story is used as a veil for the political struggle in the form of the Popish Plot, the Exclusion Crisis, and the Rebellion of Monmouth. in England.

• Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666, a historical poem by Dryden, narrates the events of the Great Fire of London, from its beginning to its final extinguishment. Although, the subject matter is tragic, the poet remains optimistic as he imagines a new city of London rising after the fire, from the ashes ‘with silver paved, and all divine with gold’ which is to last until the ‘death of time’

• John Dryden’s The Hind and the Panther is an allegory regarding religion and perhaps the most controversial, was written and published in 1687. In 1685, Dryden left the Church of England and converted to Catholicism. The Hind and the Panther is a poetic result of Dryden’s conversion, and presents reasons in favor of his conversion.

• Religio Laici, Or A Layman’s Faith is a poem by John Dryden, published in 1682 as a premise to his following Religion based work, The Hind and the Panther. It was essentially a literary defense of the Protestant Anglican Church and argues for the credibility of the Christian religion against, arguments made by Deists.

The correct answer is 'Peace and solitude in nature'.

Key Points

• The poem heavily speaks of the poet's desire to escape from the tumult of urban life and find peace in the quiet and calm of nature. This is evident from lines like "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree" and "And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow".
• Innisfree, a small island in Ireland, is presented as the ideal place of refuge for the poet where he dreams of building a small cabin and living alone amidst nature's beauty.
• There are numerous references to the serenity and tranquillity of nature in the poem, like the "bee-loud glade," "midnight's all a glimmer," and "noon a purple glow," reinforcing the theme of peace and solitude.
• There is a stark contrast between the hustle-bustle of city life, depicted by the "grey pavements" and the soothing, rhythmic lapping of lake water, which seems to represent peace and solitude.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4.

William Tyndale translated the Bible in the year 1525 for poor and uneducated people so that they can be able to understand it in their own language. Hence he was called “the father of the English Bible”. He took inspiration from Martin Luther, who had done the German translation of the New Testament.

In year 1611, King James authorizes the production of a new translation of the Bible. The King James Version soon replaces all other version and become the most acceptable translation of Bible among English scholars.

The Revised Standard Version is an English-language translation of the Bible published in several stages from 1946 to 2006. It is an approved revision of the American Standard Version which itself was a revision of the King James Version, published in 1611.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible is a trustworthy and clear translation of English Bible done by more than 100 scholars and published by Holman Bible Publishers. The first full version was published in March 2004, however the New Testament alone having been formerly published in the year 1999.