A TO Z Literary Principles from History of English Literature: Note 20

 A Set of 26 Objective Questions and Answers

A. In which year The Faerie Queene was published? What metrical innovation the author used here?

The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser was published in 1590 Books I-III, Books IV-VI in 1596. Here Spenser invented a unique nine-line stanza, now known as the Spenserian stanza, for use in the poem.

B. What is the core subject of Milton’s Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained?

 Milton’s masterpiece Paradise Lost dramatizes the Biblical account of humanity’s banishment from Paradise and in Paradise Regained Jesus triumphantly resists Satan and regains the Paradise lost by Adam and Eve.

C. What are the basic features of metaphysical poetry? Give example.

It a kind of  the early 17th century poetry with an unsentimental, subtly intellectual style which often addressed complex topics, avoided regular meter, and infused their works with unconventional imagery is known as metaphysical poetry.

John Donne is the master of this school. His Holy Sonnets is a great example of this genre.

D. Who was the first English playwright to compose in blank verse?

Christopher Marlowe, considered the greatest English dramatist before William Shakespeare, was the first English playwright to compose in blank verse.

E. Who jointly published The Roaring Girle in 1610?

Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker jointly published The Roaring Girle in 1610.

F. Why did the lovers in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet couldn’t get united?

In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet a long-standing feud between the Capulets and Montagues keeps the young lovers, Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague, apart.

G. What is the subject of soliloquy “To Be or Not to Be” in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet?

In soliloquy “To Be or Not to Be” in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet reveals that his self-doubt and inability to avenge his father’s death have led him to the brink of suicide.

H. Why did Sidney object to Spenser’s poetry?

The antique language of the pastorals, which was adopted by Spenser of set purpose, was condemned by his patron Sidney.

I. Which of Shakespeare’s friends criticized William Shakespeare for his errors in drama?

Ben Jonson criticized his friend William Shakespeare, for errors and carelessness.

J. Whom did Dryden satirize in Mac Flecknoe?

In Mac Flecknoe John Dryden satirized Thomas Shadwell, a rival poet who sought to equal Dryden’s preeminent stature.

K. Mention a satire on mankind written by Swift?

Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels was originally intended as a satire on humankind. It is also considered a children’s story.

L. In which poem the following line includes: “To err is human, to forgive divine.”?

Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Criticism includes the famous line, “To err is human, to forgive divine.”

M. on whose real life story relates in The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe?

The story of Crusoe in Daniel Defoe’s The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe was based on the actual adventures of a marooned sailor, Alexander Selkirk.

N. Who was nicknamed as the Great Cham of Literature?

Samuel Johnson was nicknamed both Dictionary Johnson and the Great Cham (Khan) of Literature for his worthy contribution of literature.

O. How is Vaughan’s Retreat is related to William Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood”?

In “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood”, Wordsworth considers the Platonic notion that humans forget all their knowledge at birth and spend the remainder of their lives recollecting. Vaughan’s Retreat also celebrates the childhood, which is a second race in life only to sojourn in earthly life for few days and  who can enjoy an ecstatic communion with nature. Wordsworth carried forward the same idea here.

P. Which of the romantic poet took part in actual war?

Lord Byron, The most colorful of the English romantic poets, took part in actual war as commander in chief of the Greek forces during the struggle against the Ottoman Empire for independence.

Q.  Explain the lines:

 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,'—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

These final lines of John Keats’, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” define beauty akin to truth. The eternal beauty, which is in the form of art (urn), is more significant for humanity than fleeting concern of our belongings.

R. Which of the romantic poets is stylistic in with dreamlike imagery and deep symbolism?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge crafted lyric verse with dreamlike imagery and deep symbolism. His Kubla Khan and The Ancient Mariner are two exquisite examples of the genre.

S. Why did Some Critics object to Shelley as being a difficult poet?

 It is true that Some Critics object to Shelley as being a difficult poet. For this several reasons might be given. Firstly, to follow his meaning with ease and security requires a nimble and poetic intelligence, which comparatively few readers are possessed of. Secondly, the cloudy metaphysics, clothed in magnificent words, and so remote it seems from all earthly interests.

T. Which of the romantic poets protested the social and political wrongs of his time more prominently?

In their personal lives as well as in their work, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, who for some most typify the romantic poet, wrote resoundingly in protest against social and political wrongs and in defense of the struggles for liberty in Italy and Greece.

U. which of the English royal reigned for longer period?

Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years, the longest reign in the history of England. Those years, from 1837 to 1901, became known as the Victorian era and were marked by a deeply conservative morality and the rise of the middle class.

V. “The only difference between the Browningite and the anti- Browningite, is that the second says he was not a poet but a mere philosopher, and the first says he was a philosopher and not a lucre poet.”- Who is the Speaker of this famous quote?

Reference to this book is “ENGLISH MEN OF LETTES ROBERT BROWNING” by G. K. CHESTERTON

W. What is the meaning of the word ‘novel’?

The word novel derives from the Italian novella and the French nouvelle, means a short story. In broad defining it is a piece of prose, in which certain characters, true to life, pass through certain well-defined experiences so interwoven as to form a plot.

Exam: Anthony Hope's Prisoner of Zenda is a of romantic type; Thackeray's Vanity Fair is a fine piece of realism.

X. Which famous novel of Charles Dickens begins with this line—”It was the best of times; it was the worst of times”?

Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities takes place during the French Revolution. The book’s opening lines set a tone of ambiguity and theme of duality.

Y. Who are these popular characters- Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley?

In Thackeray's Vanity Fair we find these two women characters. Becky Sharp is amusing shrewd while and Amelia Sedley sharply contrasting is a colorless type of girl, negatively good.

Z. Who are in pride and prejudice in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice?

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth, a spirited girl, is “prejudiced” against the wealthy landowner Fitzwilliam Darcy, scorning his lofty attitudes and “pride.” 

Ardhendu De

 

Ref: Wikipedia, Microsoft Student Encarta, Literary Timelines, History of English Literature- Albert