Introduction to Literary Theory Mcqs - Set 2

1)   What did Sigmund Freud believe about the unconscious ?

a. It contains secret instincts and desires that are repressed.
b. It has little impact on human behavior.
c. It is the only significant aspect of the human psyche.
d. It can never be accessed.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: It contains secret instincts and desires that are repressed.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


2)   Which is a common postcolonial critique of the West ?

a. TheWest spends too much time trying to consider an Asian perspective.
b. The West tends to look at Asian countries as individual units rather than lump them together.
c. The West views matters through its own limited historical position.
d. The West refuses to apply economic and political coercion to Asian writers.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: The West views matters through its own limited historical position.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


3)   What does Elaine Showalter argue about gender in terms of representations of the character of Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet ?

a. It is nearly impossible to represent women as anything other than mad in patriarchal discourses.
b. Feminist critics need to re-appropriate Ophelia for their own purposes.
c. Women’s tragedies tend to be subordinated to those of men.
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


4)   Which of the following human behaviors is important to a Freudian psychoanalytic study of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet ?

a. Changes in emotional states
b. Obsessions
c. Slips of the tongue
d. All of the above.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


5)   How does Wolfgang Iser envision the reader ?

a. The reader fills in the gaps imposed by an author’s intention.
b. The reader is sublimated beneath the author.
c. The reader is less important than the author’s context.
d. The reader is totally subject to the author’s intention.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: The reader fills in the gaps imposed by an author’s intention.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


6)   What is the philosophical theory known as pragmatism ?

a. A theory of practical actions developed by William James
b. An idea used to guide conduct towards clear objectives
c. A concept derived from the ancient Greek word pragma, meaning action
d. All of the above.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


7)   What is humanism ?

a. A humanity-centered view of the universe
b. A school of theory devoted to the revival of Classical (ancient Greek and Roman) literature
c. A theory that values restraint, form, and imitation
d. All of the above.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


8)   What is dialogism ?

a. A term used to describe how texts include a variety of styles
b. A term used to explain the use of multiple points of view in literature
c. A term that explains resistance to a monolithic text
d. All of the above.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


9)   What is the main function of literary theory ?

a. To formulate relationships among an author, a reader, and a literary work
b. To understand the role of sexuality, gender, race, and ethnicity in literary study
c. To evaluate the role of historical context in the interpretation of literature
d. All of the above.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


10)   In his essay “What Is an Author?” what position(s) on authorship does Michel Foucault take ?

a. The names of authors serve a classificatory function.
b. The author is not a source of infinite meaning.
c. The author may not always exist.
d. All of the above.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


11)   Jacques Derrida’s concept of différance challenges us to think about language as a system that___________?

a. mirrors our physical evolution as human beings.
b. prevents us from communicating through writing or speech.
c. involves a constant process of deferred meaning.
d. evolved exclusively as a function of our individual psyche.
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: involves a constant process of deferred meaning.

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!


12)   Which theorist is most closely associated with the idea of art as imitation ?

a. Jacques Lacan
b. Edward Said
c. Stephen Greenblatt
d. Plato
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Plato

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!