25 MCQs on World Literature
Introduction:
World Literature encompasses literary works from diverse cultures, languages, and nations, forming a rich tapestry of human expression across time and space. From epics and oral traditions to modern novels and postcolonial narratives, it offers students of English literature a broad understanding of themes like identity, resistance, diaspora, love, and the human condition. The following multiple-choice questions are designed to test your grasp of major works, authors, movements, and global literary trends.
- Which of the following is a Japanese classic by Murasaki Shikibu, often considered the world’s first novel?
a) The Tale of the Heike
b) The Pillow Book
c) The Tale of Genji
d) The Book of Five Rings
Explanation: Written in the 11th century, it's often regarded as the world’s first psychological novel. - Who wrote the Latin epic poem The Aeneid?
a) Ovid
b) Homer
c) Virgil
d) Horace
Explanation: Virgil's Aeneid shaped Roman cultural identity and literary tradition. - Which Nigerian writer authored Things Fall Apart?
a) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
b) Ben Okri
c) Chinua Achebe
d) Wole Soyinka
Explanation: Published in 1958, it critiques colonialism and celebrates Igbo culture. - What is the central theme of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis?
a) War
b) Transformation and alienation
c) Political satire
d) Coming of age
Explanation: The protagonist turns into an insect, symbolizing existential angst. - Which Latin American author is best known for magical realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude?
a) Pablo Neruda
b) Isabel Allende
c) Mario Vargas Llosa
d) Gabriel García Márquez
Explanation: He popularized magical realism with this multigenerational epic. - In which language was The Divine Comedy originally written?
a) Latin
b) Italian
c) French
d) Greek
Explanation: Dante chose vernacular Italian over Latin to reach a wider audience. - The novel Season of Migration to the North is associated with which country?
a) Egypt
b) Sudan
c) Morocco
d) Ethiopia
Explanation: Written by Tayeb Salih, it explores postcolonial identity and hybridity. - The Conference of the Birds is a Sufi allegorical poem written by:
a) Rumi
b) Hafiz
c) Attar
d) Saadi
Explanation: It’s a spiritual journey in poetic form by Persian mystic Farid ud-Din Attar. - Who wrote The Death of Ivan Ilyich, a critique of materialism and mortality?
a) Dostoevsky
b) Tolstoy
c) Turgenev
d) Chekhov
Explanation: It examines the existential despair of a dying bureaucrat. - Which Chinese writer won the Nobel Prize in 2012?
a) Mo Yan
b) Lu Xun
c) Gao Xingjian
d) Ha Jin
Explanation: He was recognized for his hallucinatory realism rooted in folklore. - The novel The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh deals with:
a) Gender identity
b) Indian mythology
c) Partition and diaspora
d) Political corruption
Explanation: It reflects on memory, borders, and transnational identity. - Which of the following is an epic from Mesopotamian civilization?
a) Mahabharata
b) Iliad
c) Gilgamesh
d) Aeneid
Explanation: One of the oldest known literary works, dealing with immortality. - The Stranger by Albert Camus is associated with which philosophy?
a) Marxism
b) Humanism
c) Existentialism
d) Romanticism
Explanation: Camus' protagonist exhibits indifference and absurdism. - Who wrote the feminist novel So Long a Letter?
a) Mariama Bâ
b) Chimamanda Adichie
c) Tsitsi Dangarembga
d) Buchi Emecheta
Explanation: It’s an epistolary novel from Senegal highlighting women’s issues. - Which Argentine author is famous for his philosophical and metafictional stories?
a) Pablo Neruda
b) Jorge Luis Borges
c) Mario Vargas Llosa
d) Octavio Paz
Explanation: His stories blur the line between reality and fiction. - In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi narrates her childhood during:
a) The Lebanese Civil War
b) The Iranian Revolution
c) The Gulf War
d) The Syrian Conflict
Explanation: The graphic memoir shows the impact of war and fundamentalism. - Blindness is a dystopian novel by:
a) Orhan Pamuk
b) José Saramago
c) Umberto Eco
d) Mario Benedetti
Explanation: The novel depicts a society collapsing into chaos after a plague of blindness. - The Book of Disquiet is a fragmentary work by which Portuguese writer?
a) Fernando Pessoa
b) José Saramago
c) António Lobo Antunes
d) Luís de Camões
Explanation: It's a poetic exploration of identity and isolation. - Which novel is set in post-Apartheid South Africa and written by J.M. Coetzee?
a) Life & Times of Michael K
b) Waiting for the Barbarians
c) Disgrace
d) Foe
Explanation: The novel explores racial tensions and personal disgrace. - Which Russian novel explores the theme of free will through characters like Ivan, Dmitri, and Alyosha?
a) Crime and Punishment
b) War and Peace
c) The Brothers Karamazov
d) The Idiot
Explanation: Dostoevsky's philosophical masterpiece on morality and God. - The Cairo Trilogy is a major work by:
a) Alaa Al Aswany
b) Naguib Mahfouz
c) Hisham Matar
d) Taha Hussein
Explanation: The trilogy follows a family’s life through political upheaval in Egypt. - The Chilean novel The House of the Spirits was written by:
a) Gabriela Mistral
b) Roberto Bolaño
c) Isabel Allende
d) Pablo Neruda
Explanation: It blends family saga with political history and magical realism. - Palace Walk is part of which major literary series?
a) Cairo Trilogy
b) Arabian Nights
c) Istanbul Chronicles
d) The Levantine Quartet
Explanation: It’s the first part of Mahfouz's epic narrative. - Who wrote My Name is Red, exploring Ottoman art and identity?
a) Naguib Mahfouz
b) Orhan Pamuk
c) Elif Shafak
d) Amin Maalouf
Explanation: Pamuk blends murder mystery with East-West reflections. - Which Nobel laureate authored Snow Country, a poetic tale of love and loneliness?
a) Yukio Mishima
b) Haruki Murakami
c) Kenzaburō Ōe
d) Yasunari Kawabata
Explanation: He was the first Japanese writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Labels
- World Literature MCQs
- UGC NET English World Literature
- Global Authors and Epics
- International Fiction Questions
- Cross-cultural Literary Studies
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