DAILY DOSE #8: 10 MCQs on Non-fiction from the Medieval to the Victorian Age

Here are 10 MCQs on Non-fiction from the Medieval to the Victorian Age

1. Which medieval English work is a famous example of a religious allegory?

a) Piers Plowman

b) The Faerie Queene

c) Utopia

d) The Canterbury Tales

Answer: a) Piers Plowman

Explanation: Written by William Langland, this allegorical poem deals with moral and spiritual life through visionary experiences.

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2. Who wrote The Book of Margery Kempe, considered one of the earliest autobiographies in English?

a) Julian of Norwich

b) Geoffrey Chaucer

c) Margery Kempe

d) Thomas More

Answer: c) Margery Kempe

Explanation: Her book recounts her spiritual visions and pilgrimages, offering insight into medieval religious life.

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3. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People was written by which historian?

a) Venerable Bede

b) John Wycliffe

c) Thomas Malory

d) Roger Bacon

Answer: a) Venerable Bede

Explanation: Bede's historical work from the 8th century is a key source on early English Christianity.

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4. Which Renaissance writer is known for his utopian political philosophy?

a) Francis Bacon

b) Thomas More

c) Richard Hooker

d) Roger Ascham

Answer: b) Thomas More

Explanation: His work Utopia describes an ideal society and critiques contemporary European politics.

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5. Which 17th-century philosopher wrote extensively on human understanding and the idea of the social contract?

a) Thomas Hobbes

b) John Locke

c) Francis Bacon

d) Isaac Newton

Answer: b) John Locke

Explanation: His Essay Concerning Human Understanding laid the groundwork for empiricism and liberal political thought.

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6. The Advancement of Learning is a foundational work in the development of scientific thought by:

a) Isaac Newton

b) Thomas More

c) Francis Bacon

d) Samuel Johnson

Answer: c) Francis Bacon

Explanation: Bacon argued for inductive reasoning and empirical research as the basis for knowledge.

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7. Who compiled A Dictionary of the English Language in the 18th century?

a) William Wordsworth

b) Samuel Johnson

c) Jonathan Swift

d) Edmund Burke

Answer: b) Samuel Johnson

Explanation: His dictionary, published in 1755, was the most authoritative of its time and shaped English lexicography.

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8. Which 18th-century writer is famous for Reflections on the Revolution in France?

a) Alexander Pope

b) William Blake

c) Edmund Burke

d) Daniel Defoe

Answer: c) Edmund Burke

Explanation: Burke’s conservative critique of the French Revolution remains a major political and philosophical work.

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9. Which Victorian essayist and social critic wrote Culture and Anarchy?

a) Thomas Carlyle

b) Matthew Arnold

c) John Ruskin

d) Charles Kingsley

Answer: b) Matthew Arnold

Explanation: Arnold discussed the role of culture in society and criticized materialism and lack of spiritual values.

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10. Unto This Last, a critique of industrial capitalism and economics, was written by:

a) Charles Dickens

b) John Stuart Mill

c) Thomas Carlyle

d) John Ruskin

Answer: d) John Ruskin

Explanation: Ruskin's work advocated moral and aesthetic values over pure economic profit.

VISIT : LITERARY SPHERE for more

Non-fiction English Literature, Medieval to Victorian Age, Early English Autobiographies, Religious Writings, Renaissance Humanism, Political Philosophy, English Essayists, Victorian Prose, Samuel Johnson Dictionary, Francis Bacon Science, UGC NET JUNE 2025, Non-fictional prose

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