25 Moderate to Hard MCQs on History of English Literature
Who is considered the first named English poet?
a) Chaucer
b) Caedmon
c) Bede
d) Cynewulf Answer: b) Caedmon
Explanation: Caedmon, a 7th-century monk, is credited as the earliest English poet whose name is known.
Which poem is associated with the Norman Conquest of 1066?
a) Beowulf
b) The Wanderer
c) The Battle of Maldon
d) The Song of Roland Answer: d) The Song of Roland
Explanation: Though French, it reflects the Norman influence that came to England post-1066.
Which of the following poets is most associated with the term “metaphysical poetry”?
a) Ben Jonson
b) John Donne
c) Edmund Spenser
d) Philip Sidney Answer: b) John Donne
Explanation: Donne’s intellectual and spiritual style defines metaphysical poetry.
What is the main literary work by Sir Thomas Malory?
a) Le Roman de la Rose
b) Morte d’Arthur
c) Troilus and Criseyde
d) The Vision of Piers Plowman Answer: b) Morte d’Arthur
Explanation: It is a major prose retelling of the Arthurian legends.
The term “Renaissance” in England is often linked with which monarch’s reign?
a) Henry VII
b) Mary I
c) Elizabeth I
d) James I Answer: c) Elizabeth I
Explanation: Elizabeth’s reign saw the flourishing of drama, poetry, and humanism.
Who introduced the sonnet form into English literature?
a) Philip Sidney
b) Geoffrey Chaucer
c) Edmund Spenser
d) Thomas Wyatt Answer: d) Thomas Wyatt
Explanation: Wyatt and Surrey adapted the Petrarchan sonnet into English.
Which play is considered the first English tragedy?
a) Gorboduc
b) Doctor Faustus
c) Tamburlaine
d) Hamlet Answer: a) Gorboduc
Explanation: Written by Norton and Sackville in 1561, it’s the first known English tragedy.
“The Faerie Queene” is a celebration of whose rule?
a) Mary Queen of Scots
b) Henry VIII
c) Elizabeth I
d) Charles I Answer: c) Elizabeth I
Explanation: Spenser’s allegorical epic glorifies Queen Elizabeth I.
Which group opposed the theaters during the English Civil War?
a) Tories
b) Roundheads
c) Cavaliers
d) Chartists Answer: b) Roundheads
Explanation: Puritan Roundheads considered theater immoral and banned it.
Who is the author of "The Pilgrim’s Progress"?
a) Thomas Browne
b) John Bunyan
c) George Herbert
d) William Law Answer: b) John Bunyan
Explanation: This Christian allegory was written during his imprisonment.
The “Augustan Age” in English literature refers to the reign of:
a) Charles II
b) George I
c) William III
d) Queen Anne Answer: d) Queen Anne
Explanation: Writers like Pope and Swift emulated classical ideals during her reign.
Which writer is associated with the “stream of consciousness” technique?
a) Thomas Hardy
b) Virginia Woolf
c) D.H. Lawrence
d) Ford Madox Ford Answer: b) Virginia Woolf
Explanation: Woolf explored characters’ inner thoughts using this narrative method.
Which of these poets did NOT belong to the Romantic era?
a) Percy Shelley
b) Robert Browning
c) William Wordsworth
d) Samuel Taylor Coleridge Answer: b) Robert Browning
Explanation: Browning belonged to the Victorian era.
Who coined the phrase “willing suspension of disbelief”?
a) T.S. Eliot
b) Samuel Johnson
c) S.T. Coleridge
d) Matthew Arnold Answer: c) S.T. Coleridge
Explanation: Coleridge used it to explain engagement with imaginative literature.
In which year was the Printing Press introduced in England?
a) 1476
b) 1454
c) 1509
d) 1492 Answer: a) 1476
Explanation: William Caxton introduced the press in Westminster.
“The School for Scandal” is a famous play by:
a) William Congreve
b) Oliver Goldsmith
c) Richard Sheridan
d) John Dryden Answer: c) Richard Sheridan
Explanation: A high point in Restoration comedy of manners.
Which literary form is Aphra Behn associated with?
a) Religious prose
b) Political essays
c) Early novel
d) Elegies Answer: c) Early novel
Explanation: Her novel “Oroonoko” is one of the earliest English novels.
Which poet laureate wrote “In Memoriam A.H.H.”?
a) Robert Bridges
b) Alfred Tennyson
c) Thomas Gray
d) John Masefield Answer: b) Alfred Tennyson
Explanation: It mourns the death of his friend Arthur Hallam.
What type of play is Everyman?
a) Tragedy
b) Morality play
c) Chronicle play
d) Romantic comedy Answer: b) Morality play
Explanation: It personifies virtues and vices to deliver religious lessons.
Which poet is known for the “Sprung Rhythm” technique?
a) Tennyson
b) W.B. Yeats
c) Gerard Manley Hopkins
d) Matthew Arnold Answer: c) Gerard Manley Hopkins
Explanation: His technique mimicked natural speech rhythms.
Which literary group was formed by Woolf, Keynes, Forster, and others?
a) The Inklings
b) The Bloomsbury Group
c) The Lake Poets
d) The Decadents Answer: b) The Bloomsbury Group
Explanation: They were intellectuals who influenced literature, art, and politics.
What was the major literary output of the Anglo-Saxon period?
a) Lyrical ballads
b) Religious prose and epic poetry
c) Sonnet sequences
d) Metaphysical poetry Answer: b) Religious prose and epic poetry
Explanation: Exemplified by works like Beowulf and sermons by Aelfric.
Which of these novels is considered an example of a Victorian “condition of England” novel?
a) Wuthering Heights
b) Mary Barton
c) Jane Eyre
d) Middlemarch Answer: b) Mary Barton
Explanation: Gaskell’s novel focuses on industrialization and class conflict.
Who is the author of "The Anatomy of Melancholy"?
a) Thomas Browne
b) Robert Burton
c) Jeremy Taylor
d) Francis Bacon Answer: b) Robert Burton
Explanation: A vast Renaissance exploration of psychology and emotion.
What is the significance of the year 1066 in English literature?
a) Printing press invented
b) Beowulf composed
c) Norman Conquest – French influences in language and literature
d) Shakespeare’s first play Answer: c) Norman Conquest – French influences in language and literature
Explanation: It led to a significant transformation in vocabulary, style, and themes.
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