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70 LITERARY THEORY MCQs for UGC NET ENGLISH

Post-World War Literary Theory MCQs

Post-World War Literary Theory: 25 MCQs

This set of multiple-choice questions covers key concepts, major figures, and important minor contributors in Post-World War literary theory, suitable for NET and GATE English examinations.

1. Which of the following literary theories emerged primarily as a response to Saussurean linguistics?

  1. New Criticism
  2. Marxist Criticism
  3. Structuralism
  4. Postcolonialism

Correct Answer: c) Structuralism

Structuralism, particularly in its early phases with figures like Lévi-Strauss and Barthes, heavily drew upon Ferdinand de Saussure's theories of language as a system of signs.

2. The concept of "différance" is central to the work of which post-structuralist thinker?

  1. Michel Foucault
  2. Jacques Derrida
  3. Jacques Lacan
  4. Julia Kristeva

Correct Answer: b) Jacques Derrida

"Différance" is a neologism coined by Jacques Derrida, combining the meanings of "to differ" and "to defer," highlighting the endless play of meaning in language.

3. Who among the following is most associated with the theory of the "death of the author"?

  1. Terry Eagleton
  2. Roland Barthes
  3. Edward Said
  4. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Correct Answer: b) Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes's influential essay "The Death of the Author" argues that the author's intentions or biographical details should not be a factor in interpreting a text; instead, meaning is created by the reader.

4. Which critical approach focuses on the inherent ambiguities and paradoxes within a literary text, often without reference to external contexts?

  1. Reader-Response Criticism
  2. Deconstruction
  3. New Criticism
  4. Cultural Studies

Correct Answer: c) New Criticism

New Criticism, prominent in the mid-20th century (post-WWII), emphasized close reading of the text itself, looking for its internal coherence, ironies, and paradoxes, rejecting external factors like authorial intent or historical context.

5. The concept of "discourse" as a system of power-knowledge is central to the work of:

  1. Louis Althusser
  2. Jürgen Habermas
  3. Michel Foucault
  4. Homi K. Bhabha

Correct Answer: c) Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault's work extensively explored how "discourses" shape our understanding of the world, producing knowledge and exercising power through specific historical formations.

6. Which feminist critic introduced the concept of "gynocriticism"?

  1. Helene Cixous
  2. Luce Irigaray
  3. Elaine Showalter
  4. Judith Butler

Correct Answer: c) Elaine Showalter

Elaine Showalter is a key figure in feminist literary criticism, and she coined "gynocriticism" to describe a new phase of feminist criticism focused on the study of women as writers and the female literary tradition.

7. The idea of the "imagined community" is a significant concept in:

  1. Postcolonialism
  2. Psychoanalytic Criticism
  3. Narratology
  4. Ecocriticism

Correct Answer: a) Postcolonialism

While primarily associated with Benedict Anderson's work on nationalism, the concept of "imagined communities" is highly relevant to postcolonial studies in understanding how nations are constructed and perceived.

8. Which theorist is known for their work on "interpellation" and "ideological state apparatuses" (ISAs)?

  1. Antonio Gramsci
  2. Louis Althusser
  3. Raymond Williams
  4. Stuart Hall

Correct Answer: b) Louis Althusser

Louis Althusser, a Marxist philosopher, developed the concepts of interpellation (how individuals are "hailed" into subject positions by ideology) and ISAs (institutions like education, family, media that propagate ideology).

9. The "anxiety of influence" is a concept developed by:

  1. Harold Bloom
  2. Northrop Frye
  3. Frank Kermode
  4. Stanley Fish

Correct Answer: a) Harold Bloom

Harold Bloom's theory of the "anxiety of influence" suggests that poets struggle against and misread their literary predecessors to create space for their own originality.

10. Which critical approach analyzes the social and cultural effects of literary texts on readers?

  1. New Historicism
  2. Reader-Response Criticism
  3. Formalism
  4. Stylistics

Correct Answer: b) Reader-Response Criticism

Reader-response criticism shifts the focus from the author and text to the reader's role in creating meaning. Key figures include Stanley Fish and Wolfgang Iser.

11. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is best known for her work on:

  1. Queer Theory
  2. Deconstruction and Postcolonialism
  3. Cognitive Poetics
  4. Ecocriticism

Correct Answer: b) Deconstruction and Postcolonialism

Spivak is a prominent postcolonial theorist who combines deconstruction with Marxist and feminist perspectives, particularly known for her essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?".

12. The concept of "archetypes" and the "collective unconscious" is central to the literary theory influenced by:

  1. Sigmund Freud
  2. Carl Jung
  3. Jacques Lacan
  4. Slavoj Žižek

Correct Answer: b) Carl Jung

Jungian literary criticism applies Carl Jung's theories of archetypes (universal patterns of thought and imagery) and the collective unconscious to analyze literary works.

13. Which of the following theorists is associated with the idea of "cultural materialism" in literary studies?

  1. Stephen Greenblatt
  2. Catherine Belsey
  3. Raymond Williams
  4. Louis Montrose

Correct Answer: c) Raymond Williams

Raymond Williams, a key figure in British Cultural Studies, developed "cultural materialism" as an approach that examines the historical and material conditions under which culture (including literature) is produced and consumed.

14. The term "écriture féminine" (women's writing) is most closely associated with which feminist theorist?

  1. Simone de Beauvoir
  2. Helene Cixous
  3. Kate Millett
  4. Judith Butler

Correct Answer: b) Helene Cixous

Helene Cixous, a French feminist, advocated for "écriture féminine" as a form of writing that challenges patriarchal language and expresses female experience, often through a non-linear or subversive style.

15. Which of these approaches would analyze a literary text in relation to the social, political, and economic power structures of its historical period?

  1. Formalism
  2. New Historicism
  3. Stylistics
  4. Cognitive Poetics

Correct Answer: b) New Historicism

New Historicism, developed by figures like Stephen Greenblatt, views literary texts as embedded in and inseparable from their historical and cultural contexts, often reading them alongside non-literary documents of the period.

16. The concept of the "postmodern condition" as a crisis of grand narratives was articulated by:

  1. Jean-François Lyotard
  2. Fredric Jameson
  3. Jean Baudrillard
  4. Umberto Eco

Correct Answer: a) Jean-François Lyotard

Jean-François Lyotard, in his influential work "The Postmodern Condition," characterized postmodernity as an incredulity towards "metanarratives" or grand narratives of progress and enlightenment.

17. Which literary theory often examines the representation of nature and the environment in texts?

  1. Psychoanalytic Criticism
  2. Ecocriticism
  3. Deconstruction
  4. Post-structuralism

Correct Answer: b) Ecocriticism

Ecocriticism is an interdisciplinary field that studies the relationship between literature and the physical environment, often analyzing environmental themes and the portrayal of nature.

18. The theory of "subaltern studies" is closely associated with which field of literary and cultural theory?

  1. Queer Theory
  2. Marxist Criticism
  3. Postcolonialism
  4. Feminist Theory

Correct Answer: c) Postcolonialism

Subaltern Studies, originating in South Asia, focuses on the history and agency of marginalized groups ("subalterns") who are excluded from dominant historical narratives, making it a crucial component of postcolonial thought.

19. Who is known for their work on "orientalism" as a discourse that constructs the 'Orient' in the Western imagination?

  1. Homi K. Bhabha
  2. Edward Said
  3. Frantz Fanon
  4. Chinua Achebe

Correct Answer: b) Edward Said

Edward Said's seminal work "Orientalism" (1978) argued that the Western academic and political discourse about the Middle East created a biased and often derogatory image of the "Orient."

20. The concept of the "male gaze" is a key term in which literary theory?

  1. Queer Theory
  2. Feminist Film Theory
  3. Psychoanalytic Criticism
  4. Structuralism

Correct Answer: b) Feminist Film Theory

While originating in film theory with Laura Mulvey's essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," the "male gaze" concept has significantly influenced feminist literary criticism in analyzing how women are represented from a masculine, often objectifying, viewpoint.

21. Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of "dialogism" and "carnival" significantly influenced which area of literary theory?

  1. Formalism
  2. Reader-Response Criticism
  3. Cultural Studies
  4. Psychoanalytic Criticism

Correct Answer: c) Cultural Studies

Bakhtin's ideas on dialogism (the interplay of multiple voices in a text) and carnival (subversive popular culture) have been highly influential in cultural studies, particularly in examining how different social voices and forms interact within texts.

22. Which theorist is known for their exploration of the "mirror stage" in the development of the human subject, crucial for psychoanalytic literary criticism?

  1. Sigmund Freud
  2. Carl Jung
  3. Jacques Lacan
  4. Julia Kristeva

Correct Answer: c) Jacques Lacan

Jacques Lacan, a French psychoanalyst, reinterpreted Freud's theories, and his concept of the "mirror stage" describes a crucial moment in an infant's psychological development where they recognize their own image, forming the ego.

23. The notion of "hybridity" and "mimicry" are key concepts in the work of:

  1. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
  2. Edward Said
  3. Homi K. Bhabha
  4. Stuart Hall

Correct Answer: c) Homi K. Bhabha

Homi K. Bhabha is a leading postcolonial theorist who extensively discusses "hybridity" (the blending of cultures) and "mimicry" (the colonized imitating the colonizer, often with subversive effects) as features of colonial and postcolonial encounters.

24. Which of the following literary theories would focus on the linguistic and rhetorical devices within a text, prioritizing its form over its content or historical context?

  1. Post-structuralism
  2. New Criticism
  3. Structuralism
  4. All of the above to varying degrees

Correct Answer: d) All of the above to varying degrees

While New Criticism is most explicitly known for focusing on form, Structuralism analyzes underlying linguistic structures, and even Post-structuralism, while deconstructing stable meanings, still engages deeply with the linguistic fabric and rhetorical play of texts.

25. Minor writer in the context of Post-World War literary theory, who contributed significantly to the understanding of hermeneutics and reader-response, is:

  1. Hans-Georg Gadamer
  2. Wolfgang Iser
  3. Stanley Fish
  4. Both b and c

Correct Answer: d) Both b and c

While Gadamer is a major philosopher of hermeneutics, Wolfgang Iser (from the Konstanz School) and Stanley Fish (American) are crucial figures in reader-response criticism, both developing influential theories on how readers interact with texts to create meaning. They are important figures, though perhaps less broadly known than the "giants" like Derrida or Foucault in the general theoretical landscape.
Post-World War Literary Theory MCQs - Set 2

Post-World War Literary Theory: 25 More MCQs

This second set of multiple-choice questions continues to explore key concepts, major figures, and important minor contributors in Post-World War literary theory, suitable for NET and GATE English examinations.

26. The concept of "heteroglossia," referring to the coexistence of diverse voices and discourses within a single text, was developed by:

  1. Umberto Eco
  2. Mikhail Bakhtin
  3. Roman Jakobson
  4. Algirdas Julien Greimas

Correct Answer: b) Mikhail Bakhtin

Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of heteroglossia emphasizes the inherent multiplicity of voices and socio-ideological languages present in any given utterance, especially within novels.

27. Which post-structuralist thinker is known for advocating "deconstruction" as a method of critical analysis?

  1. Michel Foucault
  2. Jacques Derrida
  3. Roland Barthes
  4. Julia Kristeva

Correct Answer: b) Jacques Derrida

Deconstruction, a method of textual analysis that challenges the notion of fixed meaning and stable referents, is inextricably linked with Jacques Derrida.

28. The idea that a literary text is an "intertextual" weave of other texts, rather than an original creation, is a key tenet of:

  1. New Criticism
  2. Structuralism
  3. Post-structuralism
  4. Marxist Criticism

Correct Answer: c) Post-structuralism

Post-structuralism, building on structuralist ideas but challenging their emphasis on stable systems, sees texts as inherently intertextual, drawing on and transforming pre-existing discourses and literary conventions. Julia Kristeva coined the term "intertextuality."

29. Which of the following literary theories would be most concerned with analyzing the power dynamics inherent in the relationship between colonizer and colonized?

  1. Psychoanalytic Criticism
  2. Feminist Criticism
  3. Postcolonialism
  4. Formalism

Correct Answer: c) Postcolonialism

Postcolonialism specifically examines the legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on themes of identity, representation, power, and resistance in the literatures of formerly colonized nations.

30. Louis Althusser's concept of "interpellation" explains how:

  1. Readers actively construct meaning from texts.
  2. Individuals are constituted as subjects by ideology.
  3. Literary texts reflect economic base structures.
  4. Language systems are arbitrary and conventional.

Correct Answer: b) Individuals are constituted as subjects by ideology.

Interpellation, for Althusser, is the process by which individuals are "hailed" or "called out" by ideology and come to recognize themselves as subjects within that ideological framework.

31. The concept of "negotiated reading" or "oppositional reading" of media texts is associated with which school of thought?

  1. New Criticism
  2. Frankfurt School
  3. Birmingham School of Cultural Studies
  4. Russian Formalism

Correct Answer: c) Birmingham School of Cultural Studies

Stuart Hall, a key figure in the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies, proposed a model of encoding/decoding where audiences can engage in dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, or oppositional readings of cultural texts.

32. Which psychoanalytic theorist focused on the pre-linguistic, semiotic stage of development, contrasting it with the symbolic order?

  1. Sigmund Freud
  2. Jacques Lacan
  3. Julia Kristeva
  4. Slavoj Žižek

Correct Answer: c) Julia Kristeva

Julia Kristeva distinguished between the "semiotic" (pre-oedipal, rhythmic, drives, associated with the maternal body) and the "symbolic" (linguistic, patriarchal order), arguing for the subversive potential of the semiotic in art.

33. The idea that meaning is not inherent in words themselves but arises from their differences within a system is a core tenet of:

  1. Reader-Response Criticism
  2. Structuralism
  3. New Historicism
  4. Phenomenology

Correct Answer: b) Structuralism

Drawing directly from Saussurean linguistics, structuralism posits that signs derive their meaning from their relationship to other signs within a larger system (e.g., words gain meaning from their difference from other words).

34. Terry Eagleton is a prominent figure in which area of literary theory?

  1. Feminist Criticism
  2. Marxist Literary Criticism
  3. Deconstruction
  4. Postcolonialism

Correct Answer: b) Marxist Literary Criticism

Terry Eagleton is one of the most well-known contemporary Marxist literary theorists, known for his accessible yet rigorous introductions to literary theory and his engagement with cultural materialism.

35. Which feminist theorist famously asked, "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman"?

  1. Virginia Woolf
  2. Simone de Beauvoir
  3. Kate Millett
  4. Judith Butler

Correct Answer: b) Simone de Beauvoir

This iconic quote from Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" (1949) encapsulates her argument that gender is a social construct rather than a biological given, profoundly influencing later feminist thought.

36. The concept of the "implied reader" is central to the work of:

  1. Stanley Fish
  2. Wolfgang Iser
  3. Hans-Robert Jauss
  4. Roman Ingarden

Correct Answer: b) Wolfgang Iser

Wolfgang Iser, a leading figure of the Konstanz School of Reader-Response Criticism, developed the concept of the "implied reader" as a textual construct that guides the actual reader's interpretation.

37. Which of these critical approaches would emphasize the shared structures and patterns found across different myths and narratives?

  1. New Historicism
  2. Narratology
  3. Myth Criticism (Structuralist/Archetypal)
  4. Post-structuralism

Correct Answer: c) Myth Criticism (Structuralist/Archetypal)

Myth criticism, especially in its structuralist (e.g., Lévi-Strauss) and archetypal (e.g., Northrop Frye) forms, seeks to uncover universal patterns, symbols, and narratives (archetypes/mythemes) that recur across cultures and texts.

38. The argument that gender is performative, meaning it is constituted through repeated acts and behaviors, is a key contribution of:

  1. Julia Kristeva
  2. Luce Irigaray
  3. Judith Butler
  4. Hélène Cixous

Correct Answer: c) Judith Butler

Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" (1990) famously argued that gender is a performative construct, not an internal essence, challenging conventional understandings of gender identity.

39. Which literary theory might analyze the role of literary institutions, such as publishing houses, awards, and academic departments, in shaping what counts as "literature"?

  1. Formalism
  2. Sociology of Literature
  3. Deconstruction
  4. Psychoanalytic Criticism

Correct Answer: b) Sociology of Literature

The sociology of literature examines the social contexts of literary production, distribution, and reception, including the roles of institutions, literary markets, and the social status of writers and readers.

40. The concept of "episteme," a historical a priori that structures knowledge in a given epoch, is developed by:

  1. Jacques Lacan
  2. Michel Foucault
  3. Gilles Deleuze
  4. Félix Guattari

Correct Answer: b) Michel Foucault

In works like "The Order of Things," Foucault introduced the concept of the "episteme" to denote the underlying framework of knowledge and discourse that defines a particular historical period.

41. Which of the following is NOT a major figure associated with the New Criticism?

  1. Cleanth Brooks
  2. T.S. Eliot
  3. I.A. Richards
  4. F.R. Leavis
  5. Jacques Derrida

Correct Answer: e) Jacques Derrida

Jacques Derrida is the founder of Deconstruction, a theory that radically challenged the foundational principles of New Criticism, particularly its belief in stable meaning. Brooks, Eliot (though also a poet), Richards, and Leavis were all instrumental in developing or popularizing New Critical approaches.

42. The theory of "Affective Stylistics," which focuses on the reader's emotional and intellectual responses to a text's linguistic features, is associated with:

  1. Stanley Fish
  2. Jonathan Culler
  3. Seymour Chatman
  4. Gerard Genette

Correct Answer: a) Stanley Fish

Stanley Fish's early work, particularly "Is There a Text in This Class?", developed "Affective Stylistics," arguing that meaning is not in the text itself but in the experience of the reader.

43. Which theorist proposed the idea of a "symbolic order" as the realm of language, law, and social structures, into which the subject enters?

  1. Sigmund Freud
  2. Jacques Lacan
  3. Julia Kristeva
  4. Louis Althusser

Correct Answer: b) Jacques Lacan

Lacan's psychoanalytic theory posits three orders: the Imaginary (pre-linguistic, visual identifications), the Symbolic (the realm of language, social norms, the Law of the Father), and the Real (that which resists symbolization).

44. The focus on the "carnivalesque" as a subversive force in literature and culture, challenging official hierarchies and norms, is attributed to:

  1. Clifford Geertz
  2. Victor Turner
  3. Mikhail Bakhtin
  4. Claude Lévi-Strauss

Correct Answer: c) Mikhail Bakhtin

Bakhtin's work on Rabelais highlighted the "carnivalesque" as a space of temporary liberation from dominant ideological structures, characterized by laughter, grotesque realism, and the inversion of norms.

45. Which major literary theory drew heavily from the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure?

  1. New Criticism
  2. Phenomenology
  3. Structuralism
  4. Marxist Criticism

Correct Answer: c) Structuralism

Saussure's ideas on language as a system of signs, characterized by arbitrary relationships between signifier and signified, and the distinction between langue and parole, formed the bedrock of structuralist thought in various disciplines, including literary theory.

46. The concept of "horizon of expectations," suggesting that readers approach texts with pre-existing frameworks shaped by their historical and cultural context, is from:

  1. Stanley Fish
  2. Wolfgang Iser
  3. Hans-Robert Jauss
  4. Umberto Eco

Correct Answer: c) Hans-Robert Jauss

Hans-Robert Jauss, another key figure of the Konstanz School alongside Iser, introduced the concept of "horizon of expectations" to explain how literary works are interpreted within their historical reception contexts.

47. Which literary theory often analyzes how texts reflect or perpetuate patriarchal ideology?

  1. Queer Theory
  2. Feminist Criticism
  3. Postcolonialism
  4. Ecocriticism

Correct Answer: b) Feminist Criticism

Feminist criticism systematically examines how literature constructs gender, critiques patriarchal structures, and explores women's experiences and voices.

48. The idea of "the postmodern condition" characterized by pastiche, fragmentation, and a breakdown of grand narratives is famously articulated by:

  1. Michel Foucault
  2. Jacques Derrida
  3. Fredric Jameson
  4. Jean Baudrillard

Correct Answer: c) Fredric Jameson

While Lyotard characterized the "postmodern condition" as incredulity towards metanarratives, Fredric Jameson's "Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism" (1991) provided a comprehensive Marxist analysis of postmodernism's aesthetic and cultural features, including pastiche, depthlessness, and fragmentation.

49. Which minor writer/theorist is known for their work on "reader-response" theory, particularly the concept of "interpretive communities"?

  1. Cleanth Brooks
  2. Stanley Fish
  3. Paul de Man
  4. J. Hillis Miller

Correct Answer: b) Stanley Fish

Stanley Fish, a prominent figure in American reader-response criticism, argued that meaning is not fixed in the text but is created by "interpretive communities" whose shared conventions guide reading practices.

50. The concept of "subalternity" and the question of whether the "subaltern can speak" were central to the work of:

  1. Edward Said
  2. Homi K. Bhabha
  3. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
  4. Frantz Fanon

Correct Answer: c) Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?" critically examines the challenges of representing the voices and experiences of marginalized, voiceless groups, particularly in the context of colonialism.

51. Which theoretical approach would analyze a text for its unconscious desires, anxieties, and defense mechanisms of characters or the author?

  1. Marxist Criticism
  2. Psychoanalytic Criticism
  3. New Historicism
  4. Feminist Criticism

Correct Answer: b) Psychoanalytic Criticism

Psychoanalytic criticism, drawing on the theories of Freud and Lacan, explores the psychological dimensions of literary works, including motivations, symbolism, and the unconscious.

52. The term "hyperreality," where the distinction between reality and simulation collapses, is associated with:

  1. Jean-François Lyotard
  2. Jean Baudrillard
  3. Umberto Eco
  4. Gilles Deleuze

Correct Answer: b) Jean Baudrillard

Jean Baudrillard's work on "simulacra and simulation" discusses "hyperreality" as a state where simulations are indistinguishable from or even supersede reality, often referencing Disneyland as an example.

53. Which school of thought emphasizes the historical specificity and cultural contingency of meaning, often pairing literary texts with non-literary documents of the same period?

  1. Formalism
  2. Deconstruction
  3. New Historicism
  4. Reader-Response Criticism

Correct Answer: c) New Historicism

New Historicism, championed by Stephen Greenblatt and others, rejects the separation of literature from its historical context, viewing both literary and non-literary texts as part of a complex cultural network.

54. The literary theory that investigates the structural elements of narratives, such as plot, character, and narrative voice, is known as:

  1. Stylistics
  2. Narratology
  3. Hermeneutics
  4. Phenomenology

Correct Answer: b) Narratology

Narratology is the study of narrative and narrative structure. Key figures include Gérard Genette, Seymour Chatman, and Mieke Bal.

55. The concept of "phallogocentrism," referring to the privileging of the masculine perspective and the male voice in language and thought, is a key term in:

  1. Queer Theory
  2. Postcolonialism
  3. French Feminism
  4. Ecocriticism

Correct Answer: c) French Feminism

"Phallogocentrism" is a concept used by French feminists like Jacques Derrida (who coined the term) and Luce Irigaray to critique the Western philosophical and linguistic tradition as being centered on male experience and logic, implicitly linking the phallus with the Logos (reason/word).

56. Which of these theorists emphasized the role of "ideology" in shaping consciousness and social relations, famously distinguishing between "base" and "superstructure"?

  1. Jacques Derrida
  2. Michel Foucault
  3. Karl Marx (and subsequent Marxists)
  4. Jacques Lacan

Correct Answer: c) Karl Marx (and subsequent Marxists)

The concepts of "ideology" and the "base-superstructure" model (economic base determines the cultural superstructure) are fundamental to classical Marxism and have been further developed by later Marxist literary critics like Raymond Williams and Terry Eagleton.

57. Who is considered a pioneering figure in the development of "queer theory"?

  1. Elaine Showalter
  2. Laura Mulvey
  3. Judith Butler
  4. bell hooks

Correct Answer: c) Judith Butler

While queer theory has multiple progenitors, Judith Butler's work, particularly "Gender Trouble" and "Bodies That Matter," significantly shaped its foundational arguments about gender performativity and the instability of sexual categories.

58. The idea that a literary work's meaning is deferred and constantly unstable, due to the inherent undecidability of language, is central to:

  1. New Criticism
  2. Formalism
  3. Deconstruction
  4. Structuralism

Correct Answer: c) Deconstruction

Deconstruction, led by Derrida, challenges the possibility of stable meaning, arguing that language is characterized by "différance" and a perpetual deferral of definitive meaning.

59. Which concept refers to the psychological process by which an individual integrates aspects of another culture while retaining elements of their own?

  1. Assimilation
  2. Acculturation
  3. Hybridity
  4. Creolization

Correct Answer: c) Hybridity

Hybridity, especially as discussed by Homi K. Bhabha, refers to the creation of new transcultural forms within the "third space" of colonial encounter, where different cultural elements mix and create something new. While related, acculturation is broader, assimilation implies full adoption, and creolization is specific to language/culture mixing in creole societies.

60. Who is considered a key figure in the development of "Aesthetic Reception Theory" (Rezeptionsästhetik), focusing on the reader's historical context?

  1. Wolfgang Iser
  2. Hans-Robert Jauss
  3. Stanley Fish
  4. Umberto Eco

Correct Answer: b) Hans-Robert Jauss

Hans-Robert Jauss, along with Wolfgang Iser, was a founder of the Konstanz School of Rezeptionsästhetik (Reception Aesthetics), emphasizing the role of the reader and the historical reception of literary works.

61. The analysis of symbols, metaphors, and allegories in a text, particularly those related to the human body and its functions, would be characteristic of:

  1. New Criticism
  2. Cognitive Poetics
  3. Psychoanalytic Criticism
  4. Formalism

Correct Answer: c) Psychoanalytic Criticism

Psychoanalytic criticism often delves into symbolic representations of unconscious drives, desires, and anxieties, which frequently manifest through bodily imagery and metaphors.

62. Which influential critic, although not primarily a theorist, significantly shaped the landscape of American literary studies by championing certain authors and close reading?

  1. Lionel Trilling
  2. Edmund Wilson
  3. Helen Vendler
  4. M.H. Abrams

Correct Answer: d) M.H. Abrams

While all listed are important critics, M.H. Abrams is particularly notable for his foundational work on Romanticism and his influential "The Mirror and the Lamp," which laid out different theories of art. His "Glossary of Literary Terms" is also a widely used resource.

63. The term "simulacra" and its role in creating "hyperreality" is a concept most associated with:

  1. Fredric Jameson
  2. Jean Baudrillard
  3. Michel Foucault
  4. Gilles Deleuze

Correct Answer: b) Jean Baudrillard

Jean Baudrillard's work explored how "simulacra" (copies without originals) come to dominate postmodern culture, leading to a state of "hyperreality" where simulations are more real than reality itself.

64. Which of the following is considered a minor but important figure in the development of Narratology, particularly regarding the typology of narrative discourse?

  1. Roland Barthes
  2. Gérard Genette
  3. Umberto Eco
  4. Vladimir Propp

Correct Answer: b) Gérard Genette

While Barthes is broadly important, Gérard Genette is a central and highly influential figure specifically in narratology, known for his systematic analysis of narrative discourse in "Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method." Propp focused on folk tales, and Eco is broader. Genette is a specific key figure for narratology itself.

65. The concept of "Orientalism" as a form of discourse and power is primarily associated with:

  1. Frantz Fanon
  2. Edward Said
  3. Homi K. Bhabha
  4. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Correct Answer: b) Edward Said

Edward Said's 1978 book "Orientalism" is the foundational text for this concept, arguing that the Western representation of the "Orient" is a system of knowledge and power that historically served to justify colonial dominance.

66. Which theoretical framework studies the relationship between literature and memory, particularly collective or cultural memory?

  1. Cognitive Poetics
  2. Memory Studies
  3. Trauma Theory
  4. Both b and c, overlappingly

Correct Answer: d) Both b and c, overlappingly

Memory Studies is a distinct interdisciplinary field, and Trauma Theory is a significant sub-field within it that often analyzes how literature engages with individual and collective trauma, frequently through the lens of memory. So both are highly relevant.

67. The Marxist concept of "hegemony," explaining how dominant groups maintain power through consent rather than coercion, was developed by:

  1. Karl Marx
  2. Friedrich Engels
  3. Louis Althusser
  4. Antonio Gramsci

Correct Answer: d) Antonio Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist, developed the concept of cultural hegemony to explain how the ruling class maintains its control not just through force, but also through the dissemination of its ideologies, which become accepted as common sense by the populace.

68. Which theorist is known for their work on the "gaze" and its implications in film and visual culture for feminist analysis?

  1. Judith Butler
  2. Hélène Cixous
  3. Laura Mulvey
  4. Elaine Showalter

Correct Answer: c) Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey's groundbreaking essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" (1975) introduced the concept of the "male gaze" in film, analyzing how cinematic techniques often position the viewer as male, objectifying female characters.

69. The influential work "The Wretched of the Earth" (1961), exploring the psychology of colonization and decolonization, was written by:

  1. Edward Said
  2. Homi K. Bhabha
  3. Frantz Fanon
  4. Chinua Achebe

Correct Answer: c) Frantz Fanon

Frantz Fanon, a Martinique-born psychiatrist and philosopher, is a seminal figure in postcolonial studies, and "The Wretched of the Earth" is a powerful analysis of the psychological and sociological effects of colonialism and the necessity of liberation.

70. The concept of "thick description," arguing for a nuanced, interpretive approach to culture, is associated with:

  1. Michel Foucault
  2. Clifford Geertz
  3. Pierre Bourdieu
  4. Stephen Greenblatt

Correct Answer: b) Clifford Geertz

Clifford Geertz, an American anthropologist, is known for his advocacy of "thick description" as a method for interpreting the layers of meaning embedded in cultural actions and symbols, influencing New Historicism.