UGC NET English: Western Classical Criticism (200 Q&A)
This collection covers foundational theories from Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Longinus, Quintilian, and later classical rhetoric.
- Q: In The Republic, what are the three levels of reality Plato describes in the "Allegory of the Bed"?
A: The Idea (created by God), the physical object (created by the carpenter), and the painting/imitation (created by the artist). - Q: What is the literal meaning of Plato's term Mimesis?
A: Imitation or representation. - Q: Why does Plato argue that poets should be banished from the Ideal State?
A: Because poetry is "twice removed from reality" and appeals to the baser emotions rather than reason. - Q: In which dialogue does Plato discuss poetic inspiration as a form of "divine madness"?
A: Ion. - Q: What is the "nutritive" argument Plato uses against poetry?
A: That poetry "feeds and waters the passions" instead of drying them up. - Q: Plato compares the poet to a magnet in Ion. What does the magnet represent?
A: The divine muse, which transmits power through the poet to the rhapsode and finally to the audience. - Q: What is the "Superiority Theory" in Plato’s view of comedy?
A: The idea that we laugh at the misfortunes or ignorance of others because it makes us feel superior. - Q: According to Plato, what is the only type of poetry allowed in the Republic?
A: Hymns to the gods and praises of famous men. - Q: Define Dithyrambic poetry in the Platonic context.
A: Purely narrative poetry where the poet speaks in his own voice. - Q: What is the fundamental charge against poetry in Book X of The Republic?
A: It is ethically harmful and epistemologically unreliable. - Q: How does Aristotle define Tragedy in Poetics?
A: An imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, using embellished language. - Q: What are the six formative elements of Tragedy in order of importance?
A: Plot (Mythos), Character (Ethos), Thought (Dianoia), Diction (Lexis), Song (Melos), and Spectacle (Opsis). - Q: What does Aristotle mean by Hamartia?
A: An "error of judgment" or a "missing of the mark," rather than a fatal moral flaw. - Q: Define Anagnorisis.
A: A change from ignorance to knowledge (Recognition). - Q: What is Peripeteia?
A: A reversal of fortune or circumstances. - Q: What is the function of Catharsis?
A: The purgation or purification of the emotions of pity and fear. - Q: Aristotle calls the Plot the "soul of tragedy." Why?
A: Because tragedy is an imitation of action and life, not of men. - Q: Distinguish between "Simple" and "Complex" plots.
A: A simple plot has no Peripeteia or Anagnorisis; a complex plot includes one or both. - Q: What are the three Unities often attributed to Aristotle (though he only emphasized one)?
A: Unity of Action (essential), Unity of Time (suggested), and Unity of Place (not mentioned by him). - Q: What is Spoudaios?
A: The "higher" or "serious" type of character found in Tragedy. - Q: What is the difference between Epic and Tragedy according to Aristotle?
A: Epic uses a single meter, is narrative in form, and has no fixed time limit, whereas Tragedy is confined to a "single revolution of the sun." - Q: Define Discovery by means of reasoning.
A: A type of Anagnorisis where the character reaches a conclusion through logic (e.g., in The Choëphori). - Q: What is Phobous and Eleos?
A: Fear and Pity. - Q: How does Aristotle defend poetry against Plato's charge of it being a lie?
A: He states that poetry is "more philosophical and higher than history" because it deals with universals, not just particulars. - Q: What is the "Ideal Tragic Hero"?
A: A man not pre-eminently virtuous or just, whose misfortune is brought upon him not by vice or depravity, but by some error (Hamartia). - Q: What is Mimesis for Aristotle?
A: A creative process of representing the "probable" and the "necessary." - Q: Define Dianoia.
A: The power of saying whatever can be said and should be said at a given moment (Thought). - Q: What is the Complication (Desis) and Unravelling (Lusis)?
A: Desis is the rising action; Lusis is the falling action or resolution. - Q: Why did Aristotle prefer Tragedy over Epic?
A: Because it possesses all the elements of Epic plus music and spectacle, achieving its effect in a shorter time. - Q: What is the "Probability and Necessity" rule?
A: Events in a plot must follow a logical sequence that makes the outcome seem inevitable. - Q: What is the alternative title for Ars Poetica?
A: Epistola ad Pisones (Epistle to the Pisos). - Q: What is the meaning of the phrase Ut Pictura Poesis?
A: "As is painting, so is poetry." - Q: What are the two primary aims of poetry according to Horace?
A: To please (dulce) and to instruct (utile). - Q: What is Decorum in Horatian criticism?
A: The fitness or appropriateness of style, character, and action to the subject matter. - Q: What does In medias res mean?
A: "In the middle of things"—starting a narrative in the midst of the action. - Q: Horace advises poets to keep their work for how long before publishing?
A: Nine years (nonumque prematur in annum). - Q: How many acts does Horace insist a play must have?
A: Five acts. - Q: What is the "purple patch" (purpureus pannus)?
A: An ornate, descriptive passage that is irrelevant to the work as a whole. - Q: What is Horace's view on the Deus ex machina?
A: A god should not intervene unless the knot of the plot is worthy of such a deliverer. - Q: Horace championed the use of which Greek models?
A: Homer and the Greek tragedians. - Q: What is the Greek term for "The Sublime"?
A: Hypsos. - Q: Name the five sources of Sublimity according to Longinus.
A: Grandeur of Thought, Strong Emotion, Figures of Speech, Noble Diction, and Dignified Composition. - Q: Which two sources of the sublime are considered "innate" or "natural"?
A: Grandeur of Thought and Strong Emotion. - Q: What is the primary effect of the Sublime on an audience?
A: Ecstasy (ecstasis) or transport, rather than mere persuasion. - Q: Define Puerility as used by Longinus.
A: A defect where a writer tries too hard to be original but ends up being pedantic or frivolous. - Q: What is Parenthyrson?
A: False or misplaced emotion (emotion where none is needed). - Q: What is Amplification in Longinus's view?
A: The accumulation of all the details and aspects of a subject to strengthen the argument. - Q: How does Longinus view the use of "Figures of Speech"?
A: They are most effective when the audience does not realize they are being used. - Q: To Longinus, what is the relationship between Nature and Art?
A: Nature provides the impulse, but Art provides the method and restraint. - Q: Longinus is often called the first _______ critic.
A: Romantic (or Comparative). - Q: What is the title of Quintilian's major work?
A: Institutio Oratoria (Institutes of Oratory). - Q: What is Quintilian's definition of an orator?
A: Vir bonus dicendi peritus (A good man skilled in speaking). - Q: What are the five stages of composing a speech?
A: Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory, and Delivery. - Q: Quintilian was the first to receive a salary from the state as a teacher of what?
A: Rhetoric. - Q: Which Roman critic emphasized the importance of a "perfect education" for an orator from infancy?
A: Quintilian. - Q: Who first used the term "Tragic Flaw" to translate Hamartia?
A: It is a later interpretation, often associated with Neo-classical readings of Aristotle. - Q: Which classical critic influenced the Neo-classical "Unities" the most?
A: Lodovico Castelvetro (interpreting Aristotle) and Horace. - Q: What is the "affective" approach to criticism?
A: Criticism that focuses on the effect of the work on the audience (prominent in Longinus). - Q: What is Mimesis vs. Poiesis?
A: Mimesis is imitation; Poiesis is the act of making or creating. - Q: Who wrote Philebus and discussed the nature of pleasure and pain in aesthetics?
A: Plato. - Q: Aristotle's Rhetoric identifies three types of oratory. What are they?
A: Forensic (legal), Deliberative (political), and Epideictic (ceremonial). - Q: In Poetics, what is the "Medium" of imitation for poetry?
A: Language, rhythm, and harmony. - Q: According to Aristotle, what is the "least artistic" type of Discovery?
A: Discovery by signs or marks (e.g., scars or necklaces). - Q: What is the difference between Ethos and Pathos in classical rhetoric?
A: Ethos is the character/credibility of the speaker; Pathos is the emotional appeal to the audience. - Q: Which critic discusses the concept of "The Echo of a Great Soul"?
A: Longinus (referring to Sublimity). - Q: What is the "Art of Arts" according to Quintilian?
A: Rhetoric. - Q: What is the "lower" form of imitation according to Plato?
A: Phantastike (creating deceptive illusions). - Q: What is Eicos in Aristotelian terms?
A: Probability. - Q: Define Bombast in the context of Longinus.
A: Swelling or turgid language that exceeds the requirements of the subject. - Q: Which classical work is the first to systematically analyze the "Parts of Speech"?
A: Aristotle’s Poetics (Chapter 20). - Q: What is the "Socratic Method" called?
A: Elenchus (cross-examination). - Q: Who coined the term "censor" for the role of a critic?
A: Horace (implied through his strict rules). - Q: What is Chiasmus?
A: A rhetorical figure where words are repeated in reverse order (A-B-B-A). - Q: Aristotle suggests that Tragedy should evoke "pity for the ______ and fear for the ______."
A: Pity for the unmerited misfortune; fear for the man like ourselves. - Q: What is the Logos in rhetoric?
A: Logical appeal based on facts and reason. - Q: Plato’s "Ion" is a dialogue between Socrates and who?
A: Ion, a rhapsode. - Q: What is the "Iambic" meter’s significance according to Aristotle?
A: It is the most "conversational" of all meters. - Q: Who wrote the Laws, further discussing the censorship of the arts?
A: Plato. - Q: What is Aporia?
A: A state of puzzlement or logical impasse, common in Socratic dialogues. - Q: Horace compares the poet to a _______ in terms of hard work.
A: A whetstone (cos), which sharpens others but cannot cut itself. - Q: What is "The Great Code"?
A: A term later critics used to describe the influence of classical rhetoric on Western literature. - Q: Longinus cites which Hebrew text as an example of the sublime?
A: Genesis ("Let there be light"). - Q: What is Aesthetic Distance (though a modern term, its roots are here)?
A: The gap between the viewer's reality and the fictional world. - Q: What is the "Episodic" plot?
A: A plot where episodes follow one another without probable or necessary sequence; Aristotle called this the worst type. - Q: What is Kairos?
A: The opportune moment for a speech or action. - Q: Define Epanalepsis.
A: A figure of speech where the beginning of a clause is repeated at the end. - Q: Who is the "Father of Literary Criticism"?
A: Aristotle. - Q: What is Mimetic Desire (Platonic root)?
A: The idea that humans imitate the desires of others. - Q: Horace’s Ars Poetica was written in what form?
A: Hexameter verse. - Q: Which source of the sublime deals with the arrangement of words?
A: Dignified Composition. - Q: Aristotle says comedy represents men as _______ than they are.
A: Worse. - Q: Plato’s "Allegory of the Cave" is found in which book of The Republic?
A: Book VII. - Q: What is the "Golden Mean" in Aristotelian ethics/criticism?
A: Balance between two extremes. - Q: Who is the "ideal listener" in Horace’s Ars Poetica?
A: Quintilius Varus. - Q: Define Peroration.
A: The concluding part of a speech. - Q: What is Asteismos?
A: Refined, witty irony. - Q: Aristotle defines Metaphor as what?
A: Giving a thing a name that belongs to something else. - Q: Which classical critic most influenced Philip Sidney’s An Apology for Poetry?
A: Aristotle (and Horace). - Q: What is the "Art of Hiding Art"?
A: Ars est celare artem (A concept central to Horace and Longinus). - Q: What is the "Literary Quarrel" (Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes) rooted in?
A: The debate over whether modern writers could ever surpass the classical masters like Homer and Virgil. - Q: What is the "Bed of the Craftsman" in Plato's hierarchy of reality?
A: The physical bed, which is an imitation of the "Form" or "Idea" of a bed. - Q: In The Republic, what does Plato call the "Science of Dialectic"?
A: The highest form of knowledge that leads to the understanding of the Good. - Q: What is Mimesis of the second degree?
A: Art, because it imitates the physical world, which is itself an imitation of the world of Forms. - Q: Which dialogue of Plato explores the origin of language?
A: Cratylus. - Q: Plato classifies "Imitative Art" into two types in The Sophist. What are they?
A: Iconomic (faithful representation) and Phantastic (distorted representation for visual effect). - Q: What is the "Myth of Er"?
A: The concluding story in The Republic regarding the afterlife and reincarnation, used to emphasize moral responsibility. - Q: How does Plato view the "Truth" of a poet vs. a "Truth" of a philosopher?
A: The poet deals with shadows/appearances; the philosopher deals with the essential Form. - Q: What is the "Chariot Allegory" in Phaedrus?
A: A metaphor for the human soul: a charioteer (Reason) driving two horses (Spirit and Appetite). - Q: Why did Plato dislike the "Dithyramb"?
A: Because its emotional and ecstatic nature was seen as disruptive to the rational mind. - Q: What is the "Great Lie" or "Noble Lie" in The Republic?
A: A myth told to citizens to ensure social harmony and acceptance of their class. - Q: What does Aristotle mean by Magnitude (Megethos)?
A: The length or scale of a tragedy; it must be long enough to allow a change of fortune but short enough to be remembered. - Q: Aristotle lists three "Means of Imitation." What are they?
A: Rhythm, Language, and Harmony. - Q: What is Opsis?
A: Spectacle; the visual stagecraft, which Aristotle considered the "least artistic" element. - Q: In which chapter of Poetics does Aristotle discuss the "Ideal Plot"?
A: Chapter 13. - Q: What is the difference between Praxis and Poiesis?
A: Praxis is action/doing; Poiesis is making/creating. - Q: Define Anagnorisis by "Memory."
A: A recognition triggered by seeing something that awakens a past feeling or event. - Q: What is the "Double Plot"?
A: A plot where there is a different outcome for the good and the bad (Aristotle considered this inferior for Tragedy). - Q: Aristotle says Epic poetry is written in what specific meter?
A: Heroic Hexameter. - Q: What is the "Irrational" in Epic?
A: Elements of the supernatural or improbable that are more acceptable in Epic than in Tragedy. - Q: What is Mythos?
A: The arrangement of the incidents (The Plot). - Q: Define Ethos as a formative element.
A: The moral element in a character that reveals their choices and habits. - Q: What is the "Universal" (Katholou) in poetry?
A: What a person of a certain character will say or do according to probability or necessity. - Q: How does Aristotle define Diction?
A: The expression of meaning in words. - Q: What is the "Three Unities" myth?
A: The false belief that Aristotle mandated Unity of Time, Place, and Action; he only strictly mandated Unity of Action. - Q: What is Enargia?
A: Pictorial vividness in words, making the audience "see" the action. - Q: Aristotle compares poetry to what other art form to explain Mimesis?
A: Painting. - Q: What is Agon?
A: A formal debate or contest between two characters in a play. - Q: What is a "Fatality" plot?
A: A plot where the hero’s downfall is purely the result of external fate (Aristotle preferred internal Hamartia). - Q: What is Lusis?
A: The resolution or "untying" of the plot. - Q: Aristotle states that the "best" recognition occurs simultaneously with what?
A: Reversal (Peripeteia). - Q: Horace’s Ars Poetica is addressed to whom?
A: Lucius Calpurnius Piso and his two sons. - Q: What is the Limae labor?
A: "The labor of the file"—the meticulous process of revising and polishing a poem. - Q: What is the "Art of Appropriateness" in Horace?
A: Decorum. - Q: How should a poet handle traditional stories (e.g., Achilles)?
A: They should follow tradition and keep the characters consistent with their established traits. - Q: What is Horace's view on the Chorus?
A: It should act as an actor, sustain a friendly role, and not sing anything between acts that doesn't advance the plot. - Q: Define Ab ovo.
A: Starting a story "from the egg" (the very beginning), which Horace advises against in favor of In medias res. - Q: What is the "Slavish Imitator"?
A: Someone who copies others too closely without original contribution. - Q: What is the Horatian view on "New Words"?
A: They are permissible if used with restraint and derived from Greek sources. - Q: What is the "Profit and Pleasure" principle?
A: Aut prodesse aut delectare (To be useful or to delight). - Q: Horace says a poem is like a _______?
A: A picture (Ut pictura poesis). - Q: Why does Longinus criticize the Odyssey compared to the Iliad?
A: He views the Odyssey as the "ebbing tide" of Homer’s genius, focusing more on character and narrative than sublime passion. - Q: What is the "Vocation of the Critic" according to Longinus?
A: To appreciate and point out the greatness in literature. - Q: Define Asyndeton in Longinus's rhetoric.
A: The omission of conjunctions to create a sense of urgency and rapid emotion. - Q: What is Polyptoton?
A: The repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings. - Q: How does Longinus distinguish between the "Sublime" and "Amplification"?
A: Sublimity is a certain "elevation," while amplification is "quantity" or accumulation. - Q: What is Phantasia?
A: The power of "visualization" or "images" that allow a writer to see what they are describing. - Q: Longinus argues that a "flawed greatness" is better than what?
A: Flawless mediocrity. - Q: What is the "Transport of the Soul"?
A: The feeling of being elevated as if the reader themselves had produced the great thought. - Q: Which figure of speech does Longinus call "the most effective"?
A: The Hyperbaton (inversion of normal word order). - Q: What is the "Moral decay" argument for the decline of the sublime?
A: Longinus suggests that the loss of political liberty and the rise of greed led to the decline of great literature. - Q: What are the three functions of an orator?
A: To instruct (docere), to move (movere), and to delight (delectare). - Q: What is Inventio?
A: Finding the arguments for a speech. - Q: What is Elocutio?
A: The choice of style and language. - Q: Quintilian’s preferred style of rhetoric was modeled after whom?
A: Cicero. - Q: What is the Progymnasmata?
A: Preliminary rhetorical exercises used in classical education. - Q: Define Ethopoeia.
A: The art of creating a character’s voice or speech. - Q: What is Antonomasia?
A: Substituting a proper name with an epithet (e.g., "The Philosopher" for Aristotle). - Q: What is the "Attic" style?
A: A plain, simple, and direct style of rhetoric. - Q: What is the "Asiatic" style?
A: An ornate, florid, and emotional style of rhetoric. - Q: What is Copis?
A: Abundance or fullness of expression. - Q: Who wrote the Treatise on Style?
A: Demetrius. - Q: What are the "Four Styles" mentioned by Demetrius?
A: Plain, Elevated, Elegant, and Forcible. - Q: What is Stichomythia?
A: Dialogue in alternate lines, usually used in moments of high tension. - Q: What is the "Great Chain of Being" root in Plato?
A: The principle of "Plenitude" found in the Timaeus. - Q: Who is the first person to use the word "Critic"?
A: It is traced back to the Greek Kritikos, but its literary use solidified in the Alexandrian period. - Q: What is Aporia in a literary text?
A: An irresolvable internal contradiction. - Q: What is Hysteron Proteron?
A: A figure of speech where what should come second is put first (e.g., "put on your shoes and socks"). - Q: What is Meiosis?
A: Understatement. - Q: What is Zeugma?
A: A figure of speech where a single verb applies to two nouns in different senses. - Q: Who were the "Sophists"?
A: Teachers in ancient Greece who specialized in rhetoric and the art of persuasion. - Q: What is Encomium?
A: A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly. - Q: Define Parataxis.
A: A style of writing that uses short, simple sentences without subordinating conjunctions. - Q: What is Hypotaxis?
A: A style of writing using complex sentences with many subordinate clauses. - Q: What is the "Socratic Irony"?
A: Feigning ignorance to lure others into revealing their own lack of knowledge. - Q: What is Euphemism?
A: Substituting a harsh word with a milder one. - Q: What is the "Hermeneutic Circle"?
A: The idea that one's understanding of the text as a whole is established by reference to the individual parts and vice versa. - Q: What is Ekphrasis?
A: A vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art. - Q: What is the Skene in a Greek theatre?
A: The background building to which the platform stage was connected. - Q: What is Parodos?
A: The entrance song of the Chorus. - Q: What is Exodos?
A: The final scene or departure of the play. - Q: Aristotle’s Poetics was "lost" to the West for centuries. Who preserved it?
A: Arabic scholars like Averroes and Avicenna. - Q: What is Hecate? (In a literary context)
A: Often used as a symbol of the dark, supernatural elements Plato wanted to banish. - Q: What is the "Objective Correlative" root?
A: Though T.S. Eliot coined it, the concept of linking emotion to specific objects is seen in Aristotle’s Poetics. - Q: What is Aporia in Socratic dialogue?
A: The state of "no way out"—a logical puzzle. - Q: Who wrote Characters, a series of brief sketches of various moral types?
A: Theophrastus. - Q: What is Prosopopoeia?
A: Personification; giving a voice to an inanimate object. - Q: What is Litotes?
A: A form of understatement using a double negative (e.g., "Not bad"). - Q: What is Anaphora?
A: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. - Q: What is Epistrophe?
A: Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses. - Q: What is the "Art of Grammar" in the classical world?
A: The study of literature and language, the first step in the Trivium. - Q: What is the Trivium?
A: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. - Q: What is the Quadrivium?
A: Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy. - Q: What is Metonymy?
A: Substituting the name of an attribute for that of the thing meant (e.g., "The Crown" for the King). - Q: What is Synecdoche?
A: A part used to represent the whole (e.g., "All hands on deck"). - Q: What is Pleonasm?
A: The use of more words than are necessary to convey meaning. - Q: What is Tmesis?
A: Breaking a word into two parts with another word in between. - Q: What is Oxymoron?
A: Two contradictory terms used together. - Q: What is Allegory?
A: A story with a hidden meaning, typically moral or political. - Q: What is Pathos?
A: A quality that evokes pity or sadness. - Q: Who said, "Nature is the first and primary cause of all things"?
A: Longinus.
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