MA English Literature 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which literary device involves a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work?
- Metaphor
- Allusion (Correct answer)
- Synecdoche
- Apostrophe
Correct answer: Allusion
An allusion is an indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work that the author expects readers to recognize.
Question 2: What is the name of the narrative technique where the story is told through the thoughts of one character?
- Third-person omniscient
- Stream of consciousness (Correct answer)
- Unreliable narration
- Free indirect discourse
Correct answer: Stream of consciousness
Stream of consciousness is a narrative technique that presents the continuous flow of a character's thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.
Question 3: Which poetic form consists of 14 lines typically written in iambic pentameter?
- Villanelle
- Haiku
- Sonnet (Correct answer)
- Ode
Correct answer: Sonnet
A sonnet is a 14-line poem typically written in iambic pentameter, with the two main forms being the Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets.
Question 4: The term 'denouement' in literary analysis refers to:
- The central conflict of a story
- The resolution or untangling of the plot after the climax (Correct answer)
- The technique of foreshadowing events
- The narrative's inciting incident
Correct answer: The resolution or untangling of the plot after the climax
Denouement is the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
Question 5: In which novel does the character Jay Gatsby throw extravagant parties hoping to reconnect with Daisy Buchanan?
- The Sun Also Rises
- An American Tragedy
- The Great Gatsby (Correct answer)
- Tender Is the Night
Correct answer: The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby's obsessive love for Daisy and his pursuit of the American Dream.
Question 6: Which rhetorical device involves repeating the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses?
- Epistrophe
- Chiasmus
- Anaphora (Correct answer)
- Asyndeton
Correct answer: Anaphora
Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, as in Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I have a dream' speech.
MA English Literature 1
Which literary device involves a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work?