Questions for MA English (Part 2)

Questions for MA English (Part 2)

Paper 1 - Poetry

Section A

S.T. Coleridge

Coleridge as a poet of supernatural
Coleridge as a romantic poet
Moral of The Ancient Mariner
Critical appreciation of three poems in the course
Coleridge as a poet of nature & beauty

John Keats

Questions on Keats Odes

Keats odes (A general question on odes, i.e., development of thought, unity in Keats odes)
Critical appreciation of odes
Keats as an escapist
Keats as a Romantic Poet (poet of beauty, of nature)
Sensuousness in Keats poetry
Keats negative capability
Keats Hellenism
Keats as pure poet

Questions on Hyperion”

Autobiographical element in “Hyperion”
Theme of evolution
Symbolism in “Hyperion”
“Hyperion” as an Epic poem

William Blake

Critical Appreciation of poems
Blake as a romantic poet (Blakes mysticism)
Comparison & Contrast of the poems of The Song of Innocence & The Song of Experience

Section B

Philip Larkin

Important features of Larkins poetry
Larkin as a movement poet
Larkin as a poet of realism
Larkins attitude towards moderns
Critical appreciation of poems
Themes of Larkins poetry

Seamus Heaney

Critical appreciation of poems
Themes
Symbolism in Heaneys poetry
Heaney as a poet of exile

Ted Hughes

Animal imagery in his poems
Themes
Critical appreciation of poems

Paper 2 – Drama

Henrik Ibsen  Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler as a tragic play
Psychological problems of Hedda Gabler / Character sketch of Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler as a tragic play

Beckett  Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot a play about absurd
Human relationships in the play
Waiting for Godot as an existentialist play
Different themes in the play
Use of Language / Role of Language
Waiting for Godot as a tragi-comedy
Who is Godot?
Structure of the play

Anton Chekov  The Cherry Orchard

Symbolism in The Cherry Orchard
Theme of change
The Cherry Orchard a comedy or a tragedy?
Compare characters of Lopakhin and Trophimov
The Cherry Orchard as a social or political play

Edward Bond  “The Sea”

Symbolism in The Sea
Theme of individual and society
Character sketches of main characters (Mrs. Rafi, Mr. Hatch)
The Sea as a tragic-comedy

Paper 3 – Novel

Joseph Conrad  “Heart of Darkness”

Symbolism in Heart of Darkness
Character sketch of Mr. Kurtz
Character sketch of Marlow
Marlow as detective of Human soul
Conrads treatment of women
Conrads style and technique
Themes (imperialism, evil)

Achebe  “Things Fall Apart”

Significance of the Title  / Theme / Impact of British arrival on Igbo Culture
Okonkwo as tragic hero
Things Fall Apart as a tragedy
Achebes style
Achebes  treatment of women
Comparison between Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart

Ahmad Ali  Twilight in Delhi

Significance of the title Twilight in Delhi
Impact of British imperialism on Muslim Culture of Delhi
Characterstudy of Mir Nehal, Asghar
Plight of Women
Themes (marriage, imperialism etc.)
Ahmad Ali as a novelist
Symbolism in novel

James Joyce  Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man”

James Joyces style & technique (stream of consciousness, myth, irony, pun, poetic diction etc.)
Character sketch of Stephen Dedalus
James Joyces aesthetic theory of art

Virginia Woolf  To the Light House

How has Virginia Woolf used stream of consciousness technique?
Symbolism in To the Light House
Compare & contrast the characters of Mr. & Mrs. Ramsay
Virginia Woolf as a feminist writer
Character study of Lime Brisko & symbolic importance of her paintings
Themes of To the Light House
Paper 4  Literary Criticism

Aristotle  Poetics”

Aristotles theory of imitation
Catharsis
Tragedy
Plot-Character relationship
Difference between epic & tragedy
Ideal Tragic hero
The tragic Plot

Philip Sidney  An Apology for Poetry”

Sidneys arguments in favour of poetry
Answers to the objections against poetry
Sidneys theory of poetry
Contribution of Sidney as a critic
Sidney as a renaissance epitome

T.S. Eliot The Critic (Tradition & Individual Talent)”

Eliots concept of tradition
Theory of impersonality in poetry
T.S. Eliot as a critic

Raymond Williams  Modern Tragedy”

Summaries of 3 essays:
Tradition & Tragedy
Tragedy & contemporary ideas
Rejection of tragedy

Raymond William as a critic
Raymond Williams concept of tragedy