Annaul Exam Imp Questions of English Literature

Annaul Exam Imp Questions of English Literature
YESTERDAY · PUBLIC
WILLIAM BLAKE
Wordsworth’s verdict about Blake (on his death) was that "There was no doubt that this poor man was mad, but there is something in the madness of this man which interests me more than the sanity of Lord Byron and Walter Scott". Elaborate with reference to Black’s works. (2000)
“All that is valuable in Blake is in his lyrics.” Discuss. (2001)
Critically discuss Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Song of Experience as Poetry. (2002)
Critically evaluate W. Blake as a writer of lyrical poetry. (2004)
The predominant almost exclusive theme of W.Blake's short poems is based on the feeling of a child's unpassioned soul, the tone is simple while the emotions possess a pure ardour. Discuss. (2006)
Critical notes: Romantic themes in W.Blake's poetry (2006)
Critical notes: Salient features of Blake’s poetry (2007)
Critical notes: The influence of the occult in the poems of Blake
(2008)
“For mercy has a human heart
Pity a human face
And love the human form divine
And Peace the human dress …
And all must love the human form,
In heathen Turk or Jew:
Where Mercy, Love and Pity Dwell
There God is dwelling too.”
Who wrote these verses? Comment on whether you think they are merely moral platitudes or spring from the poet’s sincerity. (2008)
JOHN KEATS
Short notes: Negative Capability (2000)
How the Odes of Keats reflect his growing concern with the relation between art and life, beauty and reality? (2001)
Discuss the image of ‘the Serpent Woman’ in Lamia and also image of ‘The Cruel Woman’ in La Belle Dame Sans Merci (Keats). (2002)
“Synaesthesia in Keats is a natural concomitant of other qualities of his poetry.” Discuss illustrating from his poems.
(2003)
Detailed notes: Keats as a writer of Odes (2004)
“Free from all moral degree, Keats’ poetry has the most compiling enchantment for lovers of pure beauty. Discuss.
(2005)
Keat's odes depict a skillful fusion of a seeking of beauty which endures and an impassioned meditation of death. Comment. (2006)
“Keats had no religion save the religion of beauty, no God save Pan; the Earth was his great consoler, and so passionately did he love her, with a love far more concrete and personal than that of Wordsworth or even Shelley”. Discuss. (2007)
Keats was a romantic poet who believed in the importance of sensation and its pleasures which included taste, touch and smell as well as hearing and sight. How far do you think he fulfills these beliefs in his poems? (2008)
Keats has been called ‘a mystic through the medium of the senses’. Examine the statement in relation to his major odes. (2009)
5critically analyze the proportion of imagination and reality in Keats's Odes (2010)
Keats' art is full of passion, the object of this desire is not the "intellectual beauty" of Shelley but is caused by the enchantment of the senses. Discuss (2011)
Does Keats escape from the realities of life?Justify your answer to this question through citation from his works. (2012)
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE
Coleridge chooses the supernatural themes which he invests with the semblance of the truth. Comment considering some of his poems. (2011)
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
Shelley’s weaknesses as a writer have always been evident; rhetorical abstraction; intellectual arrogance; and movements of intense self-pity. But in great poems like the "West Wind" or great prose works like "Defence", it is precisely these limitations that he transcends, and indeed explodes. Discuss. (2000)
In the best of Shelley’s poetry, there is a splendour of movement and realization of visionary intensity. Discuss it with reference to Shelley's poems. (2001)
Discuss Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound as an allegory of Man’s Emancipation in an Age of Hope and Deliverance. (2002)
Detailed notes: Adonis is a triumphant elegy. (2003)
Detailed notes: Shelley as revolutionary poet (2004)
Shelley was inspired by love, that is not limited to mankind only. Discuss. (2005)
Mathew Arnold describes Shelley “a beautiful and ineffectual angel beating in the void his luminous wings in vain”. What does he mean? Elaborate. (2007)
Critical notes: Shelley as a revolutionary poet (2008)
“To many readers Shelley’s genius is primarily lyrical: which commonly implies emotional. This is very doubtful – intense and uremitting intellectual activity seems to have been the main characteristic of his mind”. Justify or refute this remark by Graham Hough illustrating from the poems you have read. ( 2009 )
Write a critical note on Shelley's Utopianism (2010)
Shelley's life was one of passionate devotion to intellect; his poems show a philosophical and social force working in the same direction. Illustrate giving examples. (2011)
What is the relationship between Shelley's. 'Love's Philosophy' and the 'Idea of Romanticism'? (2012)
JOHN STUART MILL
Discuss J. S. Mill as an important figure in British empiricism. (2000)
What is the principal Quest of J. S. Mill’s mind? Give an analytical study of his thought in support of your arguments.
(2002)
MARY ANNE EVANS AKA GEORGE ELIOT
George Eliot is generally credited with changing the nature of the English Novel. Discuss the change with reference to the novelists’ works. (2000)
Discuss the Ending of George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss as a manipulated ending to a narrative directed by cause-and-effect. (2002)
Do you think that George Eliot is the first English novelist who has shown tremendous psychological insight? (2005)
Critical notes: Conflict between love and duty in G.Eliot (2006)
In what way do we consider George Eliot as the first modern novelist in the English Literature? Discuss. (2007)
Critical notes: Characterization in the novels of George Eliot
(2008)
George Elliot's works depict her firm grasp of social relations.Discuss in detail.
(2012)
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Short notes: Substance of Shakespearean Tragedy (2000)
Describe "Hamlet" as one of the revenge plays in English Literature. (2000)
Hamlet suffers and suffers greatly. Can you account for his suffering? (2001)
Critically analyze Hamlet’s delay problem. (2002)
‘T. S. Eliot considered Hamlet to be an artistic failure.’ Do you agree? Give reasons for your answers. (2003)
Discuss Shakespeare’s concept of tragedy with special reference to ‘Hamlet’. (2004)
Of all the plays it is the longest and is precisely one on which Shakespeare spent most pains, yet left on it superfluous and inconsistent scenes. Substantiate statement with at least five superfluous and inconsistent scenes. (2005)
‘Hamlet touches on many problems, that troubled the protagonists, soul, like vengeance, suicide, love, without offering a solution for anyone.’ Discuss. (2007)
“In Hamlet we see a great, an almost enormous intellectual activity and a proportionate aversion to real action consequent upon it.” Examine this remark by Coleridge. (2008)
“The time is out of joint! O cursed Sprite
That ever I was born to set it right.”
Explain why Hamlet feels so. (2009 )
"Frailty thy name is woman" .Explain why hamlet feels so? ( 2010)
Shakespeare draws the images of nature not laboriously but luckily, when he describes any thing, you more than see it, you feel it too. Illustrate, giving examples from characterisation in Hamlet ( 2011 )
Throughout the play,Hamlet claims to be feigning madness,but his portrayal of madness is so intense and so convincing that many readers believe that Hamlet actually slips into insanity at certain moments in the play.Do you think this is true,or is Hamlet merely Play-acting insanity?Substantiate your view point through evidence from the play. (2012)
EARNEST MILLER HEMINGWAY
Hemingway is preoccupied with the human predicament and a moral code that might satisfactory control it. Discuss with reference to his ‘The Old Man and the Sea’. (2001)
Hemingway’s ‘Old Man and the Sea’ has been best describe as ‘A heroic story’ filled with light from Sea and Sky, and sympathy with men and their mysterious fellow-creatures’. Discuss. (2004)
The Old Man and the Sea. AT 26531 words by Author’s laborious count it is perhaps his most sustained attempt to unite the actual and symbolic under one continuous narrative roof. Comment critically. (2005)
Portray the character of Santiago; do you find a combination of the actual and the symbolic in it? (2007)
Draw a complete picture of the Hemmingway hero, keeping in mind ‘The Old Man and the Sear’ in mind. (2011)
'A man can be destroyed but not defeated' is well depicted by Hemingway in "Old Man and the Sea". Discuss in detail.
(2012)
JANE AUSTEN
"Pride and Prejudice" and Jane Austen is a novel with limited range. Discuss . (2000)
It is said of Jane Austen that she involves the ‘Critical Intelligence’ of her readers. The prevailing interest is not only in ‘aesthetic delight’ but also in a sense of moral conviction. How far is this true of her “Pride and Prejudice”? (2001)
Short notes: Jane Austen’s novels are the work of a miniaturist. (2001)
“Jane Austen’s view of life is the view of the eighteenth century civilization of which she was the last exquisite blossom. One might call it the moral realistic view. Jane Austen was profoundly moral.” (David Cecil). Elaborate. (2002)
Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice’ has been described as a fairy tale, in which deserving girl gets her prince. Would you say this was a good description? Give reasons for your answer.
(2003)
Jane Austen’s clear sighted eyes read through the inner minds of those who live around her, just as if those minds were transparent. Comment on her art of characterization. (2007)
“Faithful Observation, personal detachment, and a fine sense of ironic comedy are among Jane Austen’s Chief Characteristics as a writer.” Discuss and illustrate from ‘Pride and Prejudice’.
(2008)
“Here is a limited world; but she interprets it with the penetrating insight of the creative artist”. Discuss this remark about Jane Austen in the light of Pride and Prejudice. ( 2009 )
Discuss the significance of the title of Jane Austen's " pride and Prejudice". (2010)
Jane Austen’s clear-sighted eyes read through the inner minds of those who live around her or those whom she invents, just as if those minds were transparent. Discuss her characterization in Pride and Prejudice in the light of this remark. (2011)
Jane Austin's writing is a vivid account of her understanding of the human behaviour, Illustrate the truth from her novel "Pride and Prejudice". (2012)
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
W.B. Yeats was a Romantic Poet. Discuss with reference to his major Poems. (2000)
How does Yeats create ‘terrible’ beauty out of his imagery?
(2001)
What does Byzantium symbolize in “Sailing to Byzantium”? Justify or refute Stocks’ remark that Yeats’ poetry is a battle ground for the clash of opposite with reference to “Sailing to Byzantium”. (2002)
Give briefly a critical appreciation of ‘Among School Children’ – Yeats. (2003)
Write critical note on major themes of Yeats’ later poetry with special reference to ‘Sailing to Byzantium’, ‘Among School Children’ and ‘The Second Coming’. (2004)
W. B. Yeats works deal intensely with three basic urges. List each urge elaborately. (2005)
“His poetry possesses an imaginative mysticism, an essential attribute of Celticism, he has the ability to efface the outlines of material objects in a dreamy mistiness.” Dilate upon Yeats’ poetry, in the light of this remark. (2007)
‘Yeats’ symbols, like his mask, by their triple reference to self, world, and spirit achieve on the aesthetic plane a unity of bring impossible in life. Interpret Yeats’ Poem ‘BYZANTIUM’ in the light of this remark. (2008)
Stock says of ‘The Second Coming’ that in this poem Yeats sets his own age in the perspective of eternity and condenses a whole philosophy of history into it so that it has the force of Prophecy’. Discuss. (2009)
"The Second coming" Yeats presents the idea of civilization headed by the "Rough Beast". Discuss (2010)
Yeats work is thoroughly steeped in imaginative mysticism which is the essential attribute of celticism. Discuss in relation to his poems you have read. (2011)
Is "The Second Coming" definitely a ""visionary poem"?Is yes describe what Yeats vision is? (2012)
ROBERT JOHN BROWNING
“People are Browning’s passion: men and women, revealed through their ambitions and failures, love and hatred.” Discuss with reference to his poems. (2001)
Browning’s Dramatic monologue. (2002)
Detailed notes: Browning’s Obscurity. (2003)
Discuss Browning’s monologues as beautiful psychological analysis of characters belonging to different countries. (2004)
Detailed notes: Robert Browning’s interest in psychological analysis of characters from different countries. (2005)
Critical notes: The use of the dramatic monologue by Robert Browning (2006)
Browning had a “robust optimism” unlike the other Victorian poets who were worriers and doubters. Do you agree with this? Explain your answer through examples of Browning’s poetry. (2008)
Write a detailed critical note on Browning’s Dramatic Monologue with special reference to ‘The Last Ride Together’ and ‘My Last Duchess’. ( 2009 )
' Browning did not invent the 'dramatic monologue ' but made it particularly his own'. Discuss
(2010)
Browning's art reflects an intellectual curiosity, a systematic quest of truth and desire for rationality characteristic of his age. Give detailed comments. (2011)
Robert Browning belongs to the Victorian age. Justify the statement. (2012)
CHARLES JOHN HUFFAM
DICKENS
Short notes: Humour and pathos in Dicken’s novels. (2001)
Short notes: Dickens’ Under World (2002)
Are ‘Dickens the humorist’ and ‘Dickens the reformer’ complementary or hostile to each other? Discuss in detail.
(2003)
It is said, “Dickens has his own sentimental way of solving social problems”. Discuss with examples. (2004)
Dickens set so personal a stamp on his books that at every turn he seemed to be an innovator. Discuss. (2005)
'The one gift necessary to the great Novelist is the capacity to create living characters'. Discuss any two novels by Dickens in the light of this comment. (2006)
Dickens’ novels reflect the contemporary Victorian urban society with all its conflicts and disharmonies, both physical and intellectual. Discuss. (2007)
How far do the stories of Dickens reflect the social evils of the Victorian Age? Explain with reference to any two of his novels. (2008)
Do you agree with the view that Dickens is a social Novelist? Discuss with reference to his major novels. (2010)
Dickens writes of the lower middle class not as a detached observer, but as one on their own level and instinctive fraternity can be traced in his novels. Discuss. (2011)
Discuss Charles Dickens as a critic of his age. (2012)
CHARLES LAMB
Lamb seldom permitted his profounder views of life to appear above the humorous, pathetic and ironical surface of his writings. Discuss with reference to his "Essays". (2000)
‘Above all Charles Lamb was a refined humanist whose smile could be both satirist and tender.’ Discuss this statement with reference to his essays.
(2001)
How does the Romantic Sensibility appear in Charles Lamb’s Essays? (2002)
‘Lambs’ essays are lyric poems in prose.’ How far this remark is true? Illustrate with special reference to ESSAYS of Elia.
(2003)
Write a Critical note on Charles Lamb as a prose writer. In what particular ways was he different from the prose writers of his age? Give examples. (2004)
Critical notes: Charles Lamb as a prose writer (2006)
Charles Lambs’ essays are called ‘Lyric Poems in Prose’. Give your own comments on this statement referring to Lambs’ Essays of Elia’. (2009)
Above all Charles Lamb was a refined humanist whose smile could be both satiric and tender". Elaborate the truth of this statement. (2012)
THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT
Discuss the artistic and emotional aspects in ‘The Waste Land’ by Eliot. (2000)
Is ‘The Waste Land’ a public or private poem? (2001)
Detailed notes: Tradition and Individual Talent. (2003)
As a lover of English literature, what impresses you in T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’? Give your analysis. (2003)
T. S. Eliot claims universally for his (The Wasteland), but many critics disagree with it. Discuss.
(2004)
To what extent T. S. Eliot claim is justified to have claimed the universality for the wasteland, when there exists a mounting wave of criticism by other critics? Give your objective views. (2005)
“Nothing else so truly reflects the age and redeem it.” How far is it a just remark about T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land”? (2008)
Complex,Satiric,full of symbolism and illusions to famous works of literature,The Waste Land is a landmark of the 20th Century.Discuss in detail.
(2012)
SAMUEL BARCLAY BECKETT
“Some of Pozzo’s speeches go beyond what seems dramatically plausible in a decaying boss-figure.” Substantiate from your reading of the play ‘Waiting for Godot’.
(2002)
Discuss briefly the universality of text ‘Waiting for Godot’ – Samuel Backett: Word Master.
(2003)
In Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot the pattern for waiting is an ingenious combination of expectations and let downs, of uncertainty and of gradual run down without end. How far do you agree with this view? ( 2009 )
Beckett's "waiting for Godot " presents nothingness, uncertainty and hopelessness of modern man. Discuss (2010)
LORD ALFRED TENNYSON
Short notes: Tenny as a consummate craftsman in verse. (2001)
“Tennyson worked with words like a jeweler, weighing them against each other, tasting their luster, placing them in their foil; yet they are mostly current coinage.” Discuss. (2003)
JOHN RUSKIN
What was the general, social, economic and moral atmosphere in the Victorian age? Write your answer with reference to the writings of Ruskin. (2001)
Short notes: Ruskin’s Social Criticism (2002)
‘Ruskin founded in England what was really a new religion, wherein the quest for beauty in the daily lie of all, even the most humble, become a sort of duty.’ Discuss. (2003)
Ruskin expressed his ideas in a magnified poetic and decorative prose. Discuss with examples.
(2005)
Critical notes: Ruskin’s prose style (2007)
Discuss the roles of Ruskin and Carlyle in the development of Victorian prose. (2010)
OSCAR FINGAL O'FLAHERTIE WILLS WILDE
Short notes: Oscar Wilde’s Ballad of Rending Goal (2002)
Critical notes: Depiction of upper class society in the plays of Oscar Wilde (2008)
JONATHAN SWIFT
Do you agree that Swift is a misanthrope in his ‘Gulliver’S Travels’? Why? (2000)
Comment on Swift’s policy that imperfections in nature are of stirring up human industry, with reference to his ‘Gulliver’s Travels’. (2001)
Swifts’ Gulliver’s Travel is a ‘mock utopia’. Explain. (2002)
Jonathan Swift became famous for his political writing. Gulliver’s Travels as an entertaining political story, but it became very popular as a tale for young people. Give examples from any one of the tales you remember vividly.
(2003)
Write short notes on Jane Austen and Swift separately. As you have seen them in “Pride and Prejudice” and “Gulliver Travels”. (2005)
'Gulliver's Travel' "expresses despair or that its import is nihilistic, is radically to misread the book". Justify or reject the statement. (2006)
Critical notes: Swift as a satirist
(2007)
Discuss ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ as a mock epic. (2008)
“Gulliver himself is a touchstone, a standard, a reporting agent, but he is not a person”. Explain and discuss with reference to Gulliver’s Travels. ( 2009 )
Do you agree with the view that Swift's " the Gulliver's travels" symbolizes the liners turbulences of Human Being.
(2010)
In Gulliver’s Travels Swift dissects the English political life with a corrosive satire. Elaborate (2011)
Swift's irony reaches its crescendo in the fourth voyage of Gulliver. Elaborate (2012)
THOMAS HARDY
“The novels of Hardy are of intensely dramatic and epic nature; his characters move progressively towards a crisis.” Discuss it with reference to his novels. (2001)
Short notes: Significance of the ROAD in Hardy’s novels. (2002)
Detailed notes: Hardy’s characters are subservient to plot. (2003)
It is said by C. Rickett. “In his earlier writing, Sweetness and bitterness are Contrasted but in his later novels of Hardy, the gloom is needlessly intensified”. Discuss with examples. (2004)
Detailed notes: The concept of fate in Hardy’s novels. (2005)
In ' 'Tess', Hardy has rebelled against tradional and orthodox views'. Comment. (2006)
Hardy is neither a feminist, nor a misogynist, but a realist. How far is this statement true? Discuss. (2007)
Do you believe that it was Hardy’s intention to depict Tess as a victim of divine sadism? In your opinion how successful was he in creating feelings of anger, frustration and resentment in the reader? (2008)
Hardy is neither an optimist nor a pessimist. He is essentially a meliorist. Discuss in relation to Hardy’s novels that you have read. ( 2009 )
Hardy's works portray fate or destiny as malignant and cruel agent of nature lurking at the prospect of human well-being.Discuss Critically. (2012)
ROBERT LEE FROST