UGC NET English June 2025: Solved Literary Criticism Questions

UGC NET English June 2025: Solved Literary Criticism Questions

Complete answers with detailed explanations

Question 1

Johnson and the Dramatic Unities

Since the publication of Samuel Johnson's "Preface to Shakespeare" in 1765, which of the Unities have been regarded as optional devices, available as needed by playwrights in England to achieve special effects of dramatic concentration?

1. Unities of Time and Action
2. Unities of Place and Action
3. Unities of Place and Time
4. Unity of Place only
Answer

3. Unities of Place and Time

Explanation

In his "Preface to Shakespeare" (1765), Samuel Johnson argued that the Unities of Time (limiting the action to 24 hours) and Place (limiting the setting to one location) were unnecessary and restrictive conventions. He defended Shakespeare's violation of these rules, arguing they should be treated as optional devices to be used only for dramatic effect, if desired. Johnson did, however, uphold the Unity of Action as important for coherence.

Question 2

Reconciling Philosophy and Poetry

Who, amongst the following, attempted to reconcile discrepancies between various classical authors such as Plato and Aristotle, as well as between philosophy and poetry?

1. Sir Philip Sidney
2. Longinus
3. The Neo-Platonists
4. John Dryden
Answer

3. The Neo-Platonists

Explanation

The Neo-Platonists (from the 3rd century CE, led by Plotinus) sought to create a unified metaphysical system. They actively worked to reconcile the philosophical differences between Plato and Aristotle and often used allegorical readings of poetry (like Homer's epics) to demonstrate that poetry and philosophy were essentially part of a shared spiritual truth.

Question 3

Shakespeare vs. Jonson Analogy

Who said that "Shakespeare was the Homer, or father of our dramatic poets; Jonson was the Vergil, the pattern of elaborate writing"?

1. Matthew Arnold
2. John Dryden
3. Samuel Johnson
4. Ben Johnson
Answer

2. John Dryden

Explanation

This famous analogy, comparing the inspired genius Shakespeare to Homer and the meticulous craftsman Ben Jonson to Virgil, is from John Dryden's influential essay, "Essay of Dramatic Poesy" (1668). The comparison reflects the neoclassical attempt to categorize English dramatists using classical models.

Question 4

Criticism as a "By-Product"

Who has described his criticism as a "by-product" of his "private poetry-workshop" and as "a prolongation of the thinking that went into the formation of my own verse"?

1. S. T. Coleridge
2. Matthew Arnold
3. Ezra Pound
4. T. S. Eliot
Answer

4. T. S. Eliot

Explanation

T. S. Eliot made this statement, emphasizing that his critical essays (like Tradition and the Individual Talent) were not academic theory but an organic extension of his own creative process and were aimed at justifying the kind of poetry he was writing. This links his criticism directly to Modernist poetic practice.

Question 5

Pillars of Criticism

Who has written, "The two pillars upon which a theory of criticism must rest are an account of value and an account of communication"?

1. William Empson
2. I. A. Richards
3. Ezra Pound
4. J. C. Ransom
Answer

2. I. A. Richards

Explanation

This foundational statement is by I. A. Richards, a key figure in 20th-century literary theory and the forerunner of New Criticism. In his work (Principles of Literary Criticism), Richards insisted that any systematic critical theory must address both why a work matters (value) and how meaning is effectively transmitted from writer to reader (communication).

Question 6

English Ode Scholarship Chronology

Arrange the following books in chronological order:

A. G. N. Shuster's The English Ode from Milton to Keats

B. Paul H. Fry's The Poet's Calling in the English Ode

C. John Heath-Stubbs' The Ode

D. Carol Maddison's Apollo and the Nine: A History of the Ode

E. G. M. Foley's Oral Traditional Literature

1. C, A, D, E, B
2. A, B, C, E, D
3. A, D, C, B, E
4. E, B, C, D, A
Answer

3. A, D, C, B, E

Explanation

The correct chronological order by publication year is: A. The English Ode from Milton to Keats (G. N. Shuster) – 1940 (Early scholarly history). D. Apollo and the Nine: A History of the Ode (Carol Maddison) – 1958 (Broad history from ancient times). C. The Ode (John Heath-Stubbs) – 1974 (Poet-critic's analysis). B. The Poet's Calling in the English Ode (Paul H. Fry) – 1980 (Major theoretical study of the ode). E. Oral Traditional Literature (G. M. Foley) – 1981 (Festschrift volume on oral tradition).

Question 7

Philosophical and Linguistic Chronology (17th–18th C.)

Identify the correct chronological order as per the publication years of the following works:

A. Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions and Times

B. The Advancement of Learning

C. Inquiry into the Original of our Idea of Beauty and Virtues

D. The Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language

1. A, C, D, B
2. C, A, D, B
3. D, B, A, C
4. B, A, C, D
Answer

4. B, A, C, D

Explanation

The correct chronological order by publication year is: B. The Advancement of Learning (Francis Bacon) – 1605 (Foundational work on method). A. Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and Times (Shaftesbury) – 1711 (Major Enlightenment moral philosophy). C. Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (Francis Hutcheson) – 1725 (Key text in moral sense theory/aesthetics). D. The Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language (Samuel Johnson) – 1747 (Proposal for the monumental dictionary).

Question 8

Chronology of Critical Theory

Arrange the following works of Criticism chronologically:

A. More than Cool Reason

B. Deal is the Mother of Beauty

C. Margins of Discourse

D. Meter in English: A Critical Engagement

E. The Rule of Metaphor

1. B, D, C, A, E
2. C, A, E, D, B
3. E, D, A, C, B
4. E, A, C, B, D
Answer

4. E, A, C, B, D

Explanation

The correct chronological order is: E. The Rule of Metaphor (Paul Ricoeur) – 1975 (Philosophical exploration of metaphor). A. More than Cool Reason (Lakoff & Turner) – 1987 (Cognitive linguistics applied to metaphor). C. Margins of Discourse (Barbara Hernstein Smith) – 1989 (Critique of critical objectivity). B. Deal is the Mother of Beauty (Mark Turner) – 1992 (Further work on cognitive poetics). D. Meter in English: A Critical Engagement (David Baker, ed.) – 1996 (Critical volume on English meter).

Question 9

Match Literary Terms with Their Creators

Match List-I with List-II:

List I (Term)

A. Thick description

B. Transcendental signified

C. Vehicle, Tenor

D. Alienation Effect

List II (Coined By)

I. Jacques Derrida

II. I A Richards

III. Bertolt Brecht

IV. Clifford Geertz

1. A-IV, B-I, C-II, D-III
2. A-I, B-III, C-II, D-IV
3. A-II, B-I, C-III, D-IV
4. A-III, B-II, C-I, D-IV
Answer

1. A-IV, B-I, C-II, D-III

Explanation

A. Thick Description – IV. Clifford Geertz
An anthropological term used to describe detailed accounts of cultural practices, emphasizing context and interpretation.

B. Transcendental Signified – I. Jacques Derrida
A concept from deconstruction referring to an ultimate meaning or truth that supposedly grounds all signs but is critiqued as a fallacy.

C. Vehicle, Tenor – II. I. A. Richards
From The Philosophy of Rhetoric (1936), these are components of a metaphor: tenor is the subject, and vehicle is the image used to describe it.

D. Alienation Effect – III. Bertolt Brecht
Also known as Verfremdungseffekt, this theatrical technique prevents the audience from losing itself passively in the narrative and promotes critical detachment.

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