Table of Contents
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
- What is catharsis?
Ans. The term catharsis means purgation, purification, or clarification. - What the unity of time?
Ans. The unity of time demands that the action of a tragedy should remain confined within twenty-four hours. - What is hamartia?
Ans. Hamartia is a tragic flaw or mistake in judgment, not necessarily a moral failing, according to Aristotle. - What are the constituents of a tragedy?
Ans. Aristotle says that both epic and tragedy share many elements, but tragedy has some unique parts not found in an epic. - How does Sidney prove that poets are not liars?
Ans. Sydney proves that poets are not liars because they create imitations of truth, not truth itself. - Who is Sophocles?
Ans. Sophocles was an ancient Greek playwright known for his tragic dramas, including “Oedipus Rex” and “Antigone.” - What is Dr. Johnson’s opinion about Shakespeare’s dramas?
Ans. Dr. Johnson believes Shakespeare’s dramas lack true tragedy or true comedy but are a unique blend known as tragi-comedy. - To what school of criticism does Dr. Johnson belong?
Ans. Dr. Johnson belongs to the school of literary criticism known as “Neo-Classical” or “Classical.” - What are the primary passions of human life?
Ans. Love, hate, desire, joy, wonder, and sorrow are the primary or essential passions of human life. - What is the main difference between a poet and a common man?
Ans. A poet possesses a heightened sensitivity and imaginative power compared to the common man. - What is Coleridge’s idea of ‘fancy’?
Ans. According to Coleridge, fancy is the mental ability to combine existing images in an attractive way without creating anything new. - What does Aristotle mean by imitation?
Ans. Aristotle defines imitation as creating something new by drawing from the real world.
2017
- What, according to Aristotle, is the most important element of tragedy?
Ans. Three constitute elements in tragedy-plot, character, and thought are concerned with the objects of imitation. - What according to Sidney, is the aim of poetry?
Ans. According to Aristotle, the aim of poetry is to teach and to delight. - Who is Stephen Gosson?
Ans. Stephen Gosson, a native of Kent in England, was influenced by the Puritan movement and wrote “The School of Abuse,” critiquing the immorality of literature and theater. - What is an epic?
Ans. An epic is a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation. - Who coined the expression “Willing suspension of disbelief?
Ans. “Willing Suspension of Disbelief” means people accept unreal or supernatural things in stories if they’re interesting and seem real. - What is “The Preface to Shakespeare”?
Ans. The book Preface to Shakespeare is a critical work by Dr. Johnson on Shakespearean drama. - How does Wordsworth define a poet?
Ans. According to him, a poet is a man speaking to men. A poet differs from other human beings not in kind but only in degree. He is a man endowed with a more lively sensibility and with more enthusiasm and tenderness than ordinary people. A poet has a greater knowledge and a more comprehensive soul than others. - How many stages are there in Wordsworth’s Poetic Process?
Ans. There are four stages in Wordsworth’s Poetic Process. They are – observation, recollection, contemplation, and imagination. - What is meant by the term ‘Vates’?
Ans. The word ‘vates’ means a diviner, fore-seer, or prophet. - Why does Johnson call Shakespeare a “Poet of Nature”?
Ans. According to Johnson, Shakespeare is the poet of nature more than any other modern writer because his plays offer a faithful picture of real life. - What is Stasimon?
Ans. A stasimon is a choral song without anapaests or trochees. - How does Coleridge define “imagination”?
Ans. Imagination is an act of the human mind in which different images are fused and unified to create something new.
2018
- What is catharsis?
Ans. The term catharsis means purgation, purification, or clarification. - What does Aristotle mean by imitation?
Ans. Aristotle defines imitation as creating something new by drawing from the real world. - What is Dr. Johnson’s opinion about Shakespeare’s dramas?
Ans. Dr. Johnson believes Shakespeare’s dramas lack true tragedy or true comedy but are a unique blend known as tragi-comedy. - What is hamartia?
Ans. Hamartia is a tragic flaw or mistake in judgment, not necessarily a moral failing, according to Aristotle. - What are the constituents of a tragedy?
Ans. Aristotle says that both epic and tragedy share many elements, but tragedy has some unique parts not found in an epic. - What do you mean by the unity of action?
Ans. Unity of action means everything in the story is focused on the main plot. - What are the major elements of a tragedy?
Ans. (i) Plot; (ii) Character; (iii) Thought; (iv) Diction; (v) Music; and (vi) Spectacle are the major elements of a tragedy. - How does Sydney prove that poets are not liars?
Ans. Sydney argues that poets are not liars because they create imitations of truth, not truth itself. - What is mimesis?
Ans. Mimesis is the imitation of the real world in art, literature, or other forms of expression. - How does Coleridge define a poem?
Ans. According to Coleridge, a poem is a type of composition that aims at pleasure, not truth. - What is poetic diction?
Ans. Poetic diction is how poets choose and use words and metaphors in their poetry. - What is Coleridge’s idea of fancy?
Ans. According to Coleridge, fancy is the mental ability to combine existing images in an attractive way without creating anything new.
2019
- What does Aristotle mean by epic?
Ans. An epic is a lengthy narrative poem about heroic adventures or historical events. - Who, according to Wordsworth, is a poet?
Ans. A poet, as per Wordsworth, is a person with intense sensitivity, deep emotions, and profound understanding. - What is Sydney’s notion about tragi-comedy?
Ans. Sydney describes tragi-comedy as a “mongrel” play. - What is the first fault of Shakespeare that Dr. Johnson mentioned in his ‘The Preface to Shakespeare’?
Ans. Shakespeare prioritizes convenience over virtue, lacking moral purpose, as noted by Dr. Johnson. - What is the most important element of a tragedy?
Ans. The most important elements of a tragedy are the plot, character, and thought. - What is Willing Suspension of Disbelief”?
Ans. “Willing Suspension of Disbelief” means people accept unreal or supernatural things in stories if they’re interesting and seem real. - What do you mean by a Heroic couplet?
Ans. It is a pair of poetical lines each of which has five iambic feet and ends with the same sound. - What is organic unity?
Ans. Organic unity means that all parts of a writing fit together in a balanced and proportional way. - Who was Seneca?
Ans. Seneca was a Roman philosopher, statesman, and playwright who lived in the first century AD. - What, according to Aristotle, is the common feature of all art?
Ans. The common feature of all art is imitation. - What is Dr. Johnson’s allegation about the plots of Shakespeare’s dramas?
Ans. Dr. Johnson alleges that Shakespeare’s plots are not tightly connected but he is careful about the main parts of the story. - How does Sydney differentiate between ‘laughter and delight”?
Ans. Delight doesn’t always come with laughter, and laughter isn’t always the reason for delight, but they can go together sometimes.
2020
- What is “touchstone”?
Ans. Touchstone is a stone used to judge the purity of gold. - Who remarked that Chaucer’s poetry had “gold dew drops of speech”?
Ans. Matthew Arnold - What is poetic diction?
Ans. Poetic diction is how poets choose and use words and metaphors in their poetry. - Who was Stephen Gosson?
Ans. Stephen Gosson, a native of Kent in England, was influenced by the Puritan movement and wrote “The School of Abuse,” critiquing the immorality of literature and theater. - To whom does Sidney compare the haters of poetry?
Ans. Sidney compares poetry haters to vipers that kill their parents at birth and hedgehogs that drive away their shelterer. - What is hymn?
Ans. A hymn is a religious song or poem that praises God. - What is catharsis?
Ans. The term catharsis means purgation, purification, or clarification. - Why did Dr. Johnson write ‘The Preface to Shakespeare’?
Ans. Dr. Johnson wrote ‘The Preface to Shakespeare’ to introduce and explain his thoughts about Shakespeare’s works. - What type of poet, according to Dr. Johnson, is Shakespeare, above all?
Ans. Shakespeare is primarily known as a poet of nature. - What type of critic is Dr. Johnson?
Ans. Dr. Johnson is a neo-classical critic who influenced romantic criticism. - What is Lyrical Ballads?
Ans. Lyrical Ballads is a book of poems by Wordsworth and Coleridge that was different from what people liked at that time. - What is fancy?
Ans. According to Coleridge, fancy is the mental ability to combine existing images in an attractive way without creating anything new.
Brief Questions with Answers from SET Suggestion-2022 (3rd Year)
Poetics
- What was the nick-name of Aristotle?
Ans: His nick-name was Stagirite. As he was born at Stagira, Pope gave him that nick-name. - What was the name of the school founded by Aristotle?
Ans: The name of the school founded by Aristotle was the Lyceum. - What is Poetics? [DU. (affi) 2017]
Or, What sort of book is Aristotle’s Poetics? [NU. 2011]
Ans: Poetics is a critical treatise on literature especially on the drama and poetry. - What was the purpose of writing Poetics?
Ans: The purpose of writing poetry is to reply to Plato’s attack on poetry and to set aright the nature and function of literature. - How does Aristotle define poetry?
Ans: Aristotle defines poetry as a kind of ‘imitation’. - What is the Greek word for ‘imitation’? [DU. (affi) 2016]
Or, What is the English word for “mimesis”? [NU. 2013]
Ans: The Greek word for imitation is mimesis. The English word for mimesis is imitation. - What are the objects of imitation in poetry?
Ans: The objects of imitation in poetry are “men in action.” - How does a poet re-create reality?
Ans: A poet re-creates reality by representing men either as better or worse than in real life. - What is the function of the poet?
Ans: “It is not function of the poet to relate what has happened but what may happen-according to the laws of probability or necessity.” - What are the manners of imitation?
Ans: (i) The poet may imitate by speaking in narrative; (ii) he may continue speaking through in the same person, without change; (iii) the whole story may be represented in the form of an action on the stage. - What is Panegyric?
Ans: Panegyric is a formal written thing or oral composition praising a person. It is often expressed in exaggerated terms. - What is Margites?
Ans: Margites is a comic-epic by Homer. - To which did Aeschylus give the first place of importance?
Ans: Aeschylus gave the first place of importance to dialogue. - Who introduced three characters in tragedy.
Ans: Sophocles, an ancient Greek tragedian (496-406 BC), introduced three characters in tragedy. - What is comedy?.
Ans: Comedy is the imitation of men worse than the average in the sense of ridiculous. - What is tragedy?
Ans: Tragedy is a representation of an action that is worth serious action, complete in itself, and of some amplitude. - What is Diction?
Ans: Diction is the arrangement of the verses. - What is Thought?
Ans: Thought is the ability to say what is possible and appropriate in any given circumstances. - What is Plot?
Ans: Plot is the arrangement of the incidents. - What is life-blood (soul) of a tragedy?
Ans: Plot is the life-blood/soul of a tragedy. - What should be the plot of a tragedy?
Ans: The plot of a tragedy should be complete and whole. - What is a beginning?
Ans: A beginning is that which does not necessarily come after something else, but something else necessarily comes after it. - What is a middle?
Ans: A middle is that which follows something else, and is itself followed by something. - What is an end?
Ans: An end is that which naturally follows something else, and is not itself followed by anything. - What is a well-constructed plot?
Ans: The plot having a beginning, a middle and an end is a well- constructed plot. - What do you mean by the unity of plot?
Ans: Unity of plot means the organic connection of each part. - What are the kinds of plots?
Ans: According to Aristotle plots are of two kinds: (i) Simple and (ii) Complex. - What is a reversal?
Ans: A reversal is a change from one state of affairs to its opposite. - What is an episodic plot?
Ans: An episodic plot is one in which there is neither probability nor necessity in the sequence of its episodes. - What is Aristotle’s view on episodic plots?
Ans: According to Aristotle, the episodic plots are the worst. - What are the quantitative parts (sections/divisions) of tragedy?
Ans: The quantitative parts of tragedy are – (i) prologue; (ii)episode; (iii) exode; and (iv) choral song. - What is the function of tragedy?
Or, What are the two major emotions of tragedy? [NU. 2014] Ans: The function of tragedy is to arouse the emotions of pity and fear. - How are pity and fear aroused?
Ans: Pity is aroused by undeserved misfortune and fear is aroused by the misfortune of men like ourselves. - What is a tragic hero?
Ans: A tragic hero must be good, but not perfect. He has some error in judgement as a result of which he moves from happiness to misery. - What is deus ex machina?
Ans: Literally this Latin phrase means ‘god in the machine’. The phrase refers to an artificial device that used to indicate a change of scene. Later the phrase came to mean any artificial device employed by a dramatist at some critical juncture in the plot to resolve the issue. - What are the kinds of tragedy?
Ans: There are four kinds of tragedy: (i) tragedy of plot or complex tragedy; (ii) tragedy of suffering; (iii) tragedy of character; and (iv) tragedy of spectacle. - How does an epic differ from a tragedy?
Ans: An epic differs from a tragedy both in the length of the composition and in the metre used. - Why does Aristotle consider tragedy to be a higher form of art than the epic?
Ans: Aristotle considers tragedy to be a higher form of art than the epic because of music and spectacle, which are absent in epic, and which contribute to the effect besides the other four constituents present in the tragedy. - What are the dramatic unities? [DU. (affi), 2016]
Ans: Dramatic unities are the principles of dramatic structure relating to action, time and place. - What is the unity of time? [NU. 2016]
Ans: The unity of time demands that the action of a tragedy should remain confined within twenty-four hours. - What is the unity of place?
Ans: The unity of place demands that the action of a play should occur in a single place. - What is an epic?
Ans: An epic or a heroic poem is the representation of a heroic action in the most elegant style in which the mind is inspired with a desire to be worthy. - What is Stasimon? [NU. 2017; DU. (affi) 2018]
Ans: A stasimon is a choral song without anapaests or trochees. - What does Aristotle mean by imitation? [NU. 2016, 2018]
Ans: According to Aristotle, imitation is an act of imaginative creation by which the poet, drawing his material from the phenomenal world, makes something new out of it. - What is hamartia/ tragic flaw? [NU. 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018; DU. (affi) 2016, 2018]
Ans: It is the error in judgement’ or miscalculation as a result of which the tragic hero moves from happiness to misery.. - What are the major elements of a tragedy?
Ans: (i) Plot; (ii) Character; (iii) Thought; (iv) Diction; (v) Music; and (vi) Spectacle are the major elements of a tragedy. - How does Aristotle define epic? [DU. (affi) 2017]
Or, What is an epic? [NÚ. 2017]
Or, What does Aristotle mean by epic? [NU. 2019]
Ans: Aristotle defines epic as a kind of poetic imitation which is narrative in form, and which employs a single metre. - What, according to Aristotle, is the common feature of all art?
Ans: The common feature of all art is imitation. - What is the most important element of a tragedy? [NU. 2017, 2019]
Ans: Plot is the life-blood/soul of a tragedy or most important in a tragedy. - What are the three unities? [NU. 2011]
Ans: The three unities are the unity of time, unity of place and unity of action. - What is according to Aristotle the best form of discovery? [NU. 2013]
Ans: The discovery that grows out of the situations themselves is the best form of discovery. - What is hymn? [NU. 2020]
Ans: A hymn is a religious song or poem that praises God. - What is catharsis? [NU. 2020]
Ans: The term catharsis means purgation, purification, or clarification.
An Apology for Poetry
- What is An Apologie for Poetrie?
Ans: An Apologie for Poetrie is a critical book on poetry and drama written by Sir Philip Sidney, a poet, critic and politician in the Elizabethan Age. - What is the title of the book given by its writer?
Ans: Sidney titled the book In Defence of Poesie. - What does the title, An Apologie for Poetrie, mean?
Ans: The title, An Apologie for Poetrie, means’ begging pardon for writing poetry. - What is the name of the book written by Stephen Gosson in which he attacked poetry?
Ans: The School of Abuse. - How does Gosson attack poetry in his book?
Ans: Gosson condemned poetry as immoral and mischievous leading youngmen to committing sin. - Who was Edward Wotton?
Ans: Edward Wotton, a man of great learning and knowledge, was a secretary with Sidney in the embassy to the court of the emperor Maximillian II in Vienna in 1574-75. - What is “Pedanteria”?
Ans: It is derived from the Italian word ‘Pedante’ meaning a school master. The word in English means vain display of useless knowledge. - Who is Pugliano?
Ans: He was a trainer in horsemanship in the court of the Emperor of Italy, and Sidney and Edward Wotton received from him training in horsemanship. - Why did Sidney take initiative to defend poetry?
Ans: As Sidney loved poetry and considered poetry as his unelected vocation, he decided to make a defence of poetry against any attack. - Why does Sidney call the poetry-haters ungrateful?
Ans: Sidney calls them so because poetry has been regarded as the light-giver to ignorance and has taught man what is good or bad since the beginning of civilisation. - Who is Homer?
Ans: Homer is the great Greek epic poet who was regarded in the antiquity as the author of the ‘Iliad’ and the ‘Odyssey’. - Who was Dante?
Ans: Dante (1265-1321) was the great epic poet of Italy. He wrote the Divine Comedy in which he made a spiritual journey.in heaven and hell. - Who was Boccace?
Ans: Boccace (1313-1375) Boccaccio was an Italian writer and one of the pioneers of modern Italian language. He wrote Decameron in prose but Sidney considered it to be a piece of poetry for its excellent literary qualities. - Who was Petrarch?
Ans: Petrarch (1306-74), a great poet of Italy, was famous for writing sonnets. The sonnets to Laura are considered to be the best of his poetry. - Why does Sidney call the earliest historians poets?
Ans: Because the earliest historians chose poetry as the medium of their expression. - Who was Herodotus?
Ans: Herodotus (480 B.C.-425 B.C.) was the father of history as the Greeks called him. He travelled many countries, being banished as the result of local feud and ultimately became a great historian but he used verse to write history. - What or who is a Muse?
Ans: Muse is, in Greek mythology, the goddess of literature and the arts. They were the daughters of Mnemosyne. - What did the Romans call a poet? [DU. (affi) 2017]
Ans: The Romans called the poets ‘Vates’. - Who was Pythagoras?
Ans: Pythagoras was an ancient Philosopher belonging to Samos, who lived in the middle of sixth century B.C. He is famous for his doctrine of the transmigration of the soul. - Who was Plato?
Ans: The great philosopher of Greece, Plato (421 B.C.-348 B.C) was the disciple of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. He was the founder of idealism in philosophy. His prose writings are, Sidney believes, invested with the highest poetic qualities. - What is ‘Gyges Ring’?
Ans: ‘Gyges Ring’ is a story in Plato’s Repubic. Gyges found a ring which made him invisible and by its help made himself the king of Lydia. - What is Delphi?
Ans: Delphi is a shrine where there was à temple of Apollo, god of prophecy. - What is Oracles of Delphi?
Ans: The oracles of Delphi are the prophetic answers to the queries of the persons who wanted to know their future. - What does the word ‘poet’ mean?
Ans: The word ‘poet’ means a maker. - What does the poet create?
Ans: The poet by his imagination lifts him up above nature and creates things which are not found in the first nature. - What is second nature and how is it created?
Ans: The nature created by the poets out of the already existing nature is the second nature which is based upon invention. - Who is Orlando?
Ans: Orlando, a valiant knight, is the hero of Ariosto’s poem, Orlando Furioso. - Who is Virgil?
Ans: Virgil is the writer of the famous Latin epic, the ‘Aeneid’ and the great poet of ancient Rome. - Who is Aeneas?
Ans: Aeneas is the hero of the great epic, The ‘Aeneid’ written by Virgil. - What do you mean by ‘second nature’?
Ans: The world as created by God is the first nature and the rest of creation placed under man is the second nature. - What, according to Aristotle, is the definition of poetry?
Ans: Aristotle defines poetry as an art of imitation which consists in representing, counterfeiting or figuring is a picture in speech. - What is the end or purpose of poetry?
Ans: To teach and delight is the purpose of poetry. - Who is Sophocles? [NU. 2016]
Ans: The second of the three great Attic tragedians is Sophocles (496 B.C.-406 B.C) who wrote ninety tragedies in which he presented human psychology under fate with superhuman skill. - How does a poet teach a moral lesson?
Ans: The poet teaches moral lesson through a story which is attractive to the readers. - Who was Tully?
Ans: Tully’s full name is Marcus Tullers Cicero and he was a great Roman orator and a statesman. - Who was Ulysses?
Ans: Ulysses was the king of Ithaca and the hero of Homeric epic, the Odyssey. - What is the moving power of poetry?
Ans: Poetry draws the attention of the readers by the imagined stories and then charms them to learn what it intends. This is the moving power of poetry. - Who is Achilles?
Ans: Achilles is the Greek hero in the battle of Troy. Being the son of a divine, i.e. Thetis, he is almost invulnerable and he kills the Trojan hero, Hector. - Who is Dido?
Ans: Dido, the much lamented queen of Carthage, hurled herself in the pyre being left by her beloved Aeneas. - Who is Tantalus?
Ans: Tantalus is the son of Zeus and founder king of Argos who killed his son Pelops and served his flesh in the dinner to test the knowledge of gods and goddesses. - Who is Atreus?
Ans: Atreus, the son of Pelops and king of Argos, was so cruel as to serve the flesh of his brother’s sons to their father to take revenge. - Who is Agamemnon?
Ans: Agamemnon, the elder son of Arteus and king of Argos, offered his young daughter Iphegenia as a sacrifice. - What is Aesop’s Tales?
Ans: The collection of allegorical tales told by Aesop who was a slave in Semos in about 570 B.C. - What, according to Sidney, is a comedy?
Ans: The comedy is an imitation of the common errors of life which the dramatist presents in such a way as no one likes to follow. - What is tragedy according to Sidney?
Ans: A tragedy is the representation of the most stirring and tyrannous activities of life which moves our inner heart to compassion and sympathy leading to the perfection of our souls. - Who is Horace?
Ans: Horace (65 B.C-08 B.C), a great Latin poet, was noted for writing poems in perfect form about the life in Rome. - Who is Agrippa?
Ans: Agrippa (1486-1533), a famous writer in Latin, attacked the false monks, theologians and universities of his time for their weaknesses. - What is “Gorboduc”?
Ans: Gorboduc is the first English tragedy written in the form of a modern tragedy in 1565 by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton. - Who was Euripedes?
Ans: Euripedes (480 B.C.-406 B.C) was one of the three great tragedians of ancient Greece. He is said to be a realist in his tragedies. - Why did Sidney call English dramas neither right comedy nor true tragedy?
Ans: Because of the mingling of tragic and comic elements, Sidney called the English drama neither right comedies nor true tragedies. - What do you mean by the term ‘mingling of drama??
Ans: ‘Mingling’ means mixing of opposite elements. In a play if the mirth or pleasure is mixed with sorrows or sufferings, it is called a mingled drama. - What fault does Sidney find in the contemporary English comedy?
Ans: The English comedy of Sidney’s time represents only indecency or vulgarity quite unfit for chaste ears. - What, according to Sidney, should be true aim of a comedy?
Ans: Comedy should aim at providing delightful instruction in addition to laughter. - What does Sidney suggest the comedy writers should refrain from?
Ans: The comedy writers should not try to raise laughter by depicting sinful deeds or by the scenes of misery. - How does Sidney illustrate the contemporary condition of drama in England?
Ans: Sidney compares the falling condition of drama in England to an ill-mannered daughter who brings disgrace to her by her uncultured behaviour. - What fault does Sidney find in the existing love lyrics?
Ans: The existing love lyrics are laden with cold and artificial passion and they lack in sincerity and genuineness of that passion. - What kind of critic is Philip Sidney?
Ans: Sir Philip Sidney is a classical-romantic critic who is judicial, creative and original. - Would you call Sidney the father of English criticism?
Ans: Although some critics call him the father of English criticism but a serious study of his writing does not offer genuine reason to call him the father of English criticism. - Why is not Sidney called the father of English criticism?
Ans: Because Sidney writes his defence depending on the classical principles of poetry and drama. - What is Sidney’s contribution to English criticism?
Ans: Sidney’s Apology is an epitome of Renaissance criticism in which the old ideas about poetry and drama are judged and presented from the point of view of a modern critic. - What according to Sidney, is the aim of poetry? [NU. 2017]
Ans: To teach and to delight - What is meant by the term ‘Vates’? [NU. 2017]
Ans: The term, ‘Vates’ means a ‘diviner’ or ‘foreseer’ or ‘Prophet’. - How does Sydney prove that poets are not liars? [NU. 2016, 2018]
Ans: The poet does not affirm anything, he says what may be or should be, so the question of lying does not arise at all. - What is mimesis?
Ans: The Greek word for imitation is mimesis. - What is Sydney’s notion about tragi-comedy? [NU. 2019]
Ans: Sidney calls a tragi-comedy a “mongrel” play. - Who was Seneca? [NU. 2019]
Ans: Seneca was a Roman philosopher, statesman, and playwright who lived in the first century AD. - Who was Stephen Gosson? [NU. 2017, 2020]
Ans: Stephen Gosson, a native of Kent in England, was influenced by the Puritan movement and wrote “The School of Abuse,” critiquing the immorality of literature and theater. - To whom does Sidney compare the haters of poetry? [NU. 2020]
Ans: Sidney compares poetry haters to vipers that kill their parents at birth and hedgehogs that drive away their shelterer.
Preface to Shakespeare
- What is a Preface?
Ans: A preface is an author’s introductory remarks at the beginning of a book. - Who is Shakespeare?
Ans: Shakespeare is the greatest poet-dramatist of English literature. - What does antiquity serve in criticism?
Ans: Antiquity is always considered as a quality to judge a writer. - How can we judge an author of the past?
Ans: We can judge an author of the past by the continuation of regard and esteem through the ages. - What type of characters does Shakespeare present in his dramas?
Ans: Shakespeare presents characters who do not belong to any particular country, place or custom but are the real progeny of common humanity. - What is the speciality of dialogues in Shakespearean plays?
Ans: The dialogues in Shakespearean plays are based on actual conversation of people. - How love is treated in Shakespeare’s plays?
Ans: Love is treated by Shakespeare as one of the many passions of human beings but not as the sole passion which brings victory or failure. - What is the speciality of Shakespearean heroes?
Ans: The heroes in Shakespeare are neither giants nor the pigmies. They are the real men who act or speak like human beings adorned with genuine human qualities. - Who was John Dennis?
Ans: John Dennis was a critic who flourished in the early eighteenth century and attacked Shakespeare in his book, An Essay on the Genius and Writings of Shakespeare. - Who was Thomas Rhymer?
Ans: Thomas Rhymer was a critic of the early eighteenth century, who bitterly criticized Shakespearean dramas in his book, A Short View of Tragedy. - How do you refute the fault that Shakespeare sacrifices ‘virtue to convenience?
Ans: This fault cannot be levelled against Shakespeare because he does not write a moral precept but a drama of life. This fault is perhaps ascribed to him out of Johnson’s neo-classical attitude. - Is it true that Shakespeare was very fond of quibbles?
Ans: Yes, Shakespeare was very much fond of quibbles and whenever he would get a chance to use a quibble, he would not let it go unused. - Who is Voltaire?
Ans: Voltaire is a great philosopher, critic and political leader of France, who condemned Shakespeare for lack of taste and ignorance of the classical rules of drama. - What is philology?
Ans: It is the science of language which deals with the origin, development and changes of language. - Who was Cato?
Ans: Cato (234 B.C-149 B.C.) was a Roman statesman and orator and great prose writer on history, medicine, law and agriculture. - Who is Caliban?
Ans: Caliban, half-man and half fish creature in Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest plays an important role as a comic character. - What is Comedy of Errors?
Ans: It is a very interesting and successful comedy written by Shakespeare in his early period for laughter and enjoyment. - What is Romeo and Juliet?
Ans: Romeo and Juliet is a highly romantic tragedy, written by Shakespeare following the English translation of an Italian drama. - Who was Rowe?
Ans: Nicholas Rowe (1674-1718) was a playwright and critic who was the poet laureate in 1715 and edited Shakespearean plays dividing them into acts and scenes. - Who was Dr. Warburton?
Ans: Dr. Warburton was the Bishop of Gloucester and the first editor of Shakespeare’s works.. - Who was Pope?
Ans: Alexander Pope was the greatest poet of the eighteenth century English literature. As he was a great critic too, he edited Shakespeare’s works in 1725. - How did Pope edit Shakespeare’s works?
Ans: Pope relied on those authors who had edited Shakespeare’s works instead of making his own judgment. - Who was Theobald?
Ans: Theobald was a poet, writer of dramas and critic of the eighteenth century. - Who were Heming and Condell?
Ans: John Heming and Henry Condell were fellow actors of Shakespeare’s dramas. They jointly edited the first folio of Shakespeare’s plays in 1633. - What is Pope’s opinion about the duty of an editor?
Ans: Pope calls the duty of an editor dull what he felt in editing Shakespeare’s works. - Who was Sir Thomas Hamner?
Ans: Sir Thomas Hamner was one of Shakespeare’s works in the eighteenth century. - Who was Mr. Upton?
Ans: Mr. Upton was a critic of Shakespeare who wrote “Critical Observations on Shakespeare”; in 1746. - Who was Dr. Grey?
Ans: Dr. Grey was an eighteenth century critic of Shakespeare who wrote “Historical, and Explanatory Notes’ on Shakespeare in two volumes in 1754. - What is Canons of Criticism?
Ans: It is a book on criticism by Thomas Edward in which the writer attacked Warburton’s edition of Shakespeare. - What is collation?
Ans: Collation is a careful comparison between copies of texts, manuscripts or books to learn the differences between them for the truth. - What is Conjecture?
Ans: Conjecture is a guess to put forward an opinion formed without facts as proof. - What is amendation?
Ans: Amendation means taking out errors from a book or a passage in a book. - Why did Johnson follow the division of plays into five acts?
Ans: Johnson followed the customary distribution of the plays into five acts although he believed that this division is arbitrary. - Who was Justus Scaliger?
Ans: Joseph Juster Scaliger (1540-1609) was the greatest scholar of the Renaissance and is described to be “the founder of historical criticism.” - What is the opinion of Scaliger about conjectures?
Ans: Scaliger said that their conjectures made them look silly and they were ashamed of them after they had come upon better manuscripts. - How does John Dryden appreciate Shakespeare?
Ans: According to John Dryden, Shakespeare was the poet of nature who had the largest and most comprehensive soul of all modern and perhaps the ancient poets. - How did Shakespeare gather experience about life?
Ans: Whenever Shakespeare required experience about life, he looked inward and found her there. - What are, according to Dryden are the faults of Shakespeare?
Ans: Dryden finds Shakespeare many times flat and insipid, his comic wits degenerating into clenches and his serious swelling into bombast. - To which school of criticism does Dr. Johnson belong? [NU. 2016; DU. (affi) 2016]
Ans: Dr. Johnson belongs to the school of literary criticism known as “Neo-Classical” or “Classical.” - Why is Dr. Johnson called an independent critic?
Ans: Because Dr. Johnson does not abide by the principles of any school of criticism. - Why is Dr. Johnson called a critic of rectified classicism?
Ans: Although Dr. Johnson is a neo-classical critic, he differs from it in many important principles, so he is rightly called a rectified neo-classical critic. - Why is Dr. Johnson called a balanced critic?
Ans: Because, he reasonably and justly judges the qualities and defects of Shakespeare without being influenced by any sort of emotion, he is rightly called a balanced critic of Shakespeare. - What kind of criticism has Johnson applied to his Preface to Shakespeare?
Ans: Legislative and dogmatic kind of criticism Dr. Johnson has applied in his Preface to Shakespeare. - What is “The Preface to Shakespeare”? [NU. 2017]
Ans: ‘Preface to Shakespeare’ means a book in which Johnson has given the explanatory remarks about Shakespeare as a dramatist. - Who, according to Wordsworth, is a poet? [NU. 2019]
Or, How does Wordsworth define a poet? [NU. 2017]
Ans: A poet is a man speaking to men, endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness and possessing a more comprehensible soul. - Why does Johnson call Shakespeare “Poet of Nature”? [NU. 2017]
Ans: Shakespeare is called the poet of nature because of his presentation of human life that flows through every man of all the ages of human civilization. - What are the constituents/ elements of a tragedy? [NU. 2016, 2018]
Ans: Three constituent elements in tragedy-Plot, Character and Thought are concerned with the objects of imitation. - What do you mean by the unity of action? [NU. 2018]
Ans: Unity of action means everything in the story is focused on the main plot. - What is Dr. Johnson’s opinion about Shakespeare’s dramas? [NU. 2016, 2018]
Ans: According to Dr. Johnson, Shakespeare has neither true tragedy nor true comedy but a special kind of drama, known as tragi-comedy. - What is the first fault of Shakespeare that Dr. Johnson mentioned in his “The Preface to Shakespeare’? [NU. 2019]
Ans: Shakespeare, according to Dr. Johnson, sacrifices virtue to convenience and is much more careful to please than to instruct. - What is Dr. Johnson’s allegation about the plots of Shakespeare’s dramas?
Ans: Dr. Johnson alleges that Shakespeare’s plots are not tightly connected but he is careful about the main parts of the story. - Why did Dr. Johnson write “The Preface to Shakespeare’? [NU. 2020]
Ans: Dr. Johnson wrote ‘The Preface to Shakespeare’ to introduce and explain his thoughts about Shakespeare’s works. - What type of poet, according to Dr. Johnson, is Shakespeare, above all? [NU. 2020]
Ans: Shakespeare is primarily known as a poet of nature. - What type of critic is Dr. Johnson? [NU. 2020]
Ans: Dr. Johnson is a neo-classical critic who influenced romantic criticism.
Preface to Lyrical Ballads
- What is Lyrical Ballads?
Ans: Lyrical Ballads is a book of poems by Wordsworth and Coleridge that was different from what people liked at that time. - What is a ballad?
Ans: A ballad is a song or an episode or a simple story, transmitted orally. - What is the Preface to Lyrical Ballads?
Ans: It is a prose-work written by William Wordsworth as a preface to the poetical work named, Lyrical Ballads jointly written by himself and Coleridge. - How many times did Wordsworth write the preface? [DU. (affi) 2016, 2018]
Ans: Wordsworth wrote the Preface five times: 1798, 1800, 1802, 1805 and 1815. - What is the speciality of Preface to Lyrical Ballads published in 1802?
Ans: It is added with an appendix on poetic diction. - Why is Preface to Lyrical Ballads important to us?
Ans: Preface to Lyrical Ballads contains the announcement of the coming of a new era in poetry of lasting and permanent significance. - What is the theme of Preface to Lyrical Ballads?
Or, What does Wordsworth deal with in Preface to Lyrical Ballads?
Ans: Wordsworth deals with a variety of themes such as the subject matter and style of language, and of poetry, the nature of poetry and the poetic process, the characteristics and functions of the poet, the relationship between poetry and science, the matter of taste and the creation of taste and the role of metre in poetry. - What was the real intention of writing Preface by Wordsworth?
Ans: Wordsworth wrote the preface with the sole purpose of familiarizing the readers with his poems which were different from the popular trend. - What is meant by the expression, “gaudiness and inane. Phraseology”?
Ans: The expression means lifeless and dull high-flown words and elaborate conceits. - What kind of life was chosen for the new poetry published in the P.T.L.B.?
Or, What was the theme of Wordsworth’s new poetry?
Ans: Humble and rustic life was generally chosen as the theme for the new poetry (Later on, called Romantic poetry). - What kind of language does Wordsworth choose for his new poetry?
Ans: The language really used by common men, is chosen by Wordsworth as the language of his new poetry after purifying it from the vulgar elements. - Why does Wordsworth choose the language of the common man?
Ans: Because the language of the common men is derived from the natural surroundings and narrow circle of intercourse and so it is not subject to corroding influence of social vanity. - What is meant by “metrical composition”?
Ans: The metrical composition means poetry as it is written in metre. - What the 18th century poetry or neo-classical poems did lack?
Ans: The 18th century poetry or the neo-classical poems always lacked a good and worthy purpose. - What is the difference between a poet and a common man? [NU. 2016]
Ans: A poet possesses a heightened sensitivity and imaginative power compared to the average person. - What is ‘organic sensibility’?
Ans: It is the capacity of a man to receive impressions through the senses. - What is personification?
Ans: Personification is a figure of speech in which the abstract ideas are attributed the qualities of a living being. - Why did Wordsworth want to avoid the use of Personification in his poems?
Ans: Wordsworth avoided the use of personification of abstract ideas because it acts as a mere mechanical device in many cases. - What is ‘Prosaims’?
Ans: The quality of the ordinary writing in prose lacking imagination is known as ‘prosaims’. - What is metre? (also spelt metre) [DU. (affi) 2016]
Ans: Metre is a pattern arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse. - What is, according to Wordsworth, the affinity between prose and poetry?
Ans: Both prose and poetry are spoken by and directed to the same organ and are closely related in their nature, function and appeal and originate from the same source. - What is ‘celestial ichor’?
Ans: The fluid flowing through the veins of gods’ according to classical mythology is the celestial ichor. - How does the poet study man?
Ans: The poet studies man in his nature, his elemental instincts and natural impulses and in his action and reaction upon the things that surround him. - How is nature connected with man?
Ans: Nature and man are connected with each other inseparably because both of them are derived from God. - What is the similarity between the poet and the Man of science?
Ans: Both the poet and the scientist seek pleasure in knowledge. - What is the difference between the poet and the scientist?
Ans: The poet delves deep into the core of reality while the scientist deals with a particular branch of knowledge. - What is the difference between science and poetry?
Ans: Science is restricted to the intellectual field and deals with particularities of nature while the poet deals with the universal and seeks the general truth. - How does the poet bind all human beings in one bond?
Ans: By passion and knowledge the poet binds together all the members of the human society. - How is poetry superior to science? [DU. (affi) 2018]
Ans: Poetry is shared by all while science is limited to a few in its application. - How does the poet interpret.passions?
Ans: The poet interprets passions by his own feeling and observations which he has.. - How is poetry compared to human heart?
Ans: Poetry is as immortal as the human heart. - What purpose does metre serve in poetry?
Ans: Metre heightens and improves the pleasure provided by poetry. - What is the general aim of the Preface?
Ans: To create and educate public taste for poetry, is the general aim of the preface. - Can the theory of Wordsworth’s poetry be called a revolt against eighteenth century poetry?
Ans: Yes, by his theory of poetry Wordsworth attacked the 18th century poetry. - Why is Preface to Lyrical Ballads “called a romantic manifesto”?
Ans: Because the Preface conveys the announcement of the coming of a new poetry, later known as the romantic poetry essentially different to the 18th century, it is called a romantic manifesto. - Why is the poetry of Wordsworth called romantic poetry?
Ans: As the poetry of Wordsworth stresses on the feelings about the incidents and situations of the common life, it is called romantic poetry or new and sensational poetry. - How many stages are there in Wordsworth’s Poetic Process? [NU. 2017]
Ans: There are four stages in the process of poetic creation observation, recollection, contemplation and imagination. - Who, according to Wordsworth, is a poet?
Ans: A poet is a man speaking to men, endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness and possessing a more comprehensible soul. - What are the primary passions of human life? [NU. 2016]
Ans: Love, hate, desire, joy, wonder and sorrow are the primary or essential passions of human life. - What is poetic diction? [NU. 2018, 2020]
Ans: Poetic diction is how poets choose and use words and metaphors in their poetry. - What is “Lyrical Ballads”? [NU. 2020]
Ans: Lyrical Ballads is a collection of poems written by Wordsworth and Coleridge jointly in a kind of style opposed to the contemporary taste and manners.
Biographia Literaria
- What is Biographia Literaria?
Ans: It is a book on literary criticism or literary aesthetics. - What does the title Biographia Literaria mean? [DU. (affi) 2017]
Ans: The title means the literary biography but it actually is the biographical sketches of Coleridge’s literary life and opinions. - What is the theme of the chapter IV of Biographia Literaria?
Ans: To defend the poems of Wordsworth published in Lyrical Ballads from the unjust evaluation of the critics and to find out the genuine qualities of these poems are the theme of chapter IV. - Who is Robert Southey?
Ans: Robert Southey (1774-1843) is a great poet contemporary to Wordsworth and Coleridge. - What is the ‘New School of Poetry?? [DU. (affi) 2018]
Ans: “The New School of Poetry’ is a term given by the critics falsely to the poems of Southey, Coleridge and Wordsworth. - What, according to Coleridge, was the target of the critics’ attack?
Ans: It was the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads written by Wordsworth and published in 1800 and 1802. - What is Coleridge’s opinion about the poems of the Lyrical Ballads?
Ans: Coleridge praises nine-tenths of the poems published in Lyrical Ballads and recognises that they have genuine poetical quality. - What is ‘Descriptive Sketches’?
Ans: The Descriptive Sketches is the first published poem of Wordsworth in which he wrote about his tour over the Alps. - What is The Female Vagrant?
Ans: It is a poem by Wordsworth which was published in the Lyrical Ballads. - How does Coleridge appreciate the poem, The Female Vagrant?
Ans: Coleridge found the poem spontaneous and without any burden of imagery. - How does Wordsworth change the common things to be attractive?
Ans: Wordsworth imparts the charm of novelty to common things by dealing with their uncommon aspects. - What is the common belief about the relation between imagination and fancy?
Ans: The common belief is that fancy and imagination are the two names of the same faculty of human mind. - What is the use of fancy?
Ans: Fancy is a mode of memory emancipated from the order of time and space and it only combines images what it perceives with beautiful shapes in which they exist separately. - What is imagination?
Or, How does Coleridge define “imagination”? [NU. 2017]
Ans: Imagination is an act of human mind in which different images are fused and unified to create something new. - Give an example of imagination.
Ans: “What! Have his daughters brought him to this pass”. - Who is Otway?
Ans: Thomas Otway (1652-1685) is a famous poet and dramatist of English literature during the seventeenth century. - Who is John Milton?
Ans: John Milton (1608-1674) is the greatest poet of English literature, if Shakespeare is excepted, who wrote the world famous epic, Paradise Lost. - Who is Cowley?
Ans: Abraham Cowley (1618-1667) is a great metaphysical poet of English literature in the seventeenth century. - What is the hobby-horse of Coleridge?
Ans: Metaphysics and psychology are the hobby-horse of Coleridge. - Who is Spenser?
Ans: Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) is the great Elizabethan poet who wrote the epic, The Faerie Queene. - What is Spenserian stanza?
Ans: The stanza invented by Edmund Spenser and used in his epic The Faerie Queene consists of eight five-foot iambic lines followed by an iambic line of six feet, rhyming a b a bbcbcc. - What is Heroic couplet?
Ans: It is a pair of poetical lines each of which has five iambic feet and ends with the same sound. - What is The Dark Lady?
Ans: The Dark Lady is a poem by Coleridge and published in Lyrical Ballads. - What is the similarity between poetry and prose?
Ans: Both prose and poetry are the combination of ideas in words. - What is the difference between prose and poetry, according to Coleridge?
Ans: The difference between prose and poetry is that the words are differently combined. - How does poetry deal with truth?
Ans: Poetry deals with truth through pleasure. - What is the ultimate end of a work of art?
Ans: Truth is the ultimate end of a work of art. - Who is Bishop Taylor?
Ans: Bishop Taylor (1613-1667) is the famous interpreter of the Bible and the writer of the works ‘Holy Living’ and ‘Holy Dying’. - Who is Burnet?
Ans: Thomas Burnet is (1635-1715) a Yorkshire divine and master of the Charter House, Burnet is the author of “The sacred Theory of the Earth”, an imaginative and romantic cosmogony, suggested to him by a voyage across the Alps. - Who is Sir John Davies (1569-1626).
Ans: Sin John Davies was a poet of the sixteenth century, who wrote the famous poem, “Nosce Teipsum” in which he dealt with the nature of man an the nature and immortality of the soul from the philosophical point of view. - What is good sense?
Ans: Good sense is the will of a poet for doing good to his readers. - What are the different parts of poetic genius?
Ans: Good sense is the body of poetic genius, fancy is its drapery, motion is its life and imagination is its soul. - What was Coleridge’s objection to Wordsworth’s selection of persons in his poems?
Ans: Coleridge says that the persons selected by Wordsworth are not in reality low and rustic. - How do the persons of Wordsworth’s poems differ from the rustic life?
Ans: The persons or characters of Wordsworth’s poems act in a noble way befitting the high and sophisticated society.” - What is Aristotle’s view on the universality of goodness?
Ans: Aristotle believes that the persons of poetry must possess generic attributes with the common attributes of the class. - What is Brothers?
Ans: Brothers is a pastoral poem in which the vicar of the village church and the shepherd mariner are the characters. - What is Michael?
Ans: Michael is a pastoral poem in which Wordsworth has presented an ideal man in the guise of a shepherd. - What is the opinion of Coleridge regarding the poem, Michael?
Ans: Coleridge praises the poet for presenting such a good character possessing the qualities which are the natural product of circumstances common to that class. - What are the poems of Wordsworth with which Coleridge finds fault?
Ans: The Idiot Boy and Harry Gill are the poems which fail to represent and to satisfy the poet’s own condition. - How is the best part of human language formed?
Ans: The best part of human language is formed from reflections on the acts of the mind itself. - Why does Coleridge refuse to call the rustic language ‘real’?
Ans: Because Coleridge does not find any language ‘real’ as every man’s language varies according to the extent of his knowledge. - What do you mean by the term, “Lingua Communist”?
Ans: The term means the language of the common man. - What was the first title of Biographia Literaria? [DU. (affi) 2016]
Ans: Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions. - Why did Coleridge write scanty number of books?
Ans: As Coleridge suffered terribly from the regular visit of gout, he could not write according to his expectation and wrote scanty number of books. - Who coined the expression “Willing suspension of disbelief”? [NU. 2017]
Ans: “Willing Suspension of Disbelief” means people accept unreal or supernatural things in stories if they’re interesting and seem real. - How does Coleridge define “imagination”?
Ans: Imagination is an act of human mind in which different images are fused and unified to create something new. - How does Coleridge define a poem?
Ans: A poem is that species of composition which is opposed to the works of science by proposing for its immediate object pleasure, not truth. - What is ‘Willing Suspension of Disbelief’? [NU. 2019]
Ans: “Willing Suspension of Disbelief” means people accept unreal or supernatural things in stories if they’re interesting and seem real. - What do you mean by Heroic couplet?
Ans: It is a pair of poetical lines each of which has five iambic feet and ends with the same sound. - What is organic unity?
Ans: A coherent relation between the parts and the whole of a writing in prose or in poetry is the organic unity. - What, according to Coleridge, is ‘fancy’? [DU. (affi) 2017]
Or, What is Coleridge’s idea of ‘fancy’? [NU. 2016, 2018]
Or, What is fancy? [NU. 2020]
Ans: Fancy is that faculty of human mind which does not create anything but arbitrarily brings images together retaining their individual existence to be attractive.