English Language

Literary Analysis

4,495 Questions

Analyze classic and modernist novels, autobiographies, plays, and graphic novels across various genres. This topic tests your familiarity with prominent authors, literary movements, and thematic elements. Questions appear regularly in the English language sections of SSC, banking, and teaching competency exams.

Classic and modernist novelsAutobiographies and biographiesPoetic language and farcesThematic literary elements

Literary Analysis Questions

Multiple choice
Directions: Find the statement where the given word hasn't been used correctly.
Protagonist

  1. For many people, Shylock is the protagonist in 'The Merchant of Venice'.

  2. He had resolved to take the chief protagonists across the sea towards the West at the end of the book.

  3. He is an enthusiastic protagonist of women's rights.

  4. I brought it on myself like the tragic protagonist of a Greek play.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

'Protagonist' as used in (1) and (4) depicts the correct usage of the word as it means the main character in a play or story. 'Protagonist' in (3) is a positive supporter of a cause or idea, which is explicit from the sentence. The adjective 'chief' in (2) is considered to be superfluous in each case, since 'protagonist' already carries that notion. Hence, (2) is the answer.

Multiple choice

Who does Neville marry?

  1. Hannah Abbott

  2. Luna Lovegood

  3. Lavender Brown

  4. Parvati Patil
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

According to post-series information provided by J.K. Rowling, Neville Longbottom marries Hannah Abbott, who becomes the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron.

Multiple choice

What is Ginny's real name?

  1. Ginny

  2. Ginerva

  3. Genevieve

  4. Minerva
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Ginny Weasley's full given name is Ginevra, not Ginny, which is a nickname. She is named after her aunt, though often referred to as Ginny.

Multiple choice

"The Jungle" was

  1. A book about slavery in the 1900s

  2. For explorers going to the rain forest

  3. A book written about the meat packing industry

  4. Burned by the president in 1890
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Upton Sinclair's novel 'The Jungle' exposed the unsanitary and dangerous conditions of the meatpacking industry in Chicago. Its publication led directly to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.

Multiple choice

Night of the Broken glass

  1. the Holocaust

  2. Kristallnacht

  3. anti-semitism

  4. the Final Solution
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a pogrom against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria in November 1938.

Multiple choice

May the odds be ever in your favor.

  1. The Hunger Games

  2. Divergent

  3. Maze Runner

  4. Passengers
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The phrase 'May the odds be ever in your favor' is the signature greeting used in the Hunger Games series.

Multiple choice poetry reading comprehension english

Which of the words in the following lines rhyme:

I walked through life,
And all I'd done.
Wandering aimlessly,
Towards what I've become.

  1. life - done

  2. life - aimlessly

  3. done - become

  4. life - become
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Rhyming words are those words that have the same last sound: some examples are pan - fan, watch - catch and so on. According to this, option C is the correct answer as 'done' and 'become' have the same last sound.

Options A, B and D are incorrect because they do not adhere to the above-mentioned rule.

Multiple choice writing a paragraph writing english

Identify the topic sentence:

The heart weighs approximately 11 ounces and is as big as a clenched fist. The heart of a man beats about 60 to 80 times a minute and about 40 million times a year. With each beat, it takes in nearly a quarter of a pint of blood; in the course of a single day, it pumps 2,200 gallons of blood, and in a single lifetime about 56 million gallons. What other engine is capable of performing such heavy work over such a long period of time without needing repairs? Without a doubt, the human heart is a small yet highly efficient piece of equipment.

  1. The heart of a man beats about 60 to 80 times a minute and about 40 million times a year.

  2. Without a doubt, the human heart is a small yet highly efficient piece of equipment.

  3. The heart weighs approximately 11 ounces and is as big as a clenched fist.

  4. What other engine is capable of performing such heavy work over such a long period of time without needing repairs?
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The correct topic sentence is Option B as it depicts the size and the importantance of the heart in brief. The main role of a topic sentence is to depict the overall idea of the paragraph in brief and Option B does it appropriately. Options A and C are incorrect as each one of them is only describing one feature of the heart  at a time and thus does not summarize the idea in a sentence. Option D is incorrect as it is a question and it actually functions to introduce the topic sentence.

Multiple choice ellipses punctuation english

What does an ellipsis indicate?

  1. repetition

  2. omission

  3. phrase

  4. clause
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

An ellipsis is a series of dots that usually indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. Thus, Option B is correct and the others are not.

Multiple choice ellipses punctuation english

What do the three dots in the sentence suggest?
She opened the door and saw . . . a cake!

  1. a trailing thought

  2. an omission

  3. repetition

  4. figure of speech
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

It obviously suggests a trailing thought. She opened the door with the expectation that someone must be at the door but she sees a cake to her surprise. Thus, Option A is correct and the other options cancel out.

Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

The 60s saw feminist books like Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique released to much acclaim.

Choose the option that best corrects the sentence.

  1. NO CHANGE

  2. The 60s saw feminist books like Betty Friedans The Feminine Mystique released to much acclaim.

  3. The 60's saw feminist books like Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique released to much acclaim.

  4. The 60's saw feminist books like Betty Friedans' The Feminine Mystique released to much acclaim.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A,C Correct answer
Multiple choice story and its elements writing english

Imagine you wish to write a story about a princess. What would be a suitable setting?

  1. A castle in the Middle Ages

  2. A fishing boat

  3. A quiet farmhouse

  4. A prison
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

 A princess is accustomed to a medieval setting with an essence of  royalty, lavishness and grandeur. A castle is a place where such setting is facilitated. Therefore Option A is a suitable answer.

Whereas a fishing boat, a quiet farmhouse and a prison are not privileged with such grandeur. Thus the other options are not suitable