English Language

Literary Analysis

4,216 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

Which historical drama series is set in the 19th-century American South and features the love story between a plantation owner's daughter and a slave?

  1. 12 Years a Slave

  2. Django Unchained

  3. The Birth of a Nation

  4. Gone with the Wind
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

12 Years a Slave is a historical drama series that follows the story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South. The series also features the love story between Northup and Patsey, a slave woman on the plantation where he is held.

Multiple choice

Which of the following plays by Shakespeare is the only one that does not contain any blank verse?

  1. The Merry Wives of Windsor

  2. The Taming of the Shrew

  3. A Midsummer Night's Dream

  4. Love's Labour's Lost
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Merry Wives of Windsor is the only play by Shakespeare that does not contain any blank verse. It is written entirely in prose.

Multiple choice

Which television series is known for its depiction of the political and social struggles of the working class in the United Kingdom?

  1. This Is England

  2. The Full Monty

  3. Brassed Off

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

This Is England is a 2006 British drama film written and directed by Shane Meadows. The film follows the life of Shaun (Thomas Turgoose), a 12-year-old boy growing up in a working-class town in England in the 1980s.

Multiple choice

Which television series is known for its depiction of the political and social struggles of the Chinese people?

  1. The Story of Yanxi Palace

  2. Nirvana in Fire

  3. 琅琊榜

  4. The Empress of China
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Nirvana in Fire is a 2015 Chinese historical drama television series based on the novel of the same name by Hai Yan. The series follows the story of Mei Changsu (Hu Ge), a brilliant strategist who helps the young Prince Jing (Wang Kai) to reclaim the throne from his corrupt brother, Prince Yu (Chen Long).

Multiple choice

What is the name of the Science Fiction novel written by Ruskin Bond?

  1. The Room on the Roof

  2. A Flight of Pigeons

  3. The Blue Umbrella

  4. The Time Stops at Shamli
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Time Stops at Shamli is a Science Fiction novel written by Ruskin Bond, which explores the theme of a time warp that occurs in a small town in India.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the Science Fiction novel written by Vikram Seth?

  1. A Suitable Boy

  2. An Equal Music

  3. Two Lives

  4. The Golden Gate
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Golden Gate is a Science Fiction novel written by Vikram Seth, which explores the theme of time travel and the interconnectedness of human lives across different eras.

Multiple choice

Which of the following YA novels is not written with autobiographical elements?

  1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

  2. The Fault in Our Stars

  3. Speak

  4. The Hunger Games
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel written by Suzanne Collins. It is not written with autobiographical elements.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the book that Hazel and Augustus read together in The Fault in Our Stars?

  1. An Imperial Affliction

  2. The Fault in Our Stars

  3. Looking for Alaska

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

Hazel and Augustus read An Imperial Affliction together in The Fault in Our Stars.

Multiple choice

Which novel by Philip K. Dick explores the concept of parallel universes and alternate realities?

  1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

  2. Ubik

  3. A Scanner Darkly

  4. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In Ubik, Dick explores the idea of a shared consciousness and the existence of multiple realities.

Multiple choice

Which novel by Madeleine L'Engle features a young girl who travels to different planets and dimensions in search of her missing father?

  1. A Wrinkle in Time

  2. A Swiftly Tilting Planet

  3. Many Waters

  4. The Arm of the Starfish
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In A Wrinkle in Time, Meg Murry and her brother Charles Wallace travel through time and space to rescue their father, who has been trapped on another planet.

Multiple choice

What are some of the most important climate literature works that everyone should read?

  1. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

  2. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

  3. The Overstory by Richard Powers

  4. All of the above.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Some of the most important climate literature works that everyone should read include The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, and The Overstory by Richard Powers.

Multiple choice

Which 2018 historical drama series faced criticism for its depiction of Catherine the Great's reign in Russia?

  1. The Great

  2. Catherine the Great

  3. The Rise of Catherine the Great

  4. The Reign of Catherine the Great
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The 2018 series 'The Great' drew criticism for its comedic and satirical portrayal of Catherine the Great's reign, with some historians arguing that it trivialized her accomplishments and ignored the realities of her rule.

Multiple choice

Which 2015 historical drama series faced criticism for its depiction of the relationship between Catherine the Great and her lover, Grigory Potemkin?

  1. The Great

  2. Catherine the Great

  3. The Rise of Catherine the Great

  4. The Reign of Catherine the Great
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The 2015 series 'Catherine the Great' drew criticism for its portrayal of the relationship between Catherine the Great and her lover, Grigory Potemkin, with some arguing that it romanticized their relationship and ignored historical facts.

Multiple choice

Which novel by Kim Stanley Robinson explores the idea of a future where genetically modified crops are the norm?

  1. Aurora

  2. Red Mars

  3. The Years of Rice and Salt

  4. 2312
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

2312 is a science fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson that explores the idea of a future where genetically modified crops are the norm.

Multiple choice

In Margaret Atwood's novel "Oryx and Crake", what is the name of the genetically modified pig that becomes a symbol of the new world?

  1. Pigoon

  2. Pigasus

  3. Piglet

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

Pigoon is the name of the genetically modified pig that becomes a symbol of the new world in Margaret Atwood's novel "Oryx and Crake".