III B.A., English 23UENCC53
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
UNIT I – EPIC
(Mahabharata – Tr. Van Buitenen, Ilango Adigal – The Book of Vanci )
1. The Mahabharata is primarily concerned with the concept of:
a) Artha
b) Dharma
c) Kama
d) Moksha
Answer: b) Dharma
2. Who translated the selected portions of The Mahabharata prescribed in this syllabus?
a) R. Parthasarathy
b) Van Buitenen
c) Manmohan Ghosh
d) A.K. Ramanujan
Answer: b) Van Buitenen
3. The Book of Vanci belongs to which Tamil epic?
a) Manimekalai
b) Silappathikaram
c) Ramayanam
d) Kamba Ramayanam
Answer: b) Silappathikaram
4. Who is the author of Silappathikaram?
a) Kamban
b) Ilango Adigal
c) Thiruvalluvar
d) Ottakoothar
Answer: b) Ilango Adigal
5. Which character in Silappathikaram is wrongly executed, leading to the city’s destruction?
a) Kovalan
b) Madhavi
c) Kannagi
d) Cheran Senguttuvan
Answer: a) Kovalan
6. Kannagi is remembered in Tamil culture as the symbol of:
a) Friendship
b) Chastity
c) Wealth
d) Power
Answer: b) Chastity
7. In Mahabharata, which Pandava is considered the embodiment of truth and justice?
a) Arjuna
b) Yudhishthira
c) Bhima
d) Nakula
Answer: b) Yudhishthira
8. The Book of Vanci mainly deals with:
a) Trade and economy
b) War and politics
c) Love and romance
d) Natural disasters
Answer: b) War and politics
9. Which of the following is NOT a major theme in The Mahabharata ?
a) Dharma
b) Karma
c) Reincarnation
d) Astronomy
Answer: d) Astronomy
10. Who translated The Book of Vanci into English in the syllabus?
a) R. Parthasarathy
b) A.K. Ramanujan
c) Van Buitenen
d) Nirad C. Chaudhari
Answer: a) R. Parthasarathy
UNIT II – POETRY
(Sarojini Naidu, Nissim Ezekiel, A.K. Ramanujan, Arun Kolatkar)
11. “The Soul’s Prayer” is written by:
a) Sarojini Naidu
b) Toru Dutt
c) Kamala Das
d) A.K. Ramanujan
Answer: a) Sarojini Naidu
12. In The Soul’s Prayer, God tells the soul that knowledge comes through:
a) Dreams
b) Scriptures
c) Experience
d) Meditation only
Answer: c) Experience
13. Nissim Ezekiel’s The Railway Clerk deals with:
a) Village life
b) Middle-class frustration
c) Romantic love
d) Religious devotion
Answer: b) Middle-class frustration
14. A.K. Ramanujan’s poem The Striders uses the image of:
a) Birds
b) Trees
c) Insects
d) Stars
Answer: c) Insects
15. The central symbol in Kolatkar’s An Old Woman is:
a) A temple
b) A beggar woman
c) A mountain
d) A river
Answer: b) A beggar woman
16. Which poet is known as “the Nightingale of India”?
a) Sarojini Naidu
b) Kamala Das
c) Toru Dutt
d) Amrita Pritam
Answer: a) Sarojini Naidu
17. The tone of The Railway Clerk is mainly:
a) Humorous satire
b) Romantic idealism
c) Tragic despair
d) Religious devotion
Answer: a) Humorous satire
18. In An Old Woman, the woman’s face is described as:
a) Wrinkled and cracked
b) Shining and youthful
c) Painted and colorful
d) Covered with flowers
Answer: a) Wrinkled and cracked
19. Which of the following is a recurring theme in Ramanujan’s poetry?
a) Colonial politics
b) Nature and human condition
c) Astronomy
d) Fairy tales
Answer: b) Nature and human condition
20. The poems in this unit commonly explore:
a) Nationalism and war
b) Spirituality, alienation, and human experience
c) Science and technology
d) Agricultural life
Answer: b) Spirituality, alienation, and human experience
UNIT III – PROSE
(Bharata Natya Shastra, Nirad C. Chaudhari – Vanishing Landmarks)
21. The Natya Shastra is attributed to:
a) Bharata
b) Panini
c) Kalidasa
d) Patanjali
Answer: a) Bharata
22. Which concept explains aesthetic pleasure in Natya Shastra?
a) Tala
b) Rasa
c) Raga
d) Shruti
Answer: b) Rasa
23. How many rasas are described in classical Indian aesthetics?
a) 6
b) 7
c) 8 (later 9)
d) 10
Answer: c) 8 (later 9)
24. The expression of emotions in performance is called:
a) Nritya
b) Abhinaya
c) Nataka
d) Alankara
Answer: b) Abhinaya
25. Vanishing Landmarks is part of which book?
a) The Story of My Experiments with Truth
b) Discovery of India
c) The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian
d) My Days
Answer: c) The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian
26. Nirad C. Chaudhari was a/an:
a) Historian
b) Autobiographer
c) Cultural critic
d) All the above
Answer: d) All the above
27. Chaudhari laments the loss of:
a) Old Indian cultural institutions
b) British literature
c) Western science
d) Architecture in Europe
Answer: a) Old Indian cultural institutions
28. The Natya Shastra views theatre as a combination of:
a) Music and mathematics
b) Science and art
c) Education and entertainment
d) Ritual and agriculture
Answer: c) Education and entertainment
29. Which translator’s version of Natya Shastra is prescribed here?
a) R. Parthasarathy
b) Van Buitenen
c) Manmohan Ghosh
d) A.K. Ramanujan
Answer: c) Manmohan Ghosh
30. Chaudhari’s writing style is known for:
a) Technical instructions
b) Poetic imagery
c) Historical reflection and autobiography
d) Scientific accuracy
Answer: c) Historical reflection and autobiography
UNIT IV – DRAMA
(Badal Sircar – Evam Indrajit)
31. Badal Sircar was a leading figure in:
a) Sanskrit theatre
b) Modern Indian theatre
c) Ancient ritual drama
d) Dance drama
Answer: b) Modern Indian theatre
32. Evam Indrajit belongs to which movement?
a) Romanticism
b) Existentialism
c) Symbolism
d) Classicism
Answer: b) Existentialism
33. The central theme of the play is:
a) Love and war
b) Alienation and monotony of life
c) Village politics
d) Mythological battles
Answer: b) Alienation and monotony of life
34. Who is Indrajit?
a) A mythological demon
b) An ordinary middle-class man
c) A king
d) A teacher
Answer: b) An ordinary middle-class man
35. The play’s technique includes:
a) Strict realism
b) Non-linear narrative and symbolism
c) Historical detail
d) Musical interludes only
Answer: b) Non-linear narrative and symbolism
36. Badal Sircar is also known for his:
a) Third Theatre movement
b) Sanskrit translations
c) Epic poems
d) Classical dance
Answer: a) Third Theatre movement
37. Which emotion dominates the play?
a) Joy
b) Absurdity and futility
c) Heroism
d) Anger
Answer: b) Absurdity and futility
38. The playwright in the play represents:
a) A king
b) The audience
c) The creator questioning meaning
d) A soldier
Answer: c) The creator questioning meaning
39. Which literary philosophy influenced Badal Sircar?
a) Marxism
b) Existentialism
c) Naturalism
d) Romanticism
Answer: b) Existentialism
40. Evam Indrajit was originally written in:
a) Bengali
b) Hindi
c) English
d) Tamil
Answer: a) Bengali
UNIT V – FICTION
(Sunil Gangopadhyay – Arjun)
41. Arjun is a character created by:
a) R.K. Narayan
b) Sunil Gangopadhyay
c) Satyajit Ray
d) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Answer: b) Sunil Gangopadhyay
42. Arjun is best described as:
a) A warrior
b) A student
c) A detective
d) A teacher
Answer: c) A detective
43. The genre of Arjun is:
a) Romance
b) Detective fiction
c) Mythology
d) Travel writing
Answer: b) Detective fiction
44. Unlike Western detectives, Arjun is rooted in:
a) American culture
b) Indian society and tradition
c) British politics
d) Chinese history
Answer: b) Indian society and tradition
45. The narrative style of Arjun is:
a) Slow and descriptive
b) Fast-paced and suspenseful
c) Epic and poetic
d) Mythical and symbolic
Answer: b) Fast-paced and suspenseful
46. Which of the following is NOT a quality of Arjun?
a) Intelligence
b) Fearlessness
c) Magical powers
d) Adventurous nature
Answer: c) Magical powers
47. The novel highlights which aspect of Indian life?
a) Rural traditions
b) Urban life and crime
c) Ancient rituals
d) Agricultural reforms
Answer: b) Urban life and crime
48. Arjun’s adventures often involve:
a) Solving supernatural mysteries
b) Logical reasoning and courage
c) Scientific experiments
d) Mythical battles
Answer: b) Logical reasoning and courage
49. Sunil Gangopadhyay wrote primarily in:
a) Hindi
b) Bengali
c) Tamil
d) English
Answer: b) Bengali
50. The appeal of Arjun lies in:
a) Blending suspense with Indian cultural elements
b) Purely romantic storytelling
c) Mythological fantasy
d) Travel description
Answer: a) Blending suspense with Indian cultural elements
