Milton wrote Paradise Lost in unrhymed iambic pentameter (blank verse), departing from the dactylic hexameter of classical epics and adapting epic conventions in English verse.
2
Which trait best characterizes a Shakespearean tragic hero?
Shakespearean tragic heroes typically possess greatness undermined by a fatal flaw or error in judgment (hamartia), which precipitates their tragic downfall.
3
Which narrative technique is most closely associated with literary Modernism and is exemplified in works by James Joyce and Virginia Woolf?
Modernist writers often used stream of consciousness to depict subjective experience and the flow of inner thought rather than external, linear narration.
4
According to Wordsworth's definition in the Preface to Lyrical Ballads, poetry is best described as:
Wordsworth famously defined poetry as "emotion recollected in tranquility," emphasizing emotional authenticity rooted in everyday experience rather than artificial diction.
5
T. S. Eliot's deployment of mythic allusions and fragmented voices in The Waste Land primarily serves to:
Eliot's "mythic method" juxtaposes classical and contemporary references to map modern fragmentation onto enduring cultural patterns, creating meaning through analogy and contrast.
6
In the phrase "All hands on deck," the figure of speech where "hands" stands for sailors is an example of:
The Shakespearean sonnet is structured as three quatrains and a concluding couplet (abab cdcd efef gg), often placing the volta at or near the final couplet.
8
A central tenet of New Criticism is that the primary focus of literary study should be:
New Criticism advocates close reading of the text itself—its language, structure, and paradoxes—while treating authorial intent and historical context as external to the literary meaning.
9
Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest is best classified as:
Feminist criticism interrogates how gender and power operate within texts and seeks to rediscover or reassess women's literary contributions often sidelined by a male-dominated canon.
