wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

20th & 21st c Wells Study

Total questions: 96

Worksheet time: 58mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What was the war that took place between 1914 and 1918?

a)
The Civil War
b)
World War 1
c)
American Revolution
d)
Spanish-American War
2.

What is stream of consciousness?

a)

A linear flow of thoughts with obvious associations between one idea and the next

b)

A narrative device which mimics the chaos of natural thoughts pattern that often lacks obvious connections

c)

A form of writing with clear rhythm, pattern and rhyme scheme

3.

What is Modernism?

a)

A reaction that began during the WWI period that focused on a break from convention and tradition in art, literature, culture, etc.

b)

A reaction against the Romantic authors that focused on creating realistic, gritty narratives

c)

A continuation of the Realist movement that now focused on WWI and the horrors of war

d)

A break from Imagism that turned against using imagery and focused on hidden meaning in poetry

4.
Which war marked the beginning of Modernism?
a)
The Civil War
b)
WWI
c)
WWII
d)
The French and Indian War
5.

What is the term associated with Modernism that means "loss of a false belief"?

a)

disappointment

b)

realization

c)

epiphany

d)

disillusionment

6.

Some characteristics of Modernist Literature are

a)

Radical break with tradition

b)

Doesn´t usually make sense

c)

Different points of view (perspectives)

d)

All of the above

7.

Modernism follows the thematic quality of __________.

a)

Gloomy, decaying setting

b)

Heightened awareness of mystery.

c)

Alienation & spiritual loneliness

d)

Political critique

8.

Which of the following best describes the Modernist view of cities?

a)

similar to the Romantic view: cities are a scar on the natural world and debilitating to the humans who live in them.

b)

conflicted: cities are both an energizing and a dehumanizing force.

c)

fundamentally positive: cities are a melting pot where new fortunes may be made.

d)

neutral: Modern artists rarely engaged with the motif of city versus nature.

9.

This Austrian developed theories of the unconscious that were immensely important to the development of Modern art.

a)

Sigmund Freud

b)

Carl Jung

c)

Albert Einstein

d)

F. H. Bradley

10.
What important event happened for women in 1920?
a)
They were allowed to keep their own last names.
b)
They were allowed to work in business offices.
c)
They were allowed to vote.
d)
They were allowed to earn equal pay with men.
11.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri but became naturalized as a British subject at the age of 39

a)

W H Auden

b)

Stevie Smith

c)

T S Eliot

d)

W B Yeats

e)

Dylan Thomas

12.

What political movements did Orwell write about?

a)

democracy, imperialism

b)

imperialism, communism

c)

communism, revolutionary

d)

totalitarian, democracy

13.

Literature is a mirror of life because it only reflects some of the human experiences.

a)

True

b)

False

14.

Literary devices are used to help the readers understand the texts by providing literal meaning.

a)

True

b)

False

15.

Which is not a characteristic of 21st Century Literature?

a)

Innovative

b)

Creative

c)

Traditional

d)

New

16.

Free Verse is verse

a)

With rhyme but not metre

b)

With metre but not rhyme

c)

With both metre and rhyme

d)

Without either metre or rhyme

17.

What is Modernism?

a)

A reaction that began during the WWI period that focused on a break from convention and tradition in art, literature, culture, etc.

b)

A reaction against the Romantic authors that focused on creating realistic, gritty narratives

c)

A continuation of the Realist movement that now focused on WWI and the horrors of war

d)

A break from Imagism that turned against using imagery and focused on hidden meaning in poetry

18.

Which of these Art Movements developed during this time?

a)

Baroque

b)

Futurism

c)

Rococo

d)

Renaissance

19.

Was The Modernist Period a cultural movement that generally included?

a)

Art

b)

Music

c)

Literature

d)

All of the previous ones

20.

Does The modern period break with social and political views?

a)

False

b)

True

21.

In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” how does the speaker think others view him?

a)

as someone who may be a menace

b)

as a fully accepted member of his social set

c)

as someone who may be capable of heroic action

d)

as an aging, conventional person of little consequence

22.

In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” why is the speaker afraid of “the eternal Footman” who is holding his coat?

a)

The eternal Footman is a servant

b)

The eternal Footman represents death

c)

The eternal Footman is a former friend.

d)

The eternal Footman may be a criminal.

23.

In these lines from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” which two things are compared?

Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table….

a)

the speaker and the listener

b)

the evening and a patient

c)

the evening and the sky

d)

a patient and a table

24.

When Eliot describes “The muttering retreats / Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels / And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells” in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” to what aspect of love is he is referring?

a)

its hidden dangers

b)

its mysterious power

c)

its sometimes strange adventures

d)

its sometimes sordid surroundings

25.

Which statement best describes the attitude about human relationships expressed in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”?

a)

True understanding between people is impossible

b)

Without love or friendship, life is meaningless

c)

We can learn from the experiences of others.

d)

People are their own best companions.

26.

Which of these phrases best describes the attitude of the speaker in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”?

a)

angry and resentful

b)

youthful and optimistic

c)

timid and self-doubting

d)

empathetic and compassionate

27.

Which of these statements best identify verbal traits of the speaker in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”? Choose three options.

a)

He often asks questions

b)

He often repeats himself.

c)

He criticizes some of his own comments.

d)

He frequently misuses words.

e)

He often barks orders to the listener

28.
An allusion to Hamlet suggests that Prufrock is 
a)
considered a buffoon
b)
about to cause someone's death
c)
angry with his mother
d)
incapable of action
29.
Prufrock's views his urban surroundings as
a)
a brothel
b)
a prison
c)
a beast
d)
a druggie
30.

In the "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," summarize the description in the stanza from lines 15–55.

a)

A. Cats get dirty on foggy October nights.

b)

B. The fog leaps and curls up like a cat.

c)

C. The fog in October is always catlike.

d)

D. The yellow fog leaves cat prints on the window.

31.

Reread the stanza from lines 23–34. Prufrock says that there will be time for

a)

A. change and uncertainty

b)

B. questions and answers

c)

C. work and leisure

d)

D. tea and toast

32.

Details about Prufrock’s appearance combine to show his

a)

A. inability to dress for the occasion

b)

B. adherence to high fashion

c)

C. careful, proper dress

d)

D. lack of good taste

33.

Prufrock views the mermaids at the end of the poem as

a)

singing to him

b)

finding him unworthy

c)

wreathing him in seaweed

d)

luring him into their sea chambers

34.
What does Prufrock wonder if he should dare eat?
a)
a banana
b)
a peach
c)
a grapefruit
d)
an apple
35.

Why does Prufrock say he measures his life with coffee spoons?

a)
He feels he does the same thing over and over each day
b)
He needs new spoons
c)
He likes coffee
d)
He wants to drink coffee at the party
36.

Modern British literature is framed by two complementary cultural forces

a)

revolution & "isms,"; the growth of the British empire & world influence

b)

the gradual dissolution of the once-powerful British Empire; the expansion of English as a dominant global language

c)

the importance of nature and the sublime; the growing industrialization of the cities

d)

strong sense of class consciousness; social reform movements

37.

As the high tide of British conquest reached into nearly every corner of the earth, these colonial elements were frequently left behind in its wake.

a)

The English language

b)

English cultural practices

c)

British institutions

d)

All of the above

e)

None of the above

38.

The British relationship with tea includes:

a)

A lucrative commodity that spreads throughout the world

b)

Frequent concerns over rising cost

c)

A symbol of upper-class leisure

d)

Does he know about second-breakfast?

39.

The Edwardian era was

a)

Before the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901

b)

Synchronous with the life of Queen Victoria

c)

Synonymous with Romanticism

d)

the last period of British history to be named after the reigning monarch

40.

This art is

a)

Classically influenced by myth and Biblical tradition

b)

Very realistic and part of the Contemporary push to truth

c)

Representatives of the Modernist movement

d)

Outsider art of Post-modern era

41.

What caused WW1?

a)

Nationalism

b)

Militarism

c)

Imperialism

d)

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

e)

None of the above

42.

Which of these is a type of fighting used in World War One?

a)

Trench Warfare

b)

Atomic Bomb

c)

Guerilla Warfare

d)

No-Man's Land

43.
It is estimated that how many allied men died on the Western Front in trenches?
a)
100 percent
b)
All of them
c)

Ten percent

d)
One third
44.

Which one of these new innovations in weaponry WAS NOT used during WWI?

a)

Airplanes

b)

Tanks

c)

Nuclear Weapons

d)

Chemical Weapons

45.

Which of the following were NEW weapons introduced in World War I?

a)

bayonets and rifles

b)

tanks and poison gas

c)

tanks and rifles

d)

none of these

46.

This soldier is trying to protect himself from…

a)

Trench rats

b)

Dysentery

c)

Trench mouth

d)

Poison gas

47.

an armed nationalist insurrection in Ireland during in April 1916 while the British were "busy" with WW1 was called

a)

There was no event in Ireland at this time

b)

The Easter Rising

c)

The Revolutionary Pact

d)

The Marxist Uprising

48.

Freud's highly influential theory of dreams mainly refers to two key points:

a)

1. what are the materials of a dream? and

2. how do these materials work together?

b)

1. why are people sad

2. how do we fix people's mental issues

c)

1. what does the symbolism reference in literature

2. how to talk about it to strangers

d)

None of these

49.

A German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press.

a)

The Kross, a word short for Gelbes Kreuz, or "Yellow Cross," a phrase they used for gas warfare because the bombs were decorated with a yellow cross

b)

The Shocks, German for Schock und Ehrfurcht or Shock and Awe

c)

The Blitz, or Blitzkrieg, the German word for "lightning war"

50.

Contemporary literature often includes: 

Individualism; Experimentation; Absurdity; Symbolism; Formalism; Stream of consciousness; Non-linear narratives; Disillusionment. Be sure to know at least five of these.

a)

Yes

b)

No

51.

This flower is an enduring symbol of remembrance of the First World War. It is strongly linked with Armistice Day (11 November), and its origin as a popular symbol of remembrance lies in the landscapes of the First World War.

a)

Sunflowers

b)

White Queen Anne's lace

c)

The red rose

d)

The poppy

52.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

a)

An example of a metaphor that compares the current soldiers to those that are already dead

b)

An example of personification where animals are compared to dead soldiers

c)

An example of hyperbole exaggerating how many people died in the war

d)

The narrator of a significant WW2 poem

53.

What type of poem is "Anthem for Doomed Youth"?

a)

A sestina

b)

Free Verse

c)

A mixture of features from both Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets

d)

An unusually long haiku

54.

What is compared in "Anthem for Doomed Youth"?

a)

A traditional church funeral and life in the military hospital at Craiglockhart

b)

The pleasant sound of bells contrasted to the screams of soldiers

c)

The death of young soldiers on the Western Front of the first world war and the traditional features of a Christian funeral

d)

A national anthem and the songs of young soldiers

55.

What prompted the writing of the poem "In Flanders Field"?

a)

The loss of a doctor's young friend

b)

Treating those injured in war

56.

Which is the correct translation of 'Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori'?

a)

It is an honor to fight for ones country

b)

Only the valiant serve

c)

Only the valiant die

d)

It is sweet and right to die for one's country

57.

In the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," what is the following an example of?

'like old beggars under sacks'

a)

Simile

b)

Metaphor

c)

Description

d)

Onomatopoeia

58.

In the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," why does the second stanza start like this? 'Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!'

a)

To be different.

b)

To carry on the plot of the poem.

c)

To shock the reader.

d)

To display to the reader how quickly things happen during war.

59.

In the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," why has the poet used the verb 'flound’ring'?

a)

To refer to a fish out of water as an allegory for Christ's sacrifice and compare that to the soldiers of WW1.

b)

To match the rhyme scheme of a previous line.

c)

Because it has negative connotations and criticizes WW1's nationalism.

d)

To contribute to the extended metaphor of drowning/water that demonstrates the horror of gas warfare.

60.

With whom might Wilfred Owen be angry, as demonstrated in the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est,"?

a)

Queen Victoria, for starting the war.

b)

His dad.

c)

People who glorify war.

d)

Other war poets.

61.

Who wrote the poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree?"

a)

John Keats

b)

W.B. Yeats

c)

P.B. Shelley

d)

None

62.

Yeats was involved in..

a)

the Celtic revival

b)

the Irish army

63.

What kind of a house did the poet want to have at Innisfree?

well furnished

a big house

a house made of wood and clay

a house made out of straws and sticks

(Since the answer is case sensitive type your answer in the same way given in the options)

(a)  

64.

Name the three things that the poet would like to do at Innisfree

a)

plant 9 bean trees

b)

make hives for honey bees

c)

make a house of clay and wattles

d)

All

65.

Themes in "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by William Butler Yeats include

a)

Nature and spirituality

b)

Labor and fulfillment

c)

Heroism and bravery

d)

Personal Fulfilment vs. public sacrifice

66.

In the poem "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats, the metaphor of the falcon not being able to hear the falconer means:

a)

Yeats is a terrible hunter

b)

The best method for finding the enemy in warfare

c)

Things are spiraling out of control

d)

Nature is ignorant to change

67.

In the poem "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats, the line, “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” has the following political implication:

a)

Resources are being spent too quickly.

b)

The old order is collapsing

c)

Yeats thinks his government has gone insane

d)

Power will remain in the same hands

68.

In the poem "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats, what cycle or gyre does Yeats describe in this poem?

a)

The cycle of order and growth and then chaos and death followed by order and growth.

b)

The cycle of death followed by chaos followed by more death.

c)

The cycle of life followed by growth followed by more life.

d)

The cycle of democracy followed by communism and then fascism.

69.

Lady Augusta Gregory was

a)

An Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager, co-founder of the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre

b)

A good friend of W.B. Yeats who helped him with his poetry

c)

Author of the book about which Yeats said: “I think this is the best book that has come out of Ireland in my time.”

d)

Irish writer who wrote numerous short and long works as part of the Celtic Revival

e)

None of these

70.

Their works and outlook deeply influenced literature, aesthetics, criticism, and economics as well as modern attitudes towards feminism, pacifism, and sexuality.

a)

The Bloomsbury Group

b)

The Impressionists

c)

The Romantic Poets Group

d)

Greek Myth

71.

In Virginia Woolf's essay, Shakespeare got to be talented mainly due to?

a)
his gender, family wealth, and school
b)
the plague
c)
uneducated theater patrons
d)
stole all his ideas from his sister
72.

In Virginia Woolf's essay, who is Judith?

a)
A lovely woman
b)
stay at home mom
c)
Shakespeare's fictional sister
d)
Hamlet's girlfriend 
73.

Why did Woolf create Judith and compare her life to her famous brother's in her essay?

a)
To illustrate how one gender was disadvantaged 
b)
to show the difference between boys and girls
c)
to create an image
d)
to show how great the Shakespeares were
74.

In the essay "A Room of One's Own," how does Woolf describe the experience of a “gifted girl” in London?

a)

The gifted girl would have lived like the gifted boy as long as she had the money to afford great schools and tutors.

b)

The gifted girl would have gone crazy and killed themselves or ended up a hermit that neighborhood kids call a witch.

c)

The gifted girl would be able to get work as an actor and become a playwrite

d)

The gifted girl would never make it in London because women weren't allowed to travel without a man.

75.

According to Woolf, in the essay "A Room of One's Own," if a gifted woman had managed to write, under what name would she have written? Why?

a)

She would have to pretend to be a man and write under a man's name.

b)

She would ve able to write under her own name.

c)

She could use another woman's name so no one knew it was her and she could avoid ridicule.

d)

None. She'd write anonymously.

76.

What does Virginia Woolf's thesis identify as a requirement for a woman writing fiction?

a)

children

b)

a housekeeper

c)

enough money to support herself (500 pounds)

d)

a husband

e)

private space to think

77.

The most important aspect of "A Room of One's Own" for modern readers is

a)

Women should stay out of writing and take care of their families, instead

b)

Teaching men to help women write, in order to create a new genre

c)

Its interesting metaphor proposing Shakespeare actually had a sister

d)

The encouragement of a legacy of women writers

78.

Themes of Yeats' poem "Easter 1916" might include:

a)

Heroism & Bravery

b)

Personal Fulfillment vs. Public Sacrifice

c)

Death & Mourning

d)

All of these

e)

None of these

79.

Important symbols in Yeats' "The Second Coming" include:

a)

The falcon

b)

Zeus the swan

c)

The bees

d)

The beast

e)

All of these

80.

The image in this question relates to a Yeats poem. What is it? Also: be familiar with details about it for a possible essay question.

a)

The Gyre

b)

The Funnel

c)

A Tornado

d)

Fate

81.

What Yeats poem does this symbol go with? Also: be familiar with details about it for a possible essay question.

a)

None of these

b)

The Second Coming

c)

Leda and the Swan

d)

Easter 1916

82.

In which historic period do we see the rise of the "isms" as shown in this image?

a)

None of these

b)

The Contemporary era (20th & 21st C)

c)

The Romantic Era

d)

The Victorian Era

83.

What literary movement are these characteristics associated with? Also: be prepared to possibly write an essay question on this topic.

a)

Neoclassicism

b)

Modernism

c)

Romanticism

d)

Aestheticism

84.

Poet and painter, a charter member of the generation that—beginning in 1912 with the founding of Poetry magazine—launched the modernist revolution in poetry in the US. Some of her work was deemed too radical for Poetry's editor and even considered "indecent" for its frank portrayal of women's issues. Who is she?

a)

Mina Loy

b)

Virginia Woolf

c)

Lady Gregory

d)

Christina Rossetti

85.

This modernist work is what?

a)

None of these. This is a Post-Modernist piece.

b)

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's "Futurist Manifesto"

c)

Mina Loy's "Feminist Manifesto"

d)

Virginia Woolf's "Room of One's Own"

86.

This part of D.H. Lawrence's poem "The Snake" demonstrates:

***************************************************

And immediately I regretted it.

I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act!

I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education.

 

And I thought of the albatross,

And I wished he would come back, my snake.

 

For he seemed to me again like a king,

Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,

Now due to be crowned again.

 

And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords

Of life.

And I have something to expiate:

A pettiness.

a)

The theme of "sinfulness vs. purity" and Biblical allusion to Satan & Noah's ark when the snake causes the other animals to leave the ark before God says it's time. The speaker remembers this when he sees the snake.

b)

The symbol of the Thames river, "snaking" through the city and drowning out the urban city dweller's balance with nature. The speaker contemplates how he got here with a snake as a visitor.

c)

The theme of nature in conflict with humanity.

The speaker contrasts the basic nature of the snake to simply "be," acting only with instincts to the actions of man that are so conflicted by conscious thought and emotion.

d)

An allusion to Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan" when the speaker overcomes a snake to become the visionary mage in the ancient city.

87.

Eliot's symbol of the peach in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is:

a)

none of these.

b)

to take a risk, seize an opportunity, or live life to the fullest.

c)

a simple sensory literary technique to make the reader hungry.

d)

an allusion to the Garden of Eden.

e)

all of these.

88.

Which contemporary poem deals with themes of mental illness & isolation, communication & misunderstanding, and has an ironically simple/cheery tone?

a)

W.H. Auden's "Ars Poetica"

b)

T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

c)

Mina Loy's "Feminist Manifesto"

d)

Stevie Smith's "Not Waving But Drowning"

89.

These themes take place in which text?

The Slag Heap

Tea

The Letter "H"

a)

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell

b)

Animal Farm by George Orwell

c)

V.S. Naipaul's “One Out Of Many”

d)

Randall Jarrell's “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner”

90.

Where is the actual physical Wigan Pier?

a)

It's in London.

b)

It's a metaphor for the industrial revolution that Orwell makes up.

c)

It doesn't exist anymore. Orwell uses is as kind of a joke.

d)

The Lake District.

91.

This is an excerpt from what Modern poem?

a)

W.H. Auden's Musée des Beaux Arts

b)

T. S. Eliot's "The Second Coming"

c)

Henry Reed's “Naming of Parts”

d)

 V.S. Naipaul's  “One Out Of Many”

92.

The central allusion that is in this poem is:

a)

The Greek myth of the rape of Leda by Zeus as a swan.

b)

The Biblical story of Christ's death.

c)

To the Greek myth of Icarus.

d)

The futility of war symbolized by the The Massacre of the Innocents.

93.

These themes & symbols occur in what poem?

**************************

Oppression, surveillance, and the state

Standardization & conformity

Bureaucratic departments & organizations

The Modern Man

a)

“The  Unknown Citizen” by W. H. Auden

b)

Musée des Beaux Artsby W. H. Auden

c)

Henry Reed's “Naming of Parts”

d)

None of these

94.

Themes that appear in Henry Reed's "Naming of Parts" include

a)

Peace & the quest for innocence

b)

The Power of Forgiveness

c)

Unity with Nature, the Sublime

d)

All of these

e)

None of these

95.

The elements in the image are all features of:

a)

Completely reflected in V.S. Naipaul's “One Out Of Many”

b)

Modernist Literature of the First World War

c)

Does he know about second breakfast, now really? Why doesn't he know about second breakfast after all this time?

d)

Postmodern Literature

96.

Diaspora is:

a)

A scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale. Historically, the word diaspora has been used to refer to the mass dispersion of a population from its indigenous territories.

b)

A theme in V.S. Naipaul's “One Out Of Many.”

c)

An important theme in many Caribbean Literary texts.

d)

Represented by the graphic here.