Free Printable Literature: General Literary Principles

1.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

The collection of images within a literary work is referred to as

a)

Imagery

b)

Images

c)

Symbolism

d)

Caesura

2.

This question is based on general literary principles

The leading character in a literary work is the

a)

Protagonist

b)

Antagonist

c)

Villain

d)

Anti-hero

3.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

A long narrative poem that relates heroic exploits is

a)

Panegyric

b)

Lyric

c)

Ballad

d)

Epic

4.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

A poem of eight rhyming lines is

a)

Quatrain

b)

Octave

c)

Sonnet

d)

Limerick

5.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

The events that make up the story is the

a)

Plot

b)

Setting

c)

Atmosphere

d)

Theme

6.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.
A poem that is shaped in the image of the object it talks about is

a)

Concrete

b)

Lyrical

c)

Metaphysical

d)

Romantic

7.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

The choir is on wheels to a convention illustrates

a)

Hyperbole

b)

Allusion

c)

Metonymy

d)

Personification

8.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

Which of the following helps best to create and sustain interest in a literary work?

a)

Plot

b)

Rhyme

c)

Rhythm

d)

Suspense

9.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

Which of the following helps best to create and sustain interest in a literary work?

a)

Plot

b)

Rhyme

c)

Rhythm

d)

Suspense

10.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

A narrative that extols the deeds of a heroic figure is a

a)

Ballad

b)

Folktale

c)

Panegyric

d)

Pastoral

11.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

Ife is a woman of great virtue

She is a woman of great vice illustrate

a)

Antithesis

b)

Alliteration

c)

Paradox

d)

Pathos

12.

This question is based on General Literary Principles.

The overwhelming confidence and pride that lead to the fall of the protagonist is

a)

Catharsis

b)

Ego

c)

Harmatia

d)

Hubris

13.

A limerick has

a)

ornate style, humour, irony and seven lines

b)

formal and elaborate style and humour

c)

humour, rhyme scheme and five lines

d)

a stinging climax, rhyme scheme, and five lines

14.

The process of creating characters and endowing them with certain attitude is ......

a)

Dramatis personae

b)

Characterization

c)

Character

d)

Action

15.

The writing convention in which the events in a narrative are scrambled as they come to the writer's mind without any attempt to arrange them in orderly sequence is called

a)

stream of consciousness

b)

shifting style

c)

psycho-consciousness styles

d)

narrator's mind style

16.

Using the name of one thing for something else with which it is closely associated in an instance is

a)

metonymy

b)

parallelism

c)

parody

d)

paradox

17.

Which of these is the oldest genre of literature?

a)

Prose

b)

Drama

c)

Aroma

d)

Poetry

18.

The tragic character is the person whose experiences arouse pity and …..

a)

Sympathy

b)

Terror

c)

Horror

d)

Frustration

19.

'As virtuous men pass mildly away,
And whisper to their souls, to go
Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
The breadth goes now, and some say, "No".'
John Donne: A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

The tone of this poem is generally

a)

Conversational

b)

Imaginative

c)

Serious

d)

Appreciative

20.

Cast in a play refers to

a)

all the actors

b)

an exclusive social class in the play

c)

a few of the actors

d)

three of the actors

21.

A panegyric poem is composed to?

a)

Condemn

b)

Elaborate

c)

Abuse

d)

Praise

22.

The part of a play when climax approaches is known as

a)

Catastasis

b)

Catharsis

c)

Protasis

d)

Epitasis

23.

Jibunoh was simply a difficult man. He was hated by all his neighbours and deserted by his relations. He was the first and only person to beat a policeman in the entire village. He also had ten cases instituted against him for either stealing or violating the rights of others. He had no regard for deanery or normal conduct. No lover of peace or order could be his friends. It is not surprising that his death elicited jubilation rather than mourning'

The passage above reveals that Jibunoh symbolizes

a)

Insanity

b)

Wickedness

c)

Lawlessness

d)

Isolation

24.

'And so Tom awoke and we rose in the dark
And got with our bags and our brushes to work
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.'

In the lines above, Tom is warm because he?

a)

Is working indoors

b)

is wearing warm clothes

c)

Is doing his duty

d)

Has just woken from sleep

25.

The term given to a type of incident or device which recurs frequently in Literature is?

a)

Concept

b)

Myth

c)

Ritual

d)

Motif

26.

An extended fictional narrative which is realistic is known as a

a)

Short story

b)

Diary

c)

Novella

d)

Novel

27.

The sides of a stage are called?

a)

Both sides

b)

The ways

c)

The wings

d)

The pits

28.

Be him English
Be him African
Be him Nigerian

The lines above are an example of

a)

Anaphora

b)

Epigram

c)

Epitaph

d)

Tautology

29.

A formal dignified speech or writing praising a person or a thing for past or present deeds is

a)

Lampoon

b)

Eulogy

c)

Premiere

d)

Anthology

30.

Dramatis personae in a play refers to

a)

Cast list

b)

List of characters

c)

Protagonist and antagonist

d)

Order of appearance

31.

Lineation refers to?

a)

the arrangement of lines in verse form

b)

the grouping together of a number of units of rhythm

c)

the unit in the rhythmic structure of verse

d)

tracing family descent of poeple in verse

32.

A structural arrangement of unit of composition by which one element of equal importance with another is similarly placed is called

a)

Repetition

b)

Paradox

c)

Refrain

d)

Parallelism

33.

A metrical pause occurring in the middle of a line in a poem is called

a)

Tetrametre

b)

Rhythm

c)

Caesura

d)

Assonance

34.

'The fair breeze blew
The white foam flew
The furrow followed free
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.'

The dominant figure of speech in the above passage is

a)

Repetition

b)

Alliteration

c)

Paradox

d)

Rhyme scheme

35.

"I had not taken the first step in knowledge, I had not learnt to let go with the hands".

The above lines is an example of a?

a)

Alliteration

b)

Apostrophe

c)

Repetition

d)

Assonance.

36.

Don't panic. Be calm. If you are somehow upset...try to regain your composure.
The speaker in the excerpt above is

a)

Hopeless

b)

Afraid

c)

Confident

d)

Uncertain

37.

"The sun used to smile in my hut".
The line is an example of

a)

Apostrophe

b)

Personification

c)

Rhetorical question

d)

Zeugma

38.

The use of two contrasting words that are placed side by side is called

a)

Oxymoron

b)

Euphemism

c)

Pun

d)

Antithesis

39.

When a writer deviates from the chronological arrangement of events in a literary piece, he uses ...

a)

Anadiplosis

b)

Anachrony

c)

Chrestomathy

d)

Anagnorisis

40.

The literary term for conflict in literature is_________

a)

Agon

b)

Hubris

c)

Hamartia

d)

Anaphora

41.

_______ is used to describe the situation where a character recognize his mistake

a)

Tragic flaw

b)

Hubris

c)

Denouement

d)

Anagnorisis

42.

"Nightfall! Nightfall!! You are my mortal enemy". The dominant figure of speech above is a/an________

a)

Ode

b)

Apostrophe

c)

Allusion

d)

Metaphor

43.

_____ is used to describe the predetermination of a future event in a literary piece

a)

Analepsis

b)

Prolepsis

c)

Interlude

d)

Fatalism

44.

Use the extract below to answer questions
Line 1: My heart leaps up when I behold
Line 2: A rainbow in the sky
Line 3: so was it when my life began
Line 4: so is it now
Line 5: so is it when I have grown
Line 6: the child is the father of the man.

The rhyme scheme of the poem is_________

a)

acbcca

b)

abccdc

c)

abcdcc

d)

abacbc

45.

Use the extract below to answer questions
Line 1: My heart leaps up when I behold
Line 2: A rainbow in the sky
Line 3: so was it when my life began
Line 4: so is it now
Line 5: so is it when I have grown
Line 6: the child is the father of the man.

The object of the extract is____?

a)

childishness

b)

the unchanging cycle of nature

c)

the adverse effect of old age

d)

human being

46.

Use the extract below to answer questions
Line 1: My heart leaps up when I behold
Line 2: A rainbow in the sky
Line 3: so was it when my life began
Line 4: so is it now
Line 5: so is it when I have grown
Line 6: the child is the father of the man.

The literary device used in line 1 is ________

a)

Simile

b)

Alliteration

c)

Litotes

d)

Personification

47.

Use the extract below to answer questions
Line 1: My heart leaps up when I behold
Line 2: A rainbow in the sky
Line 3: so was it when my life began
Line 4: so is it now
Line 5: so is it when I have grown
Line 6: the child is the father of the man.

The literary device used in line 6 is an example of______

a)

Synecdoche

b)

Irony

c)

Paradox

d)

Hyperbole

48.

An overused expression is a/an _________

a)

Cliche

b)

Cacophony

c)

Epigram

d)

Archetype

49.

The atmosphere of a poem has to do with_________

a)

Tone and Mood

b)

Time and Place

c)

Rhythm and Rhyme

d)

Versification and Lineation

50.

What basically distinguishes literature from other disciplines is its________

a)

use of creative imagination

b)

exposition of human experiences

c)

communication of ideas

d)

portrayal of places

51.

'A trouble shared is a trouble halved' illustrates the use of______

a)

Metaphor

b)

Paradox

c)

Pun

d)

Cliche

52.

A poem is said to be good if it________

a)

has elevated style

b)

has rhyme and reason

c)

is difficult to understand

d)

has a regular rhythm

53.

A struggle between opposing forces in a story/play is________

a)

Denouement

b)

Confilct

c)

Comedy

d)

Tragedy

54.

A short poem that expresses an idea in a clever way is called _____

a)

An Epigram

b)

A Limerick

c)

An Ode

d)

A Lyric

55.

'They are as fearsome as they are fearless' is an example of______

a)

Antithesis

b)

Pun

c)

Oxymoron

d)

Simile

56.

'The fair breeze blew
The white foam flew
The furrow followed free
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.'

The dominant figure of speech in the above passage is

a)

Alliteration

b)

Repetition

c)

Paradox

d)

Rhyme scheme

57.

Read the poem and answer questions
At dawn must I rise to till the rock
That our land has turned into
The land where on we'd gleefully harvested paddy
Planted and nurtured and tended on plots marshy
Our woes are bloody woes of accursed revenges
Of the land spirits aggrieved by paltry human respect
For the life of fellow man by his fellow
Kindred blood has counted for less than no value
Brother's wife has been wife to other brother's brother
Communal loot has emptied our country silos
The earth has stopped breathing and sighed
Soldered tears has the moon shed
The earth was scorched at noon-day night
And our land has turned to hoeing rock.

The theme of the poem is__________

a)

drought and heat

b)

abomination and retribution

c)

sickness and death

d)

famine and disease

58.

Read the poem and answer questions
At dawn must I rise to till the rock
That our land has turned into
The land where on we'd gleefully harvested paddy
Planted and nurtured and tended on plots marshy
Our woes are bloody woes of accursed revenges
Of the land spirits aggrieved by paltry human respect
For the life of fellow man by his fellow
Kindred blood has counted for less than no value
Brother's wife has been wife to other brother's brother
Communal loot has emptied our country silos
The earth has stopped breathing and sighed
Soldered tears has the moon shed
The earth was scorched at noon-day night
And our land has turned to hoeing rock.

The mood of the poet is one of________

a)

Loneliness

b)

Hopelessness

c)

Happiness

d)

Recklessness

Literature: General Literary Principles

Total questions: 58

Worksheet time: 29mins

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