All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #24 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
In pious times, e’r Priest-craft did begin,
Before Polygamy was made a Sin;
When Man on many multipli’d his kind,
E’r one to one was cursedly confin’d,
When Nature prompted and no Law deni’d
Promiscuous Use of Concubine and Bride;
Then Israel’s Monarch, after Heavens own heart,
His vigorous warmth did, variously, impart
To Wives and Slaves: And, wide as his Command,
Scatter’d his Maker’s Image through the Land.
Which of the following was not written by the author of this passage?
Annus Mirabilis
Mac Flecknoe
The Rape of the Lock
Astraea Redux
The Hind and the Panther
The Rape of the Lock
The Rape of the Lock (1712) is a famous mock-epic poem written by Alexander Pope. Annus Mirabilis (1667), Mac Flecknoe (1682), Astraea Redux (1660), and The Hind and the Panther (1687) are all works by John Dryden.
Passage adapted from John Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel (1681)
Example Question #25 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
Of Man’s first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste
Brought death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat
Sing, Heavenly Muse, that, on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That Shepherd who first taught the chosen seed
In the beginning how the heavens and earth
Rose out of Chaos…
Who is the author of this work?
John Dryden
John Locke
John Milton
John Donne
John Smith
John Milton
These are the famous opening lines of John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost.
Passage adapted from John Milton's Paradise Lost (1674)
Example Question #26 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
The bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din."
Who is the author of this poem?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
William Wordsworth
John Keats
Percy Bysshe Shelley
William Cowper
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
This is Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous seven-part poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).
William Wordsworth wrote The Prelude (1850), John Keats wrote "O Solitude" (1816), William Cowper wrote The Task (1785), and Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote Ozymandias (1818).
Passage adapted from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).
Example Question #27 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
The bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din."
When was this poem first published?
1770s
1790s
1850s
1810s
1830s
1790s
The poem first appeared in 1798 and has been reprinted in many versions since.
Passage adapted from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).
Example Question #31 : Contexts Of British Poetry
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
The bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din."
This poem heralded the beginning of which new poetic era?
English Romanticism
English Regency
English Restoration
English Realism
English Reformation
English Romanticism
Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner is widely considered one of the first major works of British Romantic poetry. It was included in the first edition of The Lyrical Ballads (1798), which is considered the founding document of English Romanticism as a unified artistic movement.
Passage adapted from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).
Example Question #32 : Contexts Of British Poetry
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
The bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din."
Which of the following animals plays an infamous role in this poem?
Alpaca
Agouti
Alligator
Albacore
Albatross
Albatross
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an albatross invested with supernatural powers is responsible for leading a ship’s crew out of an ice floe. When a sailor subsequently shoots the bird, their ship becomes becalmed and the crew resorts to cannibalism.
Passage adapted from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).
Example Question #33 : Contexts Of British Poetry
O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O, my luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
’Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Who is the author of this poem?
George MacDonald
Hamish Henderson
Robert Burns
Iain Banks
Alasdair Gray
Robert Burns
This is “A Red, Red Rose,” one of the most famous and enduring poems of the poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). It is technically a song and was based on traditional Scottish music, but it is often reprinted as a poem.
George MacDonald wrote Phantastes: A Faerie Romance (1858), Hamish Henderson wrote Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica (1948), Alasdair Gray wrote Old Negatives (1989), and Iain Banks wrote The Wasp Factory (1984).
Passage adapted from "A Red, Red Rose" (1794) by Robert Burns.
Example Question #34 : Contexts Of British Poetry
O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O, my luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
’Till a’ the seas gang dry.
This author is widely regarded as the national poet of which country?
Northern Ireland
Isle of Mann
Ireland
Wales
Scotland
Scotland
Robert Burns, also known as Robbie or Rabbie Burns, is Scotland’s most famous poet and is widely referred to in that country as just “The Bard.” He is known for his use of the Scots language and Scottish English dialect in his poetry.
Passage adapted from "A Red, Red Rose" (1794) by Robert Burns.
Example Question #35 : Contexts Of British Poetry
O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O, my luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
’Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Which of the following is not another work by the author of this poem?
“Halloween”
“To a Mouse”
“To a Mountain Daisy”
“Tam o’ Shanter”
“Clown in the Moon”
“Clown in the Moon”
“Clown in the Moon” is a poem by the Welsh author Dylan Thomas. The rest are works by Robbie Burns.
“To a Mouse,” “To a Mountain Daisy,” and “Halloween” were published in Poems Chiefly in a Scottish Dialect (1786)
“Tam o’ Shanter” was published in 1791.
Passage adapted from "A Red, Red Rose" (1794) by Robert Burns.
Example Question #36 : Contexts Of British Poetry
O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O, my luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
’Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Which of the following traditional works did the author of this poem successfully preserve?
“The Lakes of Pontchartrain”
“The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond”
“The Orange and the Green”
“Bluebells of Scotland”
“Auld Lang Syne”
“Auld Lang Syne”
In addition to writing his own poetry, Robert Burns worked to preserve traditional Scottish poetry and music. “Auld Lang Syne” is one such Scottish song that he was able to popularize and pass into popular culture.
Passage adapted from "A Red, Red Rose" (1794) by Robert Burns.
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