Question 1

What is the primary focus of New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

It examines how literature and history mutually shape each other.

Answer

It analyzes the aesthetic qualities of texts.

Answer

It studies the author's biography.

Answer

It focuses on the historical accuracy of texts.

Question 2

Who is most closely associated with the founding of New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

Stephen Greenblatt

Answer

Michel Foucault

Answer

Louis Althusser

Answer

Raymond Williams

Question 3

What does Foucault mean when he states that power is productive?

Accepted Answer

Power creates knowledge and subjectivities.

Answer

Power exists outside of discourse.

Answer

Power is only repressive.

Answer

Power suppresses creativity.

Question 4

What is the term used by Greenblatt to describe the interaction between literature and culture?

Accepted Answer

Cultural poetics

Answer

Historical criticism

Answer

Aesthetic theory

Answer

Textual analysis

Question 5

What type of reading method does New Historicism promote?

Accepted Answer

Reading for how power circulates within texts.

Answer

Reading for historical accuracy.

Answer

Reading for authorial intent.

Answer

Reading for textual structure.

Question 6

How does New Historicism view the relationship between literature and ideology?

Accepted Answer

They are interdependent and mutually constitutive.

Answer

Literature merely critiques ideology.

Answer

Literature stands apart from ideology.

Answer

Ideology only reflects literary works.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a principle influence on New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

Structuralism

Answer

Poststructuralism

Answer

Anthropology

Answer

Marxism

Question 8

What does the term 'subversion and containment' refer to in New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

The interplay where texts challenge authority while also reinforcing it.

Answer

The creation of new ideologies.

Answer

The absence of resistance in literature.

Answer

The rejection of all authority by literature.

Question 9

What criticism do cultural materialists often have of New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

It neglects the material conditions underlying cultural production.

Answer

It overemphasizes authorial intention.

Answer

It disregards the role of language.

Answer

It ignores the social context.

Question 10

Which term refers to the way individuals internalize cultural norms and perform their identities?

Accepted Answer

Self-fashioning

Answer

Cultural appropriation

Answer

Cultural literacy

Answer

Cultural assimilation

Question 11

What does New Historicism argue about the relationship between literature and history?

Accepted Answer

Both are mutually constructed discourses.

Answer

Literature reflects history without influencing it.

Answer

History is an objective background to literature.

Answer

Literature is purely aesthetic and disconnected from context.

Question 12

Which critic is most closely associated with the founding of New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

Stephen Greenblatt

Answer

Michel Foucault

Answer

Clifford Geertz

Answer

Louis Althusser

Question 13

What does the term 'cultural poetics' refer to in New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

How culture constructs meaning through texts.

Answer

The study of poetic forms and styles.

Answer

A critique of cultural artifacts.

Answer

A method focused solely on historical facts.

Question 14

Which theorist's idea of 'discourse' significantly influenced New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

Michel Foucault

Answer

Raymond Williams

Answer

Clifford Geertz

Answer

Louis Althusser

Question 15

How does New Historicism view the act of reading texts?

Accepted Answer

As tracing the circulation of power and meaning.

Answer

As solely an aesthetic appreciation.

Answer

As a search for authorial intention.

Answer

As a way to understand the author's biography.

Question 16

What is one major criticism of New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

It can be seen as politically neutral.

Answer

It overemphasizes aesthetic qualities.

Answer

It ignores historical contexts.

Answer

It focuses too much on authorial intent.

Question 17

What does the term 'subversion and containment' refer to in New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

The dynamic where texts challenge authority but are ultimately reabsorbed by it.

Answer

The celebration of resistance in literature.

Answer

The elimination of conflicting ideologies.

Answer

A process of simplifying complex texts.

Question 18

Which of the following is a methodological practice in New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

Juxtaposing literary texts with historical documents.

Answer

Reading texts for authorial intent.

Answer

Focusing only on the aesthetic qualities of literature.

Answer

Analyzing texts in isolation from their contexts.

Question 19

Who is recognized for the concept of 'thick description' that influenced New Historicism?

Accepted Answer

Clifford Geertz

Answer

Raymond Williams

Answer

Louis Althusser

Answer

Michel Foucault

Question 20

What aspect of culture does New Historicism primarily focus on?

Accepted Answer

The way cultural practices shape identities and ideologies.

Answer

The historical accuracy of narratives.

Answer

The aesthetic beauty of literary works.

Answer

The fixed meanings of texts.

Question 21

What is linguistics primarily concerned with?

Accepted Answer

The scientific study of language

Answer

The study of grammar only

Answer

The history of literature

Answer

The rules of writing

Question 22

Who is often referred to as the father of linguistics?

Accepted Answer

Ferdinand de Saussure

Answer

Bert Vaux

Answer

Noam Chomsky

Answer

William Labov

Question 23

Which branch of linguistics studies the internal structure of language?

Accepted Answer

Microlinguistics

Answer

Sociolinguistics

Answer

Psycholinguistics

Answer

Macrolinguistics

Question 24

What does phonology study?

Accepted Answer

Sound systems in language

Answer

Meaning of words

Answer

Sentence structure

Answer

Word formation

Question 25

Which area of linguistics connects language to social factors?

Accepted Answer

Sociolinguistics

Answer

Neurolinguistics

Answer

Morphology

Answer

Pragmatics

Question 26

What is the focus of psycholinguistics?

Accepted Answer

How the mind processes language

Answer

How languages change over time

Answer

The rules of syntax

Answer

The creation of new words

Question 27

What does historical linguistics study?

Accepted Answer

How languages change over time

Answer

The meaning of words

Answer

The sounds of languages

Answer

The psychology of language learning

Question 28

Which branch examines language in context, such as tone and intention?

Accepted Answer

Pragmatics

Answer

Morphology

Answer

Semantics

Answer

Sociolinguistics

Question 29

What area of linguistics involves the study of language and the brain?

Accepted Answer

Neurolinguistics

Answer

Computational Linguistics

Answer

Phonetics

Answer

Stylistics

Question 30

What is the relationship between linguistics and literature?

Accepted Answer

Linguistics helps in understanding language used in literature

Answer

Linguistics is a part of literary criticism

Answer

Linguistics is only about grammar

Answer

Linguistics has nothing to do with literature

Question 31

According to Marshall Berman, what does being 'modern' signify?

Accepted Answer

A way of experiencing time that promises transformation while destroying the familiar.

Answer

A method of artistic expression.

Answer

A philosophy rejecting change.

Answer

A period of time in history.

Question 32

What characterizes the modernist approach to literature and art?

Accepted Answer

It accepts fragmentation but searches for coherence through myth and form.

Answer

It relies solely on personal experience.

Answer

It completely rejects traditional forms.

Answer

It creates unified narratives that resolve chaos.

Question 33

What does Lyotard's 'incredulity toward metanarratives' suggest?

Accepted Answer

It promotes skepticism towards overarching narratives that claim to explain everything.

Answer

It supports the idea of universal truths.

Answer

It emphasizes the importance of grand stories in history.

Answer

It encourages the acceptance of all narratives as equal.

Question 34

How do modernist works like 'The Waste Land' differ from postmodern works such as 'Midnight's Children'?

Accepted Answer

Modernist works seek coherence through structure, while postmodern works embrace fragmentation without resolution.

Answer

Postmodern works are always chaotic with no structure.

Answer

Both aim to create a single narrative.

Answer

Modernist works reject myth, while postmodern works create new myths.

Question 35

What role does 'myth' play in modernist literature?

Accepted Answer

It serves as a framework to impose coherence on chaotic experiences.

Answer

It is used only for decorative purposes.

Answer

It complicates narratives unnecessarily.

Answer

It is avoided as irrelevant.

Question 36

What does Wittgenstein's idea of 'language games' contribute to postmodern thought?

Accepted Answer

It emphasizes that meaning is context-dependent and varies across different linguistic contexts.

Answer

It asserts that meaning is fixed and universal.

Answer

It promotes a singular interpretation of language.

Answer

It ignores the importance of context.

Question 37

How does postmodernism approach the idea of truth?

Accepted Answer

It rejects the notion of universal truths and embraces multiple, localized narratives.

Answer

It holds onto traditional truths as the only valid form.

Answer

It views truth as an absolute concept.

Answer

It believes all perspectives should merge into one.

Question 38

What key historical events influenced the emergence of postmodernism?

Accepted Answer

World War II, consumer capitalism, and decolonization.

Answer

The rise of Romanticism.

Answer

The invention of the printing press.

Answer

The Renaissance and Enlightenment.

Question 39

What is a fundamental difference between modernism and postmodernism regarding art?

Accepted Answer

Modernism seeks to restore meaning, while postmodernism questions how meaning is constructed.

Answer

Postmodernism seeks to restore traditional forms.

Answer

Both movements aim to create absolute certainty.

Answer

Modernism avoids complexity, while postmodernism embraces it.

Question 40

How is the tone of postmodernism often described?

Accepted Answer

Playful and ironic.

Answer

Serious and tragic.

Answer

Formal and rigid.

Answer

Solemn and redemptive.

Question 41

What is the primary meaning of the prefix 'post' in postmodernism?

Accepted Answer

Both after and against modernism

Answer

A new beginning without reference to modernism

Answer

Only against modernism

Answer

Only after modernism

Question 42

Which cultural movement emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by a break from traditional forms?

Accepted Answer

Modernism

Answer

Baroque

Answer

Romanticism

Answer

Postmodernism

Question 43

What did modernists seek to impose upon the chaos of the modern world?

Accepted Answer

Coherence

Answer

Fragmentation

Answer

Surface play

Answer

Complete disorder

Question 44

According to Jameson, what defines the cultural form of postmodernism?

Accepted Answer

The cultural logic of late capitalism

Answer

The rejection of consumerism

Answer

A return to tradition

Answer

An embrace of universal truths

Question 45

Which of the following traits is NOT associated with postmodernism?

Accepted Answer

The search for universal truths

Answer

Emphasis on intertextuality

Answer

Use of irony and parody

Answer

Celebration of plurality

Question 46

What did Lyotard mean by 'incredulity toward metanarratives'?

Accepted Answer

Skepticism towards grand narratives and universal claims

Answer

A rejection of skepticism

Answer

A belief in universal truths

Answer

Acceptance of all narratives as valid

Question 47

In postmodern literature, what is the role of pastiche?

Accepted Answer

Neutral imitation of styles

Answer

Original creation

Answer

Structured narrative

Answer

Critical satire

Question 48

How does postmodernism view the concept of history?

Accepted Answer

As a style rather than a linear progression

Answer

As a series of universal truths

Answer

As a fixed narrative

Answer

As purely fictional

Question 49

What is a key difference between modernism and postmodernism regarding fragmentation?

Accepted Answer

Modernism seeks coherence; postmodernism embraces fragmentation

Answer

Postmodernism ignores fragmentation

Answer

Both restore unity

Answer

Both reject fragmentation

Question 50

What phrase summarizes the ethos of modernism?

Accepted Answer

'Make it new'

Answer

'Find hidden meaning'

Answer

'Return to tradition'

Answer

'Celebrate surface play'

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