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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the purpose of literary theory, according to "What is Theory?"
(a) To reflect on ideas.
(b) To transcend ignorant readers.
(c) To tame the masses.
(d) To prove writing wrong.

2. In Chapter 2, it is suggested that British literature worked to do what among the classes?
(a) Instill a stronger sense of class.
(b) Invoke shame.
(c) Create a divide.
(d) Create harmony.

3. What was the primary theme of "The Sorrows of Young Werther"?
(a) Family feuds.
(b) Unrequited love.
(c) Money and power.
(d) Lust and jealousy.

4. Who wrote "Jane Eyre"?
(a) Jane Austen.
(b) Kate Campion.
(c) Charlotte Bronte.
(d) Virginia Wolff.

5. What type of literary work is "Jane Eyre"?
(a) Narrative-fiction.
(b) Fiction.
(c) Non-fiction.
(d) Expansive-fiction.

6. According to Chapter 4, what is Hamlet about on a deeper level?
(a) The collapse of Elizabethan England.
(b) The downfall of Rome.
(c) The greed of lineage.
(d) Family betrayal.

7. On a grand scale, scholars believe literature to have the capability to speak for __________.
(a) Society.
(b) Lawmakers.
(c) Students.
(d) All of these.

8. What has literary theory helped add to the study of classics?
(a) Historical perspective.
(b) Classical theory.
(c) Metaphoric guidelines.
(d) Modern theory.

9. What theory believes that language limits the ability to think?
(a) Johnson-Kater results.
(b) Sisley-Spear formula.
(c) Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
(d) Morton-Gran conjecture.

10. In Chapter 2, what does fiction aim to achieve?
(a) A true account of historical moments.
(b) A fictional relationship with God.
(c) A fictional relationship with the world.
(d) An accurate portrayal of emotions.

11. What form of criticism believes that the understanding of text is contingent upon reader knowledge and experience?
(a) Writer-response.
(b) Reader-response.
(c) Journal-revision.
(d) Reader-awareness.

12. What has literary theory tried to do for the classics?
(a) Save them.
(b) Insult them.
(c) Censor them.
(d) Make them into movies.

13. Rousseau was concerned that what form of communication could be easily misinterpreted?
(a) Speech and writing.
(b) Speech.
(c) Singing.
(d) Gossip.

14. What literary approach starts with a preconceived notion before offering supporting evidence to payoff that idea?
(a) Hermeneutics.
(b) Justification.
(c) All of these.
(d) Poetics.

15. In the West, most theorists believe language allows for _____________.
(a) Intimacy.
(b) Communication.
(c) Brotherhood.
(d) Thought expression.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is no longer demanded of cultural scholars?

2. In English literature, many lead characters were written in order to inspire ______________.

3. Based on "What is Theory?" which of the following words can be used to describe theory?

4. Who believed that linguists have the ability to help others speak, read, and understand never seen before words and sentence structures?

5. According to Culler, what do literary theorists work to expose in literature?

(see the answer keys)

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