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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1, Rise of the English.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. By the early 1930s, the study of English literature became what kind of pursuit?
(a) A supremely civilizing pursuit.
(b) A supremel uncivilized pursuit.
(c) A singular narrowminded pursuit.
(d) A singular openminded pursuit.

2. What "twin impacts" does Eagleton cite in the mid-Victorian period that was particularly worrisome to the ruling class?
(a) Scientific discovery and religious ideology.
(b) Religious ideology and social statis.
(c) Scientific discovery and social change.
(d) Religious ideology and social change.

3. According to Eagleton, Gibbon and the authors of Genesis share what in common?
(a) Both wrote fiction that is read as fact by some and fiction by others.
(b) Both wrote historical truth that is read as fiction.
(c) Both wrote fiction that is read as historical fact.
(d) They both thought they were writing historical truth, but are read as fact by some and fiction by others.

4. According to Eagleton, what idea is "truly elitist" in literary studies?
(a) "The idea that works of literature can only be appreciated by those with a particular sort of cultural breeding."
(b) "The idea that literature should not be read by those without a higher degree."
(c) "The idea that literature can only be understood by writers of literature."
(d) "The idea that literature is the only way to understand a particular culture."

5. Who was glad to abandon the "feminine vagaries of literature" in favor of penning war propaganda?
(a) Matthew Arnold.
(b) Lord Byron.
(c) Walter Raleigh.
(d) George Gordon.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the economist Eagleton discusses in his preface?

2. Why is the example Eagleton gives of the sign in the London Underground system that "dogs must be carried on the escalator" a case of estrangement?

3. According to Eagleton, why did the Russian formalists NOT see a literary work as a vehicle for ideas, reflection of reality, or transcendental truth?

4. Eagleton's goal in "Literary Theory: An Introduction" is to provide a comprehensive account of literary theory for whom?

5. How many decades, according to Eagleton, has there been a "striking proliferation of literary theory" since the publication of the Russian formalist's pioneering essay?

(see the answer key)

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