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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Chapter 1, "What is Theory?" Culler defines theory as the opportunity to __________.
(a) Guess.
(b) Wonder.
(c) All of these.
(d) Speculate.

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

3. According to Chapter 2, literature must contain ____________ in order to qualify as literature.
(a) Biblical references.
(b) Words with a deeper meaning.
(c) Social reform.
(d) Proper sentence structure.

4. Literature as an aesthetic object attempts to encourage the reader to explore a relationship between _____________.
(a) Desire and words.
(b) Content and form.
(c) Form and function.
(d) Words and physical placement.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Theory rarely results in __________, according to Culler.

2. What type of literary work is "Jane Eyre"?

3. According to Chapter 2, when a story is told with non-fiction historical references, it is __________.

4. Some scholars fear that literature could inspire _____________.

5. What was the primary theme of "The Sorrows of Young Werther"?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, what does language determine?

2. According to Chapter 3, how have cultural studies expanded the literary canon?

3. What does literary theory work to uncover, according to Chapter 1?

4. In Chapter 2, why are the use of words and language so meaningful to literature?

5. According to Noam Chomsky, linguists help raise the quality of language for what purpose?

6. What factors determine what will be read by a particular society?

7. How do literary theorists explain the procedure used by poetics?

8. According to Chapter 2, what style and subject make up literature?

9. Why is there concern that cultural study may surpass literary theory?

10. In what way do word conventions vary globally?

(see the answer keys)

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