IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR M. A ENGLISH PART 1 AND PART 2

 How to prepare for MA English?

There are five papers in Part 1 and five in 

part 2. 

Each paper has 5 to 6 authors and u should prepare minimum 4 authors of each paper in order to attempt 100% paper (as you have to attempt minimum 4 questions in each paper and usually, at least one question is asked from each book). So if u prepare 4 authors of each paper  you can attempt that paper.

Prepare the following questions and consult past papers to know the paper pattern. It will be beneficial to you. 

Questions for MA English (Part 1)

Paper 1 - Classical Poetry

1. Chaucer  - “The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales”

i. Chaucer’s Humour / Satire / Irony

ii. Chaucer’s art of Characterization

iii. Chaucer as a modern poet (humour, secularism etc.)

iv. Chaucer’s ecclesiastical characters (Church’s hypocrisy, Comparison & contrast between the characters)

v. Chaucer’s female characters

2. Alexander Pope – “Rape of the Lock”

i. “Rape of the Lock” as social satire

ii. “Rape of the Lock” as comic epic / mock epic

iii. Use of machinery (Supernatural elements etc.)

iv. Pope’s attitude towards women (Belinda’s character, Social satire)

v. Moral of the “Rape of the Lock”

3. Milton – “Paradise Lost”

i. Milton’s grand style

ii. Portrayal of Satan in “Paradise Lost”

iii. Who is the hero of Paradise Lost?

iv. Character sketch of Adam

v. Character sketch of Eve

4. Surrey & Wyatt

i. Surrey & Wyatt’s contribution of English Poetry

ii. Surrey & Wyatt as Sonnet writers (Comparison and Contrast)

iii. Critical appreciation of their Sonnets

Paper 2 – Drama

1. Sophocles – “Oedipus Rex”

i. Concept of Fate & Free will / Fate & Character

ii. Oedipus as a tragic Hero / Oedipus’ Hamartia

iii. Irony in Oedipus

iv. Role of Chorus

2. Marlow – “Dr. Faustus”

i. “Dr. Faustus” as a renaissance play

ii. “Dr. Faustus” as morality play

iii. “Dr. Faustus” as a modern tragedy / Spiritual Conflicts in the mind of Dr. Faustus

iv. Marlow’s contribution to English Drama

v. “Dr. Faustus” Character sketch (as a typical Marlow’s hero, qualities of Marlow’s hero)

3. Shakespeare – “Othello”

i. Othello’s character sketch

ii. Iago’s character sketch

iii. “Othello” as a social Tragedy (race & colour an important factor in Othello’s tragedy)

iv. Role of Chance & Misunderstanding (Chance Happening)

4. Oscar Wilde – “Importance of Being Earnest”

i. “Importance of Being Earnest” as a comedy (satire, style etc.)

ii. “Importance of Being Earnest” as a social satire

iii. Use of wit & paradoxical statements (Irony)

iv. Algernon’s Character sketch

v. Jack’s Character sketch

Paper 3 - Novel 

1.   Jane Austin - "Pride and Prejudice"

i. Jane Austin as a novelist (it will be a general question on Jane Austin encompassing all her writing techniques e.g. Limited Range, Irony etc).

ii. Jane Austin's Limited Range

iii. Jane Austin's Irony

iv. Themes of Marriage, Money and Manners.

v. Character sketch of Elizabeth

vi. Lack of Passion in Jane Austin's novels

vii. Jane Austen’s art of Characterization

2.   George Eliot - "Adam Bede"

i. George Eliot as a psychological / modern novelist

ii. Character sketch of Adam Bede

iii. Character sketch of Hetty Sorrel

iv. Character sketch of Dinnah Morris

v. Relationship between Adam and Dinnah

vi. Theme of Hardness (Adam doesn’t show politeness. He judges everyone according to morality so he can’t develop relationships)

3.  Charles Dickens - "A Tale of Two Cities"

i. "A Tale of Two Cities" as an historical novel

ii. Dickens’ attitude towards French Revolution

iii. Symbolism in the novel

iv. Theme of resurrection & renunciation

v. How public events and private lives are interlinked in the novel?

4.  Thomas Hardy - "Return of the Native"

i. Character sketch of Clym

ii. Character sketch of Eustacia

iii. Role of Egdon Heath / nature

iv. Role of chance and coincidence / Role of fate

v. Hardy as a pessimist

vi. Hardy as an ameliorist 

Paper 4 – Prose

1. Francis Bacon - “Essays”

i. Bacon’s Style (proverbial style, aphorisms, pithy style etc.)

ii. Bacon’s Worldly Wisdom

iii. Renaissance element in Bacon

2. Jonathan Swift – “Gulliver’s Travels”

i. Swift as a satirist

ii. Swift as a misanthrope

iii. Element of Utopia in “Gulliver’s Travels”

iv. Irony in “Gulliver’s Travels”

3. Bertrand Russell – “Unpopular Essays”

i. Bertrand Russell as prose writer / Bertrand Russell’s style

ii. A general note on his essays can be asked.

4. Seamus Heaney – “Redress of Poetry”

i. Heaney as a Prose Writer / Heaney’s Style

ii. Heaney’s arguments in favour of poetry

Paper 5 – American Literature

A. Poetry

1. Sylvia Plath

i. Critical appreciation of poems

ii. Psychological problems of Sylvia Plath

iii. Ambivalence in Sylvia Plath

iv. General Question on American Psyche

2. John Ashbery

i. Critical appreciation of poems

3. Adrienne Rich

i. Critical appreciation of poems

4. Richard Wilbur

i. Critical appreciation of poems

B. Drama

1. Arthur Miller – “The Crucible”

i. Theme of individual & society

ii. Character sketch of Proctor

iii. Character sketch of Abigale

iv. Puritanism in the play

2. Eugene O’Neil – “Mourning Becomes Electra”

i. O’Neil’s Tragic Vision

ii. Character sketch of Electra

C. Novel

1. Ernest Hemingway – “For Whom the Bell Tolls”

i. Robert Jordan as a Tragic Hero

ii. Is “For Whom the Bell Tolls” a political novel? (Answer: No)

iii. Hemingway as a novelist / Hemingway’s style

iv. Discuss Jordan - Maria Relationship

v. Concept of ritual & morality in the novel

vi. Motives behind Jordan’s Sacrifice

Questions for MA English (Part 2)

Paper 1 - Poetry

Section A

1. S.T. Coleridge

i. Coleridge as a poet of supernatural

ii. Coleridge as a romantic poet

iii. Moral of “The Ancient Mariner”

iv. Critical appreciation of three poems in the course

v. Coleridge as a poet of nature & beauty

2. John Keats

a. Questions on Keats’ Odes

i. Keats’ odes (A general question on odes, i.e., development of thought, unity in Keats’ odes)

ii. Critical appreciation of odes

iii. Keats as an escapist

iv. Keats as a Romantic Poet (poet of beauty, of nature)

v. Sensuousness in Keats’ poetry

vi. Keats’ negative capability

vii. Keats’ Hellenism

viii. Keats as pure poet

b. Questions on “Hyperion”

i. Autobiographical element in “Hyperion”

ii. Theme of evolution

iii. Symbolism in “Hyperion”

iv. “Hyperion” as an Epic poem

2. William Blake

i. Critical Appreciation of poems

ii. Blake as a romantic poet (Blake’s mysticism)

iii. Comparison & Contrast of the poems of “The Song of Innocence” & “The Song of Experience”

Section B

1. Philip Larkin

i. Important features of Larkin’s poetry

ii. Larkin as a movement poet

iii. Larkin as a poet of realism

iv. Larkin’s attitude towards moderns

v. Critical appreciation of poems

vi. Themes of Larkin’s poetry

2. Seamus Heaney

i. Critical appreciation of poems

ii. Themes 

iii. Symbolism in Heaney’s poetry

iv. Heaney as a poet of exile

3. Ted Hughes

i. Animal imagery in his poems

ii. Themes

iii. Critical appreciation of poems

Paper 2 – Drama

1. Henrik Ibsen – “Hedda Gabler”

i. “Hedda Gabler” as a tragic play

ii. Psychological problems of Hedda Gabler / Character sketch of “Hedda Gabler”

iii. “Hedda Gabler” as a tragic play

2. Beckett – “Waiting for Godot” 

i. “Waiting for Godot” a play about absurd

ii. Human relationships in the play

iii. “Waiting for Godot” as an existentialist play

iv. Different themes in the play

v. Use of Language / Role of Language

vi. “Waiting for Godot” as a tragi-comedy

vii. Who is Godot?

viii. Structure of the play

3. Anton Chekov – “The Cherry Orchard”

i. Symbolism in “The Cherry Orchard”

ii. Theme of change

iii. “The Cherry Orchard” a comedy or a tragedy?

iv. Compare characters of Lopakhin and Trophimov

v. “The Cherry Orchard” as a social or political play

4. Edward Bond – “The Sea”

i. Symbolism in “The Sea”

ii. Theme of individual and society

iii. Character sketches of main characters (Mrs. Rafi, Mr. Hatch)

iv. “The Sea” as a tragic-comedy

Paper 3 – Novel

1. Joseph Conrad – “Heart of Darkness”

i. Symbolism in “Heart of Darkness”

ii. Character sketch of Mr. Kurtz

iii. Character sketch of Marlow

iv. Marlow as detective of Human soul

v. Conrad’s treatment of women

vi. Conrad’s style and technique

vii. Themes (imperialism, evil)

2. Achebe – “Things Fall Apart”

i. Significance of the Title  / Theme / Impact of British arrival on Igbo Culture

ii. Okonkwo as tragic hero

iii. “Things Fall Apart” as a tragedy

iv. Achebe’s style

v. Achebe’s  treatment of women

vi. Comparison between “Heart of Darkness” and “Things Fall Apart”

3. Ahmad Ali – “Twilight in Delhi”

i. Significance of the title “Twilight in Delhi”

ii. Impact of British imperialism on Muslim Culture of Delhi

iii. Characterstudy of Mir Nehal, Asghar

iv. Plight of Women

v. Themes (marriage, imperialism etc.)

vi. Ahmad Ali as a novelist

vii. Symbolism in novel

4. James Joyce – “Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man”

i. James Joyce’s style & technique (stream of consciousness, myth, irony, pun, poetic diction etc.)

ii. Character sketch of Stephen Dedalus

iii. James Joyce’s aesthetic theory of art

5. Virginia Woolf – “To the Light House”

i. How has Virginia Woolf used stream of consciousness technique?

ii. Symbolism in “To the Light House”

iii. Compare & contrast the characters of Mr. & Mrs. Ramsay

iv. Virginia Woolf as a feminist writer

v. Character study of Lime Brisko & symbolic importance of her paintings

vi. Themes of “To the Light House”

Paper 4 – Literary Criticism

1. Aristotle – “Poetics”

i. Aristotle’s theory of imitation

ii. Catharsis

iii. Tragedy

iv. Plot-Character relationship

v. Difference between epic & tragedy

vi. Ideal Tragic hero

vii. The tragic Plot

2. Philip Sidney – “An Apology for Poetry”

i. Sidney’s arguments in favour of poetry

ii. Answers to the objections against poetry

iii. Sidney’s theory of poetry

iv. Contribution of Sidney as a critic

v. Sidney as a renaissance epitome

3. T.S. Eliot– “The Critic (Tradition & Individual Talent)”

i. Eliot’s concept of tradition

ii. Theory of impersonality in poetry

iii. T.S. Eliot as a critic

4. Raymond Williams – “Modern Tragedy”

i. Summaries of 3 essays:

a. Tradition & Tragedy 

b. Tragedy & contemporary ideas

c. Rejection of tragedy

ii. Raymond William as a critic

iii. Raymond William’s concept of tragedy