Literatures of the World

1. The first masters of the short story are the

A. chinese B. Egyptians C. Japanese D. Koreans

2. The ancient version of Cinderella belongs to what literature?

A. chinese B. Egyptians C. Japanese D. Koreans

3. The first poets to express their belief in immortality in their works.

A. chinese B. Egyptians C. Japanese D. Koreans

4. The great collection of funerary texts which the ancient Egyptian scribes composed for
the benefit of the dead.
A. Book of the Dead B. Tale of Genji C. The Gift of the Magi D. Song of Roland

5. The first African writer (Nigerian Literature) to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1986
A. Chou Shu-Jen B. Confuscius C. Laozi
D. Matsuo Basho E. Wole Soyinka

6. A philosopher of ancient China known to be the central figure of Taoism and whose
name literally means "Old Master"
A. Chou Shu-Jen B. Confuscius C. Laozi
D. Matsuo Basho E. Wole Soyinka

7. Which one below is NOT a feature of chinese poetry

A. subtlety of expression B. purity of expression
C. not making use of figures of speech D. making use figures of speech
E. presents the topic itself.

8. Most famous leader, philosopher and political theorist otherwise known as the first
teacher in China who wanted to make education available to all men.
A. Chou Shu-Jen B. Confuscius
C. Laozi D. Matsuo Basho E. Wole Soyinka

9. Writer of satiric short stories of social criticisms whose short story, K’uang – jen jih –
chi ( The Diary of a Mad Man) initiated the intellectual revolution in China.
A. Chou Shu-Jen B. Confuscius C. Laozi D. Matsuo Basho E. Wole Soyinka

10. Which one is NOT a feature of Japanese poetry?

A. lyrical in character B. always brief C. with description of nature.
D. has no rhyme and meter. E. has rhyme and meter.

11. A Japanese poem composed of only seventeen syllables in all, arranged in lines of
five, seven and five syllables.
A. cinquain B. sijo C. tanka D. haiku

12. A Korean short lyric verse consisting of three brief lines, invented in the mid 18 th
century by the musician – singer YI – SE –CH’UN .
A. cinquain B. sijo C. tanka D. haiku

13. Japan’s greatest haiku poet who believed that real poetry was leading a beautiful life
with nature.
A. Chou Shu-Jen B. Confuscius C. Laozi D. Matsuo Basho E. Wole Soyinka

14. Japanese classic work, attributed to Murasaki Shikibu, considered to be the world's
first modern, psychological classic under debate.
A. Book of the Dead B. Tale of Genji C. The Gift of the Magi D. Song of Roland

15. The most internationally famous Bengali writer who wrote the national anthem of
India and Bangladesh and also known as the first Asian who won the Nobel Prize after
receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for his work "Gitanjali".
A. Rabindranath Tagore B. Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
C. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay D. Michael Madhusudan Dutt

16. An ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important
part of the Hindu canon
A.Kalidasa B. Mahabharata C. Kahlil Gibran D.Ramayana

17. An ancient Sanskrit epic which depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal
characters like the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king.
A. Kalidasa B. Mahabharata C. Kahlil Gibran D. Ramayana

18. The Shakespeare of India for he is known to be a great poet and dramatist and whose
works are known for their romantic themes, description of nature and elegant style.
A. Kalidasa B. Mahabharata C. Kahlil Gibran D. Ramayana

19. An Arabic literature during the Islamic Golden Age which revolves around the ew
bride, Scheherazade who begins to tell the king a tale, but does not end it, forcing the
king to postpone her execution in order to hear the conclusion. For how many nights did
the telling of the tales go?
A. 101 B. 1,001 C. 10,001 D. 100

20. One of the best Lebanese writer noted for his work “The Prophet”, a poetic discourse
on the different aspects of life.
A. Nasif al – Yasiji B.Antun Saadeh C. Hector Klat. D. Kahlil Gibran

21. A legendary ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic
poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.
A. Iliad B. Odyssey C. Troy D. Homer E. Hector

22. A Greek epic poem set in the Trojan War, the ten-year siege, by a coalition of Greek
states, telling the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King
Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.
A. Hector B. Homer C. Iliad D.Odyssey E. Troy

23. A Greek poem mainly centering on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses, as he was
known in Roman myths) and his long journey home following the fall of Troy.
A. Hector B. Homer C. Iliad D.Odyssey

24. A Roman literature by Ovid which revolves around his narration about a Cypriot
sculptor who carved a woman out of ivory whom he had fallen in love. Offering the
statue gifts and eventually praying to Venus (Aphrodite), Ovid was pitied by the goddess
that the statue was brought to life whom Ovid had married.
A. Pygmalion B. The Aeneid C. Ilium D. Troy

25. A Latin epic poem written by Virgil that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan
who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the
poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the
poem's second half tells of the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under
whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed.
A. Pygmalion B. The Aeneid C. Beowulf D. Troy
26. An Old English heroic epic poem of unknown authorship which revolves around the
hero of the Geats who battles three antagonists: Grendel, who has been attacking the
mead hall in Denmark called Heorot and its inhabitants; Grendel's mother; and an
unnamed dragon.
A. Beowulf B. The Aeneid C. Pygmalion D. Troy

27. The greatest English poet during the medieval period who wrote The Canterbury
Tales, ranks as one of the world’s finest works of literature.
A. Geoffrey Chaucer B. O Henry C. Mark Twain D. Geoffrey Chaucer

28. One of the earliest examples of the pastoral style of British poetry in the late
Renaissance period written by Christopher Marlowe.
A. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
B. The Nymph’s Reply to a Shepherd
C. The Road Not Taken
D. Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

29. The well-known "reply" to The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, which was entitled
The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd was attributed to _______.
A. Christopher Marlowe
B. John Milton
C. Walter Raleigh
C. William Shakespeare

30. Sonnet 18 of William Shakespeare’s poem where the poet compares his beloved to
the summer season, and argues that his beloved is better.
A. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
B. My love is like a red red rose
C. O West Wind, shall spring be far behind?
D. The World Is Too Much with Us

31. A sonnet by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth which criticizes the
modern world for being absorbed in materialism and distancing itself from nature.
A. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
B. My love is like a red red rose
C. O West Wind, shall spring be far behind?
D. The World Is Too Much with Us

32. John Milton’s masterpiece known to be one of the greatest poems in the world,
chronicling Satan's temptation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden, is widely
regarded as his masterpiece and one of the greatest epic poems in world literature.
A. Paradise Lost B. In Memoriam C. Universal Prayer D. World Web

33. One of the most popular English poets who wrote a number of phrases that have
become commonplaces of the English language, like: "nature, red in tooth and claw",
"better to have loved and lost", "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die", and
"My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure".

A. Alfred Tennyson B. James Joyce C. Christopher Marlowe D. John Milton

34. A long poem by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, which revolves around a
requiem for the poet's Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly of a
cerebral hemorrhage in Vienna in 1833, and more philosophical issues.
A. Paradise Lost B. In Memoriam C. Universal Prayer

35. The great writer of the early 20th century who wrote “Araby”, best known short story
in his short fiction collection, Dubliners.
A. Alfred Tennyson B. James Joyce A. Christopher Marlowe B. John Milton

36. A novel, written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, farcical on the surface and
the second half is more serious and philosophical about the theme of deception.
A. Don Quixote B. Nibelungenlied C. The Song of Roland

37. The oldest surviving major work of French literature which revolves around the
valiant Christian king Charlemagne who made war against the Saracens in Spain.
A. Don Quixote B. Nibelungenlied C.The Song of Roland

38. The epic of Germany which is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the story
of Siegfried and Kriemhild, the wooing of Brünhild and the death of Siegfried at the
hands of Hagen, and Hagen's hiding of the Nibelung treasure in the Rhine while the
second part deals with Kriemhild's marriage to Etzel, her plans for revenge, the journey
of the Nibelungs to the court of Etzel, and their last stand in Etzel's hall.
A. Don Quixote B. Nibelungenlied C.The Song of Roland

39. "'Give me Liberty, or give me Death'!" is a famous quotation attributed to a

prominent figure in the American Revolution in a speech he made to the Virginia
Convention.
A. Patrick Henry B. Thomas Jefferson C. George Washington

40. A novel written by an American, Nathaniel Hawthorne, considered his magnum

opus,set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, telling the story of Hester Prynne, who gives
birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and
dignity.
A. The Scarlet Letter B. The Red Rose C. The Black Cat D. The White Book

41. An American writer of the American Romantic Movement who wrote tales of
mystery and the macabre and inventor of the detective-fiction genre.
A. George Washington B. Walter Whitman C. Patrick Henry D. Edgar Allan Poe

42. The last complete poem, composed by American author Edgar Allan Poe, exploring
the theme of the death of a beautiful woman.
A. Annabel Lee B. The Scarlet Letter C. The Black Cat D. The White Book

43. The most influential poet in the American canon, often called the father of free verse
whose work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves
of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.
A. Edgar Allan Poe B. Mark Twain C. Walter Whitman

44. A poem by Walt Whitman written in homage to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
after his assassination in 1865, and was first published the same year in an appendix
attached to the latest version of Whitman's continually expanding anthology, Leaves of
Grass.
A. Annabel Lee B. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
C. O Captain! My Captain! D. The Scarlet Letter

45. An American author noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has
since been called the Great American Novel
A. Edgar Allan Poe B. Mark Twain C. Walter Whitman D. Ernest Hemingway

46. A popular 1876 novel of Mark Twain which revolves around the story of a young boy
growing up in the antebellum South on the Mississippi River in the fictional town of St.
Petersburg, Missouri.
A. Annabel Lee
B. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
C. O Captain! My Captain
D. The Scarlet Letter

47. The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms are generally considered his best novels;
and he was an American writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
A. Edgar Allan Poe B. Mark Twain C. Walter Whitman D.Ernest Hemingway

48. The Gift of the Magi was written by an American writer William Sydney Porter.
What pen name did Porter carry in his writing of The Gift of the Magi.
A. O Henry B. Mark Twain C. James Joyce D. Brown Rice

49. An American poet highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his
command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from
rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex
social and philosophical themes. A popular and often-quoted poet, Frost was honored
frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.
A. Robert Lee Frost B. Brown Rice C. O Henry D. Mark Twain

50. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…and sorry for I could not travel both…” are
lines from the famous poem of Robert Frost entitled _______.
A. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
B. The Road Not Taken
C. The Stump
D. The Traveller