Part I: Multiple Choice / Short Answer (20 Questions)
Spend approximately 40-50 minutes on this section.
- Which epic poem is considered the foundational text of English literature from the Anglo-Saxon period?
Define 'kenning' and provide an example from Anglo-Saxon poetry.
Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' is primarily written in which dialect of Middle English?
What was the primary purpose of medieval morality plays like 'Everyman'?
Which of the following lines is an example of iambic pentameter from a Shakespearean sonnet?
Name two prominent Metaphysical Poets and describe a key characteristic of their poetry.
Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal' is a famous example of what literary device, widely used in the Neoclassical period?
Briefly explain the main idea behind Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal.'
Which Romantic poet is best known for his celebration of nature and the common man, often using simple language?
Characterize the 'Byronic hero' and name a work where such a character appears.
Charles Dickens' novels, such as 'Oliver Twist' and 'Bleak House,' are primarily known for their sharp critique of what aspect of Victorian society?
Define 'dramatic monologue' and name a Victorian poet famous for using it.
Virginia Woolf's novels, like 'Mrs Dalloway' and 'To the Lighthouse,' are exemplary of what modernist narrative technique?
Name two classic British dystopian novels from the 20th century and their authors.
In rhetoric, an appeal to the speaker's credibility or authority is known as:
The use of an object or idea to represent something else, often abstract, is called:
Define 'allusion' and provide a brief example.
The intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century, emphasizing reason and individualism, is known as the:
Jane Austen's novels, such as 'Pride and Prejudice,' are celebrated for their keen observation of what?
What major political ideology did George Orwell primarily critique in 'Animal Farm' and 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'?
Part II: Analytical Essay (Choose 1 of 2 prompts)
Spend approximately 50-60 minutes on this section.
Choose ONE of the following prompts and write a well-developed analytical essay of approximately 500-700 words. Ensure your essay has a clear thesis, strong textual evidence, and sophisticated analysis.
Prompt 1 (Shakespearean Drama): To what extent does Shakespeare use supernatural elements in Macbeth to explore themes of ambition, guilt, and fate? Analyze at least two specific supernatural occurrences, discussing their impact on key characters and the play's overall message.
Prompt 2 (Thematic Analysis): Analyze how Romantic poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge used the natural world to convey their philosophical and emotional perspectives. Compare and contrast their approaches, citing specific examples from their poetry.
Excerpt from 'Politics and the English Language' by George Orwell
Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilization is decadent and our language – so the argument runs – must inevitably share in the general collapse. It follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the unstated assumption that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.
It is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not simply due to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step towards political regeneration.
A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? And he will probably ask himself two more: Could I put it more shortly? Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly? But you are not obliged to go to all this trouble. You can shirk it by simply by throwing your mind open and letting the ready-made phrases come crowding in. They will construct your sentences for you – even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent – and at need they will perform the important service of concealing your meaning even from yourself. It is at this point that the special connection between politics and the debasement of language becomes clear.
In our time it is broadly true that political writing is bad writing. Where there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, to involved constructions and vague statements. Political language -- and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists -- is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits, and from time to time one can even, if one greatly desires it, send some worn-out and useless phrase into the dustbin.
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, to involved constructions and vague statements. In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible. Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of political parties. Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.
Part III: Rhetorical Analysis Essay (1 Prompt)
Spend approximately 60-70 minutes on this section.
Read the passage carefully. Then, write an essay analyzing how George Orwell uses rhetorical strategies to convey his message about the relationship between language and politics. In your analysis, discuss Orwell's use of literary devices, appeals (ethos, pathos, logos), tone, style, and their overall effect on the reader.
Part IV: Research Project Proposal (1 Prompt)
Spend approximately 30-40 minutes on this section.
Outline a detailed research proposal for a major paper on a topic related to British Literature. Your proposal should be approximately 300-400 words and include the following components:
1. Research Question: A clearly defined, focused, and arguable question that your paper will seek to answer. 2. Preliminary Thesis Statement: A tentative answer to your research question that you will argue in your paper. 3. Potential Sources: * Identify at least three potential primary sources (specific literary works). * Identify at least two potential secondary sources (scholarly articles, critical essays, books). * For each source, briefly explain how it would contribute to your research. 4. Proposed Outline: A brief outline of the major arguments or sections you anticipate developing in your paper. 5. Significance/Relevance: An explanation of why your chosen topic is important or relevant to the study of British Literature.