Previous Year Questions

What is 'Mimesis'?

What is 'epic' according to Aristotle?

How does poetry differ from history?

What is Stasimon?

To whom does Sidney compare the haters of poetry?

What does the sentence imply, "There is always an appeal open from criticism to nature"?

What does the unity of action imply?

What are the stages in the process of poetic creation, according to Wordsworth?

What does the sentence "Poetry is the image of man and nature" mean?

What is Coleridge's idea of fancy?

What is 'Organic unity'?

Who is Sir John Davies?

Explain the sentence, "The poet thinks and feels in the spirit of human passions."

What are the different theories of Catharsis?

How does Johnson defend Shakespeare against the charge of the violation of the three unities?

Discuss the moving power of poetry.

How does Wordsworth justify metre in poetry?

"Nature never set forth the earth in so rich Tapestry as ... diverse poets have done ... in this". -Explain the sentence.

Why did Wordsworth write "Preface to Lyrical Ballads"?

What is the difference between Wordsworth and Coleridge in their conception of poetry?

How does Johnson defend Shakespeare against the mingling of the tragic and comic elements in his plays?

How does Aristotle compare and contrast tragedy with epic in 'Poetics'?

What is Aristotle's view about an ideal tragic hero?

How, are according to Sidney, the poets superior to philosophers and historians? Explain.

Critically discuss Wordsworth's views of poetic diction as stated in his 'Preface to Lyrical Ballads'.

Critically comment on Coleridge's conception of prose, poetry and poem as elucidated in 'Biographia Literaria'.

How does Sidney defend all the objections brought against poetry?

Mention the merits of Shakespeare as revealed by Johnson in "The Preface to Shakespeare" for which Johnson admires him so much. \`\`\`

What is 'Poetics' about?

What is preface?

What, according to Aristotle, should be the length of a plot?

How does Sidney differentiate between 'delight' and 'laughter'?

Who is Voltaire?

How, according to Aristotle, is the imitation produced?

How does Coleridge define 'Imagination'?

Who, according to Wordsworth, is a poet?

What is Shakespeare's first fault?

What, according to Dr. Johnson, is the end of writing?

What is 'Arcadia'?

With what does Coleridge compare 'the soul' of poetic genius?

Why was Sidney dissatisfied with his contemporary dramatists?

Write on 'dramatic unities' with special reference to 'Poetics'.

What is Wordsworth's contribution to English romantic poetry?

How far is Dr. Johnson a neoclassical critic?

Write a note on Wordsworth's formula "emotion recollected in tranquility".

Write on S T Coleridge's "willing suspension of disbelief".

How does Coleridge oppose Wordsworth's idea of using metre and rhyme in poetry?

Why does Johnson prefer Shakespeare's comedies to tragedies?

Write an essay on the nature, function and composition of the plot in the tragedy.

What, according to Aristotle, are the requirements of a true tragedy?

What according to Sidney, are the functions of a poet?

Critically examine Sidney's views on the antiquity and universality of poetry.

Evaluate Dr. Johnson as a critic of Shakespeare.

Comment on Johnson's evaluation of Shakespeare's tragedies.

How far is "Preface to the Lyrical Ballads" a landmark in the history of Romantic Movement?

Critically comment on Coleridge's major objections to Wordsworth's theory of poetry.

What is a ballad?

Who is Tully?

What is 'Gorboduc'?

What fault does Sidney find in contemporary English comedy?

Who is Robert Southey?

How does Dryden appreciate Shakespeare?

What is 'Hamartia'?

Who coined the expression 'willing suspension of disbelief'?

What, according to Aristotle, is a well-constructed plot?

What is 'Descriptive Sketches'?

How many stages are there in Wordsworth's poetic process?

What is 'Comedy of Errors'?

How, according to Sidney, is a poet superior to a philosopher?

Why does Aristotle prefer a complex plot?

What is Wordsworth's view on poetic diction?

What does Johnson say about Shakespeare's violation of the three unities?

What are the differences between epic and tragedy?

How does Coleridge differentiate a poem from poetry?

Why does Wordsworth select rustic materials for his poetry?

Why is Shakespeare called 'the poet of nature' by Johnson?

Critically discuss Aristotle's view about an ideal tragic hero.

How does Johnson defend Shakespeare's fusion of comic and tragic elements? Explain.

What are Sidney's views on contemporary English drama?

Discuss Coleridge's concept of 'Fancy' and 'Imagination' with reference to 'Biographia Literaria'.

Critically discuss Aristotle's theory of imitation with reference to 'Poetics'?

How does Johnson extol Shakespeare's merits and censure demerits in his 'Preface to Shakespeare'.

How does Wordsworth appear as a mouthpiece of the plebeian in his 'Lyrical Ballads'?

What instrumental roles does a poet have to play, according to Wordsworth? Discuss.

What according to Aristotle, is poetic truth?

How does Wordsworth define poetry in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads?

What is Parode?

What, according to Coleridge, is the basic difference between fancy and imagination?

What is poetic justice?

What age does Doctor Samuel Johnson belong to?

What kind of text is Biographia Literaria?

What, according to Sir Philip Sidney, is the basic difference between laughter and delight?

Whom do Shakespeare's characters represent?

What is anagnorisis?

What is called the de facto manifesto of the Romantic movement?

How many kinds of poetry does Sidney mention in his An Apology for Poetry?

Discuss Aristotle's views on imitation.

How does Dr. Johnson try to prove that Shakespeare is more successful in comedy than in tragedy?

What were the charges brought against contemporary poetry that Philip Sidney refuted?

What does Johnson mean when he says, "Shakespeare has no heroes, but only heroines"?

Comment on Wordsworth's conception of 'Comprehensive soul' of a poet.

Give your own views on Coleridge's phrase, 'Willing suspension of disbelief'?

Write Aristotle's view of 'pity' and 'fear'.

What was the principal goal of Wordsworth's writing Preface to the Lyrical Ballads?

Discuss in detail Aristotle's conception of complex plot.

Elucidate Sydney's views on the roles and function of poetry.

Critically examine Wordsworth's views of poetic diction as elucidated in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads.

Do you agree with Johnson's views of poetic justice as elaborated in Preface to Shakespeare? Give reasons in detail.

Discuss in detail how Coleridge criticises Wordsworth's conception of poetry.

Critically discuss the historical significance of Preface to the Lyrical Ballads.

Critically evaluate Johnson's views on Shakespeare's characters.

Discuss Sydney's views on the capacity of English language as elaborated in his An Apology for Poetry.

What is 'touchstone'?

Who remarked that Chaucer's poetry had "gold dew drops of speech"?

What is poetic diction?

Who was Stephen Gosson?

To whom does Sidney compare the haters of poetry?

What is hymn?

What is catharsis?

Why did Dr. Johnson write 'The Preface to Shakespeare'?

What type of poet, according to Dr. Johnson, is Shakespeare, above all?

What type of critic is Dr. Johnson?

What is "Lyrical Ballads"?

What is fancy?

What are the dramatic unities?

What are Aristotle's views about an ideal tragic hero?

What are Sidney's views on the capacity of English language?

What are the reasons behind Shakespeare's universal popularity?

Why does Johnson prefer Shakespeare's comedies to tragedies?

Why did Wordsworth write 'Preface to Lyrical Ballads'?

What is Coleridge's objection to Wordsworth's selection of characters in his poems?

What does Wordsworth say about the language of poetry?

How does Aristotle compare and contrast tragedy with epic in 'Poetics'?

How does Sidney establish the superiority of poetry over history and philosophy in 'An Apology for Poetry'?

What are Sidney's views on contemporary English drama?

How does Johnson defend Shakespeare against the charge for the violation of the unities of time and place?

Comment on the historical significance of Wordsworth's 'Preface to Lyrical Ballads'.

What according to Wordsworth, are the characteristics and functions of a poet?

Discuss Coleridge's concept of fancy and imagination with reference to 'Biographia Literaria'?

How does Coleridge define prose, poetry and poem in 'Biographia Literaria'? Discuss.

What does Aristotle mean by epic?

Who, according to Wordsworth, is a poet?

What is Sydney's notion about tragi-comedy?

What is the first fault of Shakespeare that Dr. Johnson mentioned in his 'The Preface to Shakespeare'?

What is the most important element of a tragedy?

What is 'Willing Suspension of Disbelief'?

What do you mean by Heroic couplet?

What is organic unity?

Who was Seneca?

What, according to Aristotle, is the common feature of all art?

What is Dr. Johnson's allegation about the plots of Shakespeare's dramas?

How does Sydney differentiate between 'laughter' and 'delight'?

What are the requirements of tragedy in the view of Aristotle?

What is Sidney's assessment of English poetry of his time?

What does Dr. Johnson say about Shakespeare's violation of historical chronology?

Why does Aristotle prefer complex plot?

How is Wordsworth's conception of a poet different from that of the neo-classicists?

How, according to Sydney, is a poet superior to a philosopher?

What is Wordsworth's view on Poetic Diction?

How does Coleridge oppose Wordsworth's idea of using metre and rhyme in poetry?

Give your comment on Johnson as a critic of Shakespeare?

Give your comment on Sydney's view on the functions of poetry?

Discuss in detail about Wordsworth's views on the choice of the language and the subject of poetry.

What are the merits of Shakespeare for which Johnson admires him so much?

Critically discuss Aristotle's definition of tragedy?

Why does Aristotle mention plot as 'The soul of a tragedy'? Discuss in the light of Poetics.

What charges are brought against poetry and how does Sydney defend those?

Are you convinced with Dr. Johnson's opinion about the faults of Shakespeare? Elaborate your answer with reference from 'The Preface to Shakespeare'.

What is catharsis?

What does Aristotle mean by imitation?

What is Dr. Johnson's opinion about Shakespeare's dramas?

What is hamartia?

What are the constituents of a tragedy?

What do you mean by the unity of action?

What are the major elements of a tragedy?

How does Sydney prove that poets are not liars?

What is mimesis?

How does Coleridge define a poem?

What is poetic diction?

What is Coleridge's idea of fancy?

Write a short note on Neo-classicism.

Why does Johnson prefer Shakespeare's comedies to tragedies?

What does Johnson say about Shakespeare's violation of the unities?

How does Wordsworth justify metre in Poetry?

What are the characteristics of a tragic hero?

Why did Sydney write "An Apology for Poetry"?

What is the role of verse or rhyme in poetry?

What is Coleridge's objection to Wordsworth's selection of characters in his poems?

How does Sydney establish the superiority of the poet over Philosophers and Historians?

On what grounds does Sydney object to contemporary English drama?

How does Wordsworth appear as a poet of common man in his "Preface to Lyrical Ballads"?

Write a note on Aristotle's concept of unity of action with reference to his theory. Did Aristotle insist on three unities of drama?

Why is Wordsworth's "Preface to Lyrical Ballads" considered the manifesto to the Romantic Movement?

Discuss critically Coleridge's concept of fancy and imagination.

Comment on Johnson's evaluation of Shakespeare's tragedies.

What are Aristotle's arguments in favour of tragedy over epic poetry? Do you think they are convincing?

What, according to Aristotle, is the most important element of tragedy?

What according to Sidney, is the aim of poetry?

Who is Stephen Gosson?

What is an epic?

Who coined the expression "Willing suspension of disbelief"?

What is "The Preface to Shakespeare"?

How does Wordsworth define a poet?

How many stages are there in Wordsworth's Poetic Process?

What is meant by the term 'Vates'?

Why does Johnson call Shakespeare "Poet of Nature"?

What is Stasimon?

How does Coleridge define "imagination"?

Describe the elements of tragedy.

What are the four objections raised against poetry in 'An Apology for Poetry'?

What led Wordsworth to write "Preface to Lyrical Ballads"?

How does Dr. Johnson differentiate between Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies?

Describe Coleridge's views on Fancy and Imagination.

What does Aristotle say about dramatic unities?

What are the reasons of Shakespeare's universal popularity?

Write a short note on Wordsworth's poetic diction.

What is Aristotle's view about an ideal tragic hero?

How does Johnson defend Shakespeare against the charge of the violation of the three unities?

What, according to Wordsworth, are the characteristics and functions of a poet?

What, according to Johnson, are the faults of Shakespeare?

Why does Aristotle prefer complex plot to simple plot for tragedy?

Discuss Sydney's view on the antiquity and universality of poetry.

Elucidate Coleridge's theory of poetry.

Comment on Sidney's view on the functions of poetry.

What is catharsis?

What the unity of time?

What is hamartia?

What are the constituents of a tragedy?

How does Sidney prove that poets are not liars?

Who is Sophocles?

What is Dr. Johnson's opinion about Shakespeare's dramas?

To what school of criticism does Dr. Johnson belong?

What are the primary passions of human life.

What is the main difference between a poet and a common man?

What is Coleridge's idea of 'fancy'?

What does Aristotle mean by imitation?

Why did Sidney write "An Apologie for Poetry"?

What are Wordsworth's comments about the function of a poet?

What is Coleridge's objection to Wordsworth's selection of characters in his poems?

What does Johnson say about Shakespeare's violation of the unities?

According to Wordsworth, what is the connection between good poetry and feelings?

Write a short note on Neo-classicism.

What are the characteristics of a tragic hero?

Why does Johnson prefer Shakespeare's comedies to tragedies?

Write and explain Aristotle's definition of tragedy.

How does Johnson defend Shakespeare's mixing of comic and tragic elements?

Discuss critically Coleridge's concept of fancy and imagination.

How does Sidney defend poetry against the allegations brought by Gosson?

Discuss in detail the morality of poetry as mentioned by Sidney in his "An Apology for Poetry".

Comment on Johnson's evaluation of Shakespeare's tragedies.

What are Aristotle's arguments in favour of tragedy over epic poetry? Do you think they are convincing?

Why is Wordsworth's "Preface to Lyrical Ballads" considered the manifesto to the Romantic Movement?