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