UPSC Mains ENGLISH-LITERATURE-PAPER-I 2015

Postcolonial Reading of The Tempest.

Paradise Lost tries to "justify the ways of God to man". Comment.

Revolutionary Spirit in English Romantic Poetry.

Examples of any two conceits from Donne's poems.

Victorian compromise in "In Memoriam".

Analyse the psyche of "illegitimate" Edmund with reference to the plot of King Lear. How does he try to overturn his destiny and with what success?

In what ways did John Donne break away from the contemporary poetic traditions which made him so original and different? Write a reasoned answer with illustrations from the text.

How does Alfred Tennyson handle nature in In Memoriam.

Do you think that the great theme of Paradise Lost is unquestioning obedience to the behests, implicit in the creative order, of an omnipotent God? Discuss in the light of the contemporary Puritan philosophy.

Would you consider that the exposure of immoderate female vanity is the motivating impulse behind The Rape of the Lock. Justify your answer with proper evidence(s) from the text.

Comment on the role of Torvald Helmer in A Doll's House. Why do you think he is taken by surprise at Nora's rebellion?

Discuss the relationship of 'Man', 'Nature' and 'Society' with reference to the poems of William Wordsworth prescribed in your syllabus.

Present a feminist reading of A Doll's House.

The Rape of the Lock demonstrates "What mighty contests rise from trivial things"? Discuss.

Consider the implications of the line - "Give me more love, or more disdaine"; and comment.

What sort of person, do you think, is the speaker of the poem?

Critically comment on the imagery of 'The Torrid' and "the frozen Zone".

Explain the lines "Give me a storme; if it be love, Like Danae in that golden showre I swimme in pleasure;"

Explain "and he's possest Of Heaven, that's but from Hell releast"

Discuss Gulliver's Travels as a tale with an element of the ridiculous and the fantastic which has a universal appeal. Elaborate

In Pride and Prejudice first impressions, illusions and subjective opinions give way to attachment, balance, reasonableness and, more painfully to humiliating reassessments. Discuss.

Dr Johnson called Tom Jones an "immoral text". Would you agree? Write a reasoned answer.

In Tom Jones, Fielding's scathing satire is reserved for the London upper classes. Discuss.

The novel Hard Times depends on the opposition between Fact and Fancy, the contrast which gives it both tension and unity. Discuss.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows the growth of consciousness of an innocent young orphan into an adolescent who understands the evil world around him. Discuss.

Discuss the significance and relevance of the sub-title "A Pure Woman" appended by Thomas Hardy to Tess of the D'Urbervilles. How did the debate reveal the attitudes of Victorian society towards morality?

How do patriarchist rules control and define the life of Maggie Tulliver in Mill on the Floss? Discuss.

How does Mark Twain address the question of slavery in Huckleberry Finn? Discuss.