UPSC Mains ENGLISH-LITERATURE-PAPER-I 2023

What are the prominent features of Metaphysical poetry?

Discipline in Neo-Classical literature, social and literary both.

Elaborate the terms 'epic' and 'mock-epic' with suitable examples.

Much of the writings of the Victorian age reflected the pressing social, economic and religious issues of the period. Comment.

The major features of Romantic poetry.

The Tempest may be classed as dramatic spectacle rather than as drama proper. Comment.

Paradise Lost is a parable of Milton's day and of ours, the inner but also the outer, history of mankind. Do you agree?

In Memoriam is the progress from doubt and bitter grief to a sense of certainty and hope. Elaborate.

Evaluate King Lear as a work of immense complexity.

Elaborate the major themes in The Rape of the Lock.

Discuss the role of money and financial independence in A Doll's House.

Critically analyse how John Donne treats the subject of love in his poems.

Wordsworth, more directly than any other poet, has conditioned our belief in the natural goodness of childhood, the moral value of the simple life and the inspiring powers of nature. Elaborate.

The mind is its own place and in itself Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. Explain the lines on the basis of Satan's character in Paradise Lost.

And let that page come out of you- Then, it will be true. Comment on the teacher's instruction.

How does the young man describe himself in the next lines?

What does the poet mean by "we two-you, me, talk on this page"?

I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you : (I hear New York, too.) Explain.

Analyse the poem from the perspective of the Harlem Renaissance.

Gulliver's Travels has ever been a very attractive adventure story for children and a pungent critique of humanity addressed to the adult. Analyse.

Discuss the significance of the title Pride and Prejudice and how far it suits the characters of the novel.

Fielding in his novel, Tom Jones does not intend to make any judgments on human nature but rather presents it as a mixture of contradictions.” Critically examine the statement.

Mark Twain explores the various aspects of freedom in the novel, Huckleberry Finn. Discuss.

Discuss the theme of education in Hard Times and how it is portrayed through the various characters and their experiences.

The Mill on the Floss articulates the tension between circumstances and the spiritual energies of individual characters struggling against those circumstances. Would you agree?

Discuss the division of the novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles into seven phases and how each phase signifies Tess's life and destiny.

The author makes use of regional dialects and colloquial language in the novel, Huckleberry Finn. How does it contribute to the realism of the work?

Analyse the importance of personal relationships in the novel, Pride and Prejudice.