UGC NET English June 2024 Solved Paper: Literary Criticism & Theory

Correct Answer: 4 (Defense of Poesie)

Explanation (Renaissance Criticism): In his 1595 treatise, Sir Philip Sidney argues for the supremacy of poetry. He famously positions the Poet as a mediator between the Philosopher (who provides abstract precept) and the Historian (who provides concrete example). The Poet, Sidney argues, combines both to "move" the reader to virtuous action.

Correct Answer: 2 (Samuel Johnson)

Explanation (Neoclassical Theory): From Samuel Johnson's Preface to Shakespeare (1765). Johnson defends Shakespeare not by his adherence to classical "Unities," but by his ability to capture "general nature"—the universal human traits that remain consistent across different ages and cultures.

Correct Answer: 3 (S.T. Coleridge in Biographia Literaria)

Explanation (Romantic Criticism): In Chapter XXII of Biographia Literaria, Coleridge posits "untranslatableness" as the ultimate test of a perfect poetic style. He argues that in a truly great poem, the choice of words is so precise that they cannot be replaced by synonyms or rephrased without losing the essential meaning (Organic Unity).

Correct Answer: 3 (Thomas De Quincey)

Explanation (Victorian/Romantic Transition): Thomas De Quincey made this distinction in his 1848 essay The Poetry of Pope.

• Literature of Knowledge: Informational (e.g., a cookbook or map). It can be updated or superseded.
• Literature of Power: Emotional and imaginative (e.g., Paradise Lost). It is eternal and "moves" the soul.

Correct Answer: 3 (Matthew Arnold's Culture and Anarchy)

Explanation (Victorian Social Criticism): Matthew Arnold borrowed the phrase "Sweetness and Light" from Jonathan Swift (The Battle of the Books). In Culture and Anarchy (1869), "Sweetness" represents beauty and "Light" represents intelligence. Together, they form the core of "Culture," which Arnold defines as the antidote to Victorian "Anarchy."

Correct Answer: 4 (A–III, B–I, C–II, D–IV)

Explanation (Literary & Cultural Concepts): This set tests key terminologies spanning Victorian criticism to 20th-century Cultural Studies.

• Objectivism (A-III): A poetic movement in the 1930s influenced by Pound and William Carlos Williams. It treats the poem as an object and focuses on "sincerity" and "objectification" rather than subjective lyricism.
• Pathetic Fallacy (B-I): John Ruskin coined this in Modern Painters (1856). It describes the "false" attribution of human emotions to inanimate nature (e.g., "the cruel crawling foam").
• Sprung Rhythm (C-II): Gerard Manley Hopkins developed this metrical system where feet begin with a stressed syllable and include a varying number of unstressed ones, mimicking the natural cadence of speech.
• Structures of Feeling (D-IV): A major concept in Cultural Studies. Raymond Williams used it to describe the lived experience and "social heritage" of a particular time and place before it becomes formalized into social institutions.

Correct Answer: 2 (Jacques Derrida)

Explanation (Post-Structuralism): Jacques Derrida coined this term by merging Phallocentrism (privileging the masculine) and Logocentrism (privileging speech/reason as a stable source of truth).

It is a central concept in Deconstruction used to critique Western metaphysics, which Derrida argues is structured around male-dominated hierarchies and the "transcendental signified."

Correct Answer: 3 (I.A. Richards)

Explanation (Literary Movements): While I.A. Richards is the intellectual "father" of close reading, he is technically considered a precursor to New Criticism rather than a leading figure of the movement itself.

• The New Critics (1, 2, 4): Ransom (who gave the movement its name), Tate, and Brooks were part of the American formalist movement that focused on the "autonomy of the text."
• I.A. Richards: His approach was psychological and focused on the reader's response and the scientific "value" of poetry, whereas the New Critics rejected the "Affective Fallacy."

Correct Answer: 2 (Form)

Explanation (Practical Criticism): In his 1929 work, Richards identified Four Kinds of Meaning that constitute the total communication of a poem:

1. Sense: What the speaker says (literal meaning).
2. Feeling: The speaker's attitude toward the subject.
3. Tone: The speaker's attitude toward the listener/audience.
4. Intention: The speaker's aim or the effect they wish to achieve.

Form is the structural vehicle, not one of the internal categories of "meaning" in this specific framework.

Correct Answer: 2 (Terry Eagleton)

Explanation (Schools of Thought): The Yale School was a group of critics who championed Deconstruction in America during the 1970s.

• The Yale Critics: Included Paul de Man, J. Hillis Miller, Geoffrey Hartman, and Harold Bloom (though Bloom eventually diverged). Jacques Derrida was the "godfather" of the group.
• Terry Eagleton: Is a famous British Marxist critic. He is known for his witty critiques of Deconstruction and Post-structuralism from a materialist perspective.

Correct Answer: 2 (A–II, B–III, C–IV, D–I)

Explanation (Theory & Social Context): This question bridges the gap between Post-Structuralism, Post-Colonialism, and Feminist Theory.

• Chora (A-II): Julia Kristeva adapted this term from Plato. In her work Revolution in Poetic Language, it refers to the "semiotic" stage—a pre-linguistic, maternal space of rhythm and drive that exists before the "Symbolic" order of law and language.
• Carnivalization (B-III): Mikhail Bakhtin developed this in his study of Rabelais. It refers to a literary mode that subverts social hierarchies through the "carnivalesque"—humor, chaos, and the grotesque.
• Contrapuntal Reading (C-IV): A major method proposed by Edward Said in Culture and Imperialism. It involves reading canonical Western texts (like Mansfield Park) while simultaneously keeping in mind the colonial history and "hidden" geographic contexts that made those narratives possible.
• Écriture Féminine (D-I): Translated as "women's writing," Hélène Cixous coined this in her essay The Laugh of the Medusa. It encourages women to write from the body to disrupt phallogocentric discourse.

Correct Answer: 4 (Kenneth Burke)

Explanation (British Literary Criticism): The Cambridge School emerged in the 1920s and 30s, revolutionizing English studies by moving away from historical "appreciations" toward rigorous textual analysis and moral evaluation.

• The Cambridge Figures (1, 2, 3): F.R. Leavis and his wife Q.D. Leavis were the powerhouse behind the journal Scrutiny. William Empson was a student of I.A. Richards at Cambridge and wrote the seminal Seven Types of Ambiguity there.
• Kenneth Burke (4): ❌ He was a major American literary theorist. He is known for "Dramatism" and the theory of "Literature as Equipment for Living." His work is rooted in rhetoric and sociology rather than the specific pedagogical tradition of Cambridge.

Correct Answer: 3 (A–IV, B–I, C–II, D–III)

Explanation (Literary Terms & Theory): This question mixes classical literary genres with modern post-structuralist terminology.

• Aporia (A-IV): In Deconstruction, specifically in the works of Paul de Man and Derrida, an aporia is a logical impasse or "unsolvable" contradiction in a text where the literal meaning and the rhetorical meaning conflict.
• Énoncé (B-I): A key term in Michel Foucault’s discourse analysis. It refers to the "statement" or "utterance" as the basic unit of discourse that is governed by specific rules of the historical era.
• Encomium (C-II): A classical genre of speech or writing (like a formal eulogy) dedicated to the high praise of a person, event, or abstract idea.
• Hagiography (D-III): Traditionally the study of Saints' lives. In modern criticism, it is often used pejoratively to describe biographies that are overly idealized and uncritical.

Correct Answer: 1 (A–III, B–II, C–IV, D–I)

Explanation (Genealogy of Concepts):

• Third Space (A-III): Homi Bhabha introduced this in The Location of Culture to describe the "in-between" space of hybridity where colonial and subaltern identities meet.
• Weltliteratur (B-II): Johann Wolfgang von Goethe coined this term (World Literature) to advocate for an international exchange of ideas that would transcend nationalistic literary boundaries.
• Post-Impressionism (C-IV): British art critic Roger Fry coined this in 1910 to categorize the evolution of art from Manet to Cézanne and Van Gogh.
• Simulacra (D-I): Jean Baudrillard used this term to describe the "copies of copies" in postmodern society where the simulation has no original "real" reference.

Correct Answer: 3 (A–II, B–IV, C–I, D–III)

Explanation (Seminal Essays):

• Language as Paradox (A-II): Cleanth Brooks, in his book The Well Wrought Urn, argues that paradox is not just a figure of speech but the very essence of poetic language.
• Against Interpretation (B-IV): Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay famously argues that modern interpretation "excavates" and "destroys" the art, calling instead for an "erotics of art."
• Realism and the Contemporary Novel (C-I): Raymond Williams explores the social underpinnings of fictional forms through a Marxist lens in this influential essay.
• Politics and the English Language (D-III): George Orwell’s most famous essay on language, where he warns that sloppy language leads to sloppy (and dangerous) political thought.

Correct Answer: 2 (C, D, A, B, E)

Chronological Timeline of Theory:

• Feminism (C): 18th/19th Century roots (Wollstonecraft), though consolidated in "Waves" across the 20th century. It is the earliest intellectual tradition here.
• Surrealism (D): 1920s (André Breton’s 1924 Manifesto). Post-WWI avant-garde movement.
• Cultural Studies (A): 1950s/60s (Birmingham School, Raymond Williams).
• Postmodernism (B): 1960s/70s (Late capitalism, fragmentation, metafiction).
• Reception Theory (E): 1970s (Constance School, Hans Robert Jauss, Wolfgang Iser).

Correct Answer: 2 (A, B, C only)

Explanation: This question tests the intersection of Queer Theory and African American Critical Theory.

• Philip Brian Harper (A) and Darieck Scott (C) are prominent queer scholars whose work explicitly interrogates blackness through a queer lens.
• Erica Edwards (B) is often included in these intersections due to her work in Black feminist studies and institutional critiques.
• The Distractors (D & E): Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Toni Morrison are canonical African American theorists, but they are not categorized as gay/queer activists or theorists within the specialized context of this question.

Correct Answer: 4 (C and D only)

Explanation (Postcolonial Theory): While Negritude was a vital pan-Africanist movement, it faced significant backlash for its essentialist view of race.

• Statement C: Writers associated with Créolité (like Bernabé, Chamoiseau, and Confiant) argued that Negritude ignored the hybrid, multicultural reality of the Caribbean.
• Statement D: Wole Soyinka famously mocked the movement's self-consciousness, stating: "A tiger does not proclaim its tigritude, it pounces."
• Fact Check: Senghor and Damas were co-founders (negating A and B). Fanon (E) was critical but deeply engaged with Césaire's work and certainly used the term in his dialectical analysis of colonial psychology.

Correct Answer: 2 (Frantz Fanon)

Explanation (Postcolonial Theory & Existentialism): This iconic concluding line is from Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks (1952).

• Context: The prayer-like statement appears at the very end of the book. It represents Fanon's refusal to be fixed by the "racial epidermal schema" imposed by the colonizer.
• The Philosophy: For Fanon, the act of "questioning" is the ultimate form of human freedom. By asking his body to make him a "man who questions," he is seeking to break away from the frozen, stereotyped identity of the "Negro" and reclaim his universal humanity.
• Distractors: While Achebe and Ngũgĩ are central to African postcolonial literature, their work is often more focused on cultural reclamation (Achebe) or language decolonization (Ngũgĩ), whereas Fanon's work is rooted in psychoanalytical existentialism.

Correct Answer: 2 (C, B, A, D, E)

Feminist Theory Timeline: This question maps the transition from First-Wave concerns to the radical height of Second-Wave Feminism.

Correct Answer: 3 (Action of the novel takes place in South Africa)

Explanation (Postcolonial Theory & Feminist Revisionism): Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea is a quintessential postcolonial "writing back" text that gives voice to the subaltern figure of Bertha Mason from Brontë's Jane Eyre.

• The Setting (3): ❌ The novel is primarily set in Jamaica and Dominica (the West Indies/Caribbean), reflecting Rhys's own heritage. It is not set in South Africa.
• Intertextuality (2): The novel serves as a prequel. It explores the psychological disintegration of Antoinette Cosway (Bertha) before she is locked away in Thornfield Hall.
• The Mother (4): Annette is Antoinette's mother, a "Martinique girl" whose tragic life and isolation as a white Creole woman mirror her daughter's eventual fate.
• Publication (1): Published in 1966, the novel became a cornerstone of both feminist and postcolonial critical studies.

Correct Answer: 1 (B and D only)

Explanation (Black Feminist Thought): Barbara Smith's 1977 essay is a foundational text of Intersectionality. She argues that a Black feminist critical perspective is necessary because the literary establishment and even the mainstream feminist movement often ignore the specific realities of Black women.

• Black Lesbian Identity (B & D): Smith specifically highlights the "invisibility" of the Black lesbian writer. She argues that their work must be understood within the specific context of being marginalized both within the Black community (due to homophobia) and the white feminist movement (due to racism).
• Critique of Universalism (E): ❌ Smith strongly rejects the idea of "universal" womanhood. She argues that "universal" usually defaults to "White Middle-Class," thereby erasing the material and cultural differences of Black women's lives.
• The "Political" Critic: She posits that for a Black woman, the act of writing—and the act of criticism—is inherently a political act of survival.

Correct Answer: 1 (A–III, B–I, C–IV, D–II)

Explanation (Foundations of Cultural Studies): This question highlights the "Culturalism" phase of British Cultural Studies alongside Indian critical theory.

• Richard Hoggart (A-III): The Uses of Literacy (1957) is one of the founding documents of the Birmingham School. It critiques the influence of mass media on traditional working-class culture.
• Ashis Nandy (B-I): The Secret Politics of Our Desires is a notable work by the Indian political psychologist that analyzes the "inner life" of Indian cinema and its relationship with the public's subconscious.
• Raymond Williams (C-IV): The Long Revolution (1961) expanded on his earlier work (Culture and Society), defining culture as "a whole way of life" and analyzing the democratic, industrial, and cultural revolutions.
• E.P. Thompson (D-II): The Making of the English Working Class (1963) shifted historiography from "top-down" to "bottom-up," showing how workers actively created their own identity rather than being mere victims of the Industrial Revolution.

Correct Answer: 4 (C, A, D, B, E)

Postcolonial Publication Timeline: This sequence represents the evolution of Postcolonial thought from early psychoanalytic resistance to later theories of hybridity.

Correct Answer: 3 (A, B and C only)

Explanation (Cultural Studies & Feminist Media): This question distinguishes between periodical magazines and book anthologies within Third-Wave Feminism and Girl Studies.

• The Magazines (A, B, C): Sassy (1988–1996) was the first "cool" feminist teen mag. Bust and Bitch (now Bitch Media) emerged in the mid-90s as central voices of the "zune" and "Riot Grrrl" culture.
• The Distractors (D & E): ❌ Ophelia Speaks is a book by Sara Shandler (a response to Reviving Ophelia). ❌ Colonize This! is a book anthology edited by Bushra Rehman and Daisy Hernández.

Key Concept: "Girlhood" as a critical category examines how young women navigate media, autonomy, and identity.