Question: Christopher Ricks would most likely DISAGREE with which of the following claims about literary theory ?

• 1. Literary theory often depends on esoteric knowledge to be properly understood.
• 2. Literary theory is employed mostly by academics.
• 3. Literary theory should not be an academic focus in English departments.
• 4. Literary theory is the only proper way to conceptualize literary texts.

Question: According to Plato, what is the moral purpose of art ?

• 1. To connect human beings with a higher ideal
• 2. To entertain those who enjoy it
• 3. To criticize society through satire
• 4. To bring to light social oppressions

Question: What is the main goal of ethnic criticism ?

• 1. To rectify the double experiences of certain racial groups
• 2. To reconcile cultural identity with individual identity
• 3. To expand the canon to include works authored by different racial groups
• 4. All of the above.

Question: What do structuralist and formalist critics have in common ?

• 1. Both sets of critics look for an objective way to view texts.
• 2. Both sets of critics study the underlying forms of texts.
• 3. Both sets of critics focus on evaluating literature in a scientific manner.
• 4. All of the above.

Question: Which of the following best defines the work of a deconstructionist critic ?

• 1. Suggesting that the study of literature is based on the breakdown of language into signs
• 2. Arguing that language, and therefore literary texts, relies on the difference between terms and therefore constantly defers meaning.
• 3. Calling into question the capacity of language to communicate
• 4. All of the above.

Question: How does New Historicism differ from traditional historicism ?

• 1. New Historicism does not make strict delineations between literary and nonliterary texts.
• 2. New Historicism takes a particular interest in marginalized peoples.
• 3. New Historicism is interested in how texts help us understand economic realities.
• 4. All of the above.

Question: Which of the following descriptions best defines the literary theory known as formalism ?

• 1. An approach that emphasizes literary devices in a text
• 2. An approach that emphasizes the historical context of a text
• 3. An approach that emphasizes the biographical intent of a text
• 4. An approach that emphasizes racial issues in a text

Question: What is the purpose of feminist theory ?

• 1. To create literary subjects with which female readers can identify
• 2. To critique phallocentric assumptions about literature
• 3. To counter stereotypes about women
• 4. All of the above.

Question: Which of the following writers might be considered one of the early founders of first-wave feminism ?

• 1. Hélène Cixous
• 2. Judith Butler
• 3. Lucy Irigaray
• 4. Mary Wollstonecraft

Question: Which literary theorist argues that “there is nothing outside the text” ?

• 1. T.S. Eliot
• 2. Jacques Lacan
• 3. Jacques Derrida
• 4. Stanley Fish